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Crimea and Sevastopol

Lavrov calls abduction of Russian military in Crimea by Ukraine provocation

The Russian Defense Ministry earlier said that officers of Ukraine’s Security Service had abducted in two Russian servicemen in Crimea

© Alexandr Sherbak/TASS

MINSK, November 22. /TASS/. The Ukrainian intelligence services carried out a provocation against Russian citizens on Russia’s territory by kidnapping two military servicemen in Crimea, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday.

"We believe that was an illegitimate provocation by Ukraine’s intelligence services against Russian citizens on Russia’s territory. Our law enforcement agencies are handling the case," he said.

Read also

Ukraine’s Security Service abducted two Russian servicemen at Crimean car checkpoint

The Russian Defense Ministry earlier said that officers of Ukraine’s Security Service had abducted two Russian servicemen in Crimea, warrant officer Maxim Odintsov and junior sergeant Alexander Baranov, who had been taken to Ukraine’s Nikolayev region.

According to some sources, efforts are being made to fabricate a criminal case against these servicemen on charges of alleged crimes against Ukraine. The Russian Defense Ministry does not rule out that psychological and physical pressure might be exerted on them to have them ‘confess’ what Ukraine needs.

This information was confirmed earlier in the day by a representative of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. "Officers of the Ukrainian Security Service used substitute persons to entice warrant officer Maxim Odintsov and contract service junior sergeant Alexander Baranov into the Dzhankoi checkpoint allegedly for giving them attested documents of receiving higher education at Ukrainian higher educational institutions," the fleet’s representative said.

"Immediately after Maxim Odintsov and Alexander Baranov left the territory of the Russian Federation, the servicemen were detained by representatives of the Ukrainian Security Service and brought to Ukraine’s Nikolayev Region," he added.

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Crimea and Sevastopol Sergey Lavrov

Moscow’s response to strikes with Western arms on Russian soil to be felt — diplomat

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Kremlin says tone of Putin-Scholz conversation was businesslike, quite frank

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Trump likely to revoke Biden's authorization to attack deep into Russia — magazine

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Nikolay Patrushev agreed that Trump, when he was still a candidate, "made many statements critical of the destructive foreign and domestic policies pursued by the current administration"

Kursk Region’s newspaper editor-in-chief killed in Ukrainian drone attack on her car

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Erdogan to present proposal to freeze Ukraine conflict on current lines at G20 — Bloomberg

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Germany to start supplying Ukraine with 'mini-Taurus' attack drones in December — report

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Russian army traps Ukrainian troops in Chasov Yar — intelligence center

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Musk doubles down on his opinion about 'endless war' in Ukraine

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Press review: Switzerland open to hosting Putin-Trump talks as NATO and EU back Ukraine

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Strikes on Ukrainian military sites to prevent launch of missiles — Russian lawmaker

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Putin, Trump have ways to get in contact with each other, Kremlin says

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Earlier, The New York Times reported, citing sources, that Biden had authorized strikes from Ukrainian territory deep into Russia using ATACMS tactical ballistic missiles

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Aleksandar Vulin stressed that such an action leads to "devastating consequences for the global community"

US responsible for escalating conflict in Ukraine, says Iranian diplomat

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Trump may review Biden’s decision on strikes inside Russia with US missiles

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US military industrial complex seeks to unleash World War III — Donald Trump Jr.

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Houthis say they attacked Tel Aviv, Ashkelon

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Biden administration tries to prevent Trump from ending war in Ukraine — expert

Wang Wen called the next few months a "high-risk period" in the conflict

Le Figaro removes statement about France authorizing strikes against Russia

The newspaper has not yet responded to a TASS inquiry asking why the statement was removed

Press review: Biden OKs long-range missile use as backlash to Scholz’s Putin call grows

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Secret prisons in Ukraine overseen by Western intelligence — former SBU officer

Alexander Mazur stressed that all the information is reported to the top officials

Strikes inside Russia not discussed by Putin, Scholz — Kremlin spokesman

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called Russian President Vladimir Putin on November 15

Russia sees 'freezing' of Ukraine conflict as unacceptable, Kremlin spokesman says

"The conditions that President Putin laid out in June remain fully relevant," Dmitry Peskov said

Decision on strikes inside Russia seals US puppet Zelensky’s fate — commentator

The New York Times reported earlier, citing sources, that US President Joe Biden had authorized the use of US-made ATACMS tactical ballistic missiles for strikes inside Russia

Lavrov arrives in Rio de Janeiro to take part in G20 summit

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Paris, London authorize strikes inside Russia — newspaper

According to Le Figaro, Kiev "will be able to use SCALP/Storm Shadow missiles for these purposes"

Russian troops liberate DPR's Leninskoye, Makarovka

Russian army hits Ukrainian energy facilities

US should not get involved in disputes in South China Sea — Xi

Separatist activities in Taiwan are incompatible with peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, Xi Jinping added

US approving strikes inside Russia not to alter outcome of conflict — Polish minister

Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz added that this decision needed to be made much earlier to have any impact on the battlefield situation

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54 countries vote against resolution on combating ne-Nazism

116 countries, including Azerbaijan, Algeria, Armenia, Belarus, Bolivia, Brazil, China, Cuba, Serbia, and Syria, supported the document

G20 summit in Brazil brings together over 40 countries — president

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov represents Russia at the event