{{dayPoint.date | date : 'd MMMM yyyy'}}

{{newsPoint.title}}

{{newsPoint.title+ ' '}}

{{newsPoint.subtitle}}

Turnout at online voting on amendments to Russian constitution soars to 75% in 60 hours

The online voting will end in about 72 hours

© Vladimir Gerdo/TASS

MOSCOW, June 27. /TASS/. The turnout at online voting on amendments to Russia’s Constitution has surged to 75%, with nearly 879,700 voters taking part, according to data on information screens at the center monitoring the voting process.

The online vote began on Thursday, June 25, at 10:00 Moscow time. Voters from the Moscow and the Nizhny Novgorod Region can take part. As of 20.14 Moscow time on Saturday, June 27, the turnout stood at 75.0% and 879,654 ballots were accepted. The online voting will end in about 72 hours.

"We have surpassed the threshold of two thirds in online voting. The turnout in both regions of the [Russian] Federation - Moscow and the Nizhny Novgorod Region - is 75%," Deputy Chairman of Moscow’s Civic Chamber Alexei Venediktov told TASS.

According to previous reports, about one million voters had registered in Moscow and nearly 140,000 had done the same in the Nizhny Novgorod Region. The online vote began on June 25 and will end on June 30.

The vote on constitutional amendments

On March 11, the Russian State Duma (lower house of parliament) approved the final reading of the constitutional amendments bill proposed by Russian President Vladimir Putin. On the same day, it was approved by the Russian Federation Council (upper house of parliament) and Russia’s regional parliaments.

A public vote is being held on the proposed constitutional amendments. If over 50% of the Russian public approve of the changes, the bill will enter into force.

The vote was initially set to take place on April 22, however, Putin chose to postpone it due to the situation with the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in Russia. During a working session earlier, Putin approved July 1, 2020, as the new date for the vote. The vote will be held over a seven-day period ending on July 1 due to epidemiological concerns.

The document proposes to expand the powers of the Russian parliament and the Russian Constitutional Court, a fixed number of presidential terms, as well as the prevalence of the Russian Constitution over international agreements. The document also expands the government’s obligations in the social sphere. The amendments to the Constitution stipulate that the Russian head of state can only serve two terms, however, one of the amendments proposes that the current president can be re-elected if the new version of the Constitution comes into force.

Alrosa awaits results of geological exploration in Zimbabwe this year

In 2023, Chairman of the Board of Directors of ZCDC told TASS that the Alrosa joint venture in Zimbabwe continues to operate and plans to complete geological exploration by the end of the year

France turns down Russian request to hold UNSC meeting on downed plane Wednesday — mission

Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia requested an urgent UN Security Council meeting at 3:00 p.m. local time (8:00 p.m. GMT) on Wednesday

Putin slams statements about Russia’s intention to attack Europe as ‘absolute nonsense’

According to the Russian president, it is not Russia that poses a danger to Europe, but its dependence on the US

Ukraine conference in Switzerland risks failing short — Bloomberg

Аgency pointed out that the meeting’s attempts to find a path for a "just peace" may be futile

First regiment of S-500 air defense systems to defend Moscow — source

The S-500 will replace the S-400 Triumph air defense system

Turkish foreign minister, Putin discuss elections on Syria’s Kurdish areas — Erdogan

The Turkish president said that his country "has already shown how deftly it can expose such games."

NATO chief, Zelensky’s reaction to Putin’s peace proposals quite predictable — Kremlin

This was not a warning, neither was it an ultimatum as Zelensky nervously took it, Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov said

Death toll in collapse of stairwell in Belgorod region rises to 5

It is a woman who was taken to the regional hospital the governor of the Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said

Russian budget deficit amounts to $11 bln in January-May, Finance Ministry says

Budget revenues amounted to $160.4 bln, up 45.5% year on year

US rejects WTO, puts pressure on competitors — Putin

"It is enough to look at how they are draining European economies that are balancing on the brink of recession," the Russian leader stressed

G7 decision to use seized Russian assets for Kiev’s needs is illegitimate — envoy Antonov

Anatoly Antonov noted that the loan proposed by the G7 for Ukraine is secured by stolen money, and the United States is trying to force its satellites to take responsibility for it.

Kiev, West’s attempts at defeating Russia have failed — Russian diplomat

"Since the very first days, Russia has been proposing options for settling the crisis diplomatically," Vasily Nebenzy said

Basis of US economy 'cracking' due to government debt, inflation — Putin

"It is an unequivocal problem for all holders of the dollar assets," the Russian president went on to say

NATO to build three large bases to supply weapons to Ukraine, Orban says

The Hungarian Prime Minister expressed concern that should these bases be built in Poland, Romania, Slovakia and other Ukrainian neighbors they will "become military targets"

No time frame for Putin’s proposal on peace talks but front situation changes — Kremlin

According to Dmitry Peskov, the Russian president has chosen this moment to announce his proposal in view of the conference in Switzerland

Press review: G7 pushes EU to tap Russian assets and BRICS sends strong message to West

Top stories from the Russian press on Tuesday, June 11th

New Russian proposals call for Kiev’s surrender, says Harris

According to Harris, President Zelensky and the United States share their vision for the end of this conflict. She added that nothing about the end of this conflict should be decided without Ukraine

Turkey 90% likely to cede second NPP project in Sinop to Russia

Chairman of the Committee on Energy Pavel Zavalny said that two blocks with two reactors each are planned to be constructed with a capacity of 1,250 MW each

Russia’s strength 'to grow with the Arctic,' says Putin

The Russian president noted that the center of economic development was gradually shifting further eastwards and northwards

FACTBOX: What is known about multi-apartment building section collapse in Shebekino

Six people were evacuated from the fifth floor with the help of a ladder truck

Putin’s peace initiative being last chance to save Ukrainian state — politician

"The peace proposals returns not only the peace to Ukraine but also rights of Ukrainian citizens," Viktor Medvedchuk said

Russian team wins 160 medals during first three days of BRICS Games

The competition will end on June 23

Ukrainian troops in Volchansk will soon be trapped in a pocket — Russian lawmaker

As the State Duma deputy Viktor Vodolatsky noted, despite the fact that it is a small city, it is heavily fortified

Delegations from 15 friendly countries to attend Russia’s Maritime Defense Show

As in 2023, the Congress and Exhibition Center of the Naval Glory Museum on the premises of the Island of Forts tourist and recreational cluster will be the venue of the maritime show

Georgian Legion POWs say they were trained by NATO instructors — video

The ideology of the Georgian Legion, the POW said, was Russophobia: "kill Russians and do not to take prisoners"

Ukraine loses up to 495 troops in Russia’s Battlegroup West responsibility zone

The adversary has also lost three armored fighting vehicles, nine motor vehicles, five howitzers, a self-propelled artillery system and a Grad combat vehicle

Ex-US intel officer Ritter says his passport was seized to hamper anti-Russophobia

He expects to have his passport before the BRICS summit in Russia’s Kazan in October

Ukraine rejected Russia's call for troop pullout to resolve Donbass conflict — Putin

The Russian leader stressed that on February 24, 2022, Russia was forced to start a special military operation in Ukraine

United States actively supports unrest in Georgia — Russian diplomat

Maria Zakharova compared two statements made by the US Embassies in Armenia and Georgia about the continuing protests in those countries

Ukraine's Zelensky calls Russia's peace offer ‘an ultimatum’

Vladimir Zelensky said that accepting Moscow’s was tantamount to ceding territories

Participants in Swiss forum on Ukraine may be charged for adopted initiatives — diplomat

Switzerland is hosting a conference on Ukraine in the resort town of Burgenstock on June 15-16

Four conditions for negotiations with Kiev: what Putin said at Foreign Ministry

Russia considers Ukraine's neutral, non-aligned, non-nuclear status and the lifting of all Western sanctions as a necessary condition

Russia makes another real peace proposal to Kiev — Putin

Vladimir Putin emphasized that Russia's plan would mean ending the conflict once and for all, not freezing it

Russia to give military-technical response if F-16 jets appear over Ukraine — Lavrov

Russia had presented "a very serious demarche" within the framework of the UN Security Council panel "nuclear five" in connection with the possibility of F-16 aircraft being prepared for transfer to Ukraine to carry nuclear weapons

Some Ukrainian legislators begin to discuss Putin’s peace proposal — Duma speaker

"Actually, according to our information received over the parliament’s channels, some Verkhovna Rada deputies have already begun doing that," Volodin added

By using dollar as tool of sanctions, US undermines trust in its currency — Putin

US is making colossal mistake by prohibit the use of dollar in international transactions, Russian leader said

Scholz admits peace in Ukraine cannot be achieved without Russia

Scholz went on with the customary accusations of Russia for presumably being the one that failed to engage in the dialogue with NATO and the United States regarding European security

Russia-Egypt Mediterranean drills to strengthen cooperation — top brass

Egypt’s navy was represented by Al-Qadeer frigate

Armenian PM suggests Baku set up mechanism to look into ceasefire violations

On June 13 and 14, Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry said that Armenian troops had opened fire against Azerbaijani positions

Russia will liberate Kremensky district of Lugansk republic in month and a half — lawmaker

According to State Duma deputy Viktor Vodolatsky, after the liberation of the Kremensky district, Russian forces will begin to form a sanitary zone

Peace in Ukraine requires involvement of all parties — Reuters

We, therefore, decided to undertake concrete steps in the future in the above-mentioned areas with further engagement of the representatives of all parties," agency said, citing the draft document

Documents being signed by Kiev legally null and void — Putin

"It is clear that there is a political and propagandistic component involved," the Russian president said

Putin’s proposals need to be discussed to save world — diplomat about Swiss forum

Putin put forward new peace proposals seeking to resolve the conflict in Ukraine

Russian troops approached Kiev in 2022, but no decision to storm city was made — Putin

That was actually an operation to force the Kiev regime into peace, the Russian president explained

Houthis claim Verbena vessel attacked by them sinks in Gulf of Aden

Attecked ship "is at risk of sinking in a few hours," the Houthi spokesman said

Kiev been pushed by West toward aggression against own population for 8 years — diplomat

According to Oleg Gavrilov, these actions are geared to form a source of threats to Moscow at the Russian borders

Moscow accepted Ukraine security guarantees formulated by Kiev in 2022 to stop war — Putin

Under that compromise agreement, Kiev agreed to conditions of demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine, the Russian leader said

Lavrov urges West to listen to Putin as 'nothing good' came out of disregard before

The top Russian diplomat said he is unaware of the US desire to have official communication with the Russian Foreign Ministry

Trump attributes presence of Russian ships at the port of Havana to Biden's weakness

Former american president added that neither Russian President Vladimir Putin nor other foreign leader have any respect for Joe Biden

Products from Republika Srpska will appear in Russian stores after SPIEF — Dodik

There are many parties here who are interested in products from the Republika Srpska, including wine, he said

Battlegroup West defeats eight Ukrainian brigades in one day — Russian Defense Ministry

The enemy lost up to 430 military personnel, more than 20 units of weapons and special equipment, senior officer of the battlegroup Leonid Sharov said

Gas supply by Gazprom for Europe through Ukraine totals 42.3 mcm via Sudzha

Earlier it was reported on the website of the GTSOU that nominations for transit of Russian gas to Europe through Ukrainian territory on June 15 could be about 42.4 mln cubic meters

American Abrams tanks vulnerable even to Soviet-era weapons, says expert

US President Joe Biden announced on January 25 that Washington would hand over 31 M1 Abrams tanks to the Kiev regime

Seaborne cargo deliveries to Kaliningrad up 54% in Q1 2024

About forty vessels may be required to ensure complete independence from logistical sanction constraints in the direction of Kaliningrad, the acting governor said

Inflation accelerating to 8.3% in May 2024 — statistics

The price hike in services was 1.53% against April 2024 and by 8.55% year on year

Press review: G7 to tap iced Russian assets for Ukraine loan and BRICS candidates unveiled

Top stories from the Russian press on Friday, June 14th

Sweden says Russian military aircraft violated its airspace

The Swedish Armed Forces claim that they had to scramble two JAS-39 Gripen fighters to force the military jet to leave the country’s airspace

Over 500 Palestinians killed in West Bank since October 7 — WHO

In addition, over 5200 people, 800 of them children, have been injured

Russia did not start war in Ukraine, Kiev continues fighting — Putin

"This is aggression," the Russian leader pointed out

German politician calls for heeding Putin's initiative for Ukraine

Ukraine's long-term nuclear-free status and renunciation of NATO membership ambitions, Sahra Wagenknecht said, are Russia’s demands that are easy to understand

Putin, Kyrgyz president discuss interaction in EAEU

The pertinent issues of the further development of bilateral cooperation were discussed, as well as some aspects of interaction within the Eurasian Economic Union

Russia ranked world’s second largest military power — GFP

More than 60 individual criteria were factored into the rankings, including the number of military troops, financial and logistics capabilities, as 145 world powers were considered

There may be no Ukraine in 50 years due to US betrayal — Tucker Carlson

US is selling off lands in Ukraine to foreign investors, and will flood country with third-world migrants, journalist stated

Putin extends ban on supply of oil, oil products under price cap until December 31, 2024

The document bans the supply of Russian oil and oil products, provided that contracts for these supplies directly or indirectly involve a price cap introduced by the G7 countries, the EU, and Australia

Unfreezing of Russian assets tied to peace process, support for Ukraine — Meloni

The G7 said in the joint statement that Moscow should pay Ukraine for damage, which the World Bank estimates at $486 billion

Russia hammers Ukrainian military-industrial sector’s energy sites over week — top brass

Russian air defense forces shot down a Ukrainian MiG-29 fighter jet and two Mi-8 helicopters over the past week, the ministry reported

West’s reaction to Putin’s peace initiative unconstructive, says Kremlin

Putin congratulates Muslims of Russia with Eid al-Adha

Russian President also underlined the contribution of the Muslim Ummah "to promoting unity of our people and fostering inter-ethnic and inter-faith dialogue in Russia"

Scientists to offer development strategy for the Tomtorskoye deposit in Yakutia

"The compact deposit is unique as it contains more than 20 types of rare earth metals at the same time, the most well-known of them are niobium, scandium, and a number of lanthanides, which are of demand in modern technologies," Doctor of Technical Sciences Andrey Matveev said

Kiev to get $1.5 billion from frozen Russian assets in July

90% of them will be used to finance Kiev’s military spending, the remaining 10% will be directed for reconstruction

Trump vows to halt ‘never-ending’ payments to Kiev if winning election

Ex-US President repeatedly stated earlier that he would be able to stop the conflict in Ukraine in case of his return to the White House

Document of Ukraine’s surrender to be Russia’s next proposal to Kiev — diplomat

Konstantin Gavrilov said Russian President Vladimir Putin’s proposals were realistic

Vladimir Yakushev appointed acting secretary of the United Russia party’s General Council

Dmitry Medvedev has appointed Presidential Envoy to the Urals Federal District Vladimir Yakushev as acting secretary of the party’s General Council

Russian, Egyptian warships to hold joint drills in Mediterranean — defense ministry

The exercise will involve joint maneuvering, communication practice and other drills

New Russian regions not going back to Ukraine, end of story — Putin

"The people of the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions expressed their position in referendums," the Russian president reiterated

Attempts by West to seize Russian assets considered theft, will not go unanswered — Putin

The head of state stressed that Russia’s foreign policy goals include forming its own long-term agenda and constructive discussion of the most important issues with partners

Senior Russian lawmaker slams latest US sanctions, sees confidence in dollar cracking

In Vyacheslav Volodin's view, economies can see now that the United States uses the dollar "as an instrument of political pressure"

Switzerland earns win over Hungary in their opening match at Euro 2024

Goals from Kwadwo Duah and Michel Aebischer in the first half and a goal from Breel Embolo (90+3) earned a win for the Swiss team

India interested in Russian neural network for detecting stroke

The CIS countries are interested in using this neural network as well, NtechLab CEO Alexey Palamarchuk said

Russia says S-200 that Kiev used for attempted attack on Crimean bridge intercepted

The incident caused no damage or casualties

Cuban President comes to Havana port where Russian ships stay

The event is closed for the press

Implementation of Putin’s conditions to mean achievement of Russia’s goal — NATO chief

Jens Stoltenberg has repeatedly said that the alliance cannot decide for Ukraine about acceptable conditions for ending the conflict

Canadian patrol boat calls at Havana port

The Canadian ship is moored out of sight and cannot be seen from the embankment

Switzerland holds summit on peace in Ukraine, staying away from Russia

As announced on June 14 in Bern, delegations from 100 countries and organizations will gather at the hotel on Mount Burgenstock

Russia hopes Argentina to keep neutral stance on Ukrainian conflict — ambassador

Dmitry Feoktistov stated that Russia voiced its disappointment over Argentina's participation in the contact group meeting on Ukraine’s military assistance

About 20 NATO countries involved in conflict in Ukraine — lawmaker

"I believe they are in a state of war with Russia," Sergey Tsekov said

Russia’s UFC Champ Nurmagomedov eyes double bout deal with US boxer Mayweather

Dana White announced earlier in the week that if the deal on the bout is reached Mayweather would have to fight Nurmagomedov strictly under the UFC regulations

French politician says bolstering ties with Russia is in France’s interests

Commenting on the numerous anti-Russian statements circulating in the French media regarding Syria, Melenchon noted that the Syrian conflict must not be used to divide countries into good and bad ones

No one waits for Armenia, Ukraine to join European Union — Medvedev

Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council warned that the ‘mountains of gold,’ including membership in the European Union, were offered to Yerevan in exchange Armenia’s complete loyalty

Kremlin has nothing to say to participants of Swiss summit on Ukraine

The Swiss authorities plan to hold the conference on Ukraine on June 15-16 at the Burgenstock resort

Russian sailors meet with Cuban officials, go sightseeing in Havana

Russian ships have stirred a genuine interest in the Cuban capital

Ramaphosa re-elected as President of South Africa for next five years

"Ramaphosa received 283 parliamentary votes", Chief Justice of South Africa, Raymond Zondo said

US sends submarine to Cuba as Russian warships visit island

The US Southern Command said the US submarine pulled into the Cuban bay as part of a "routine port visit"

Colombian president not to attend Swiss conference on Ukraine

According to Petro, the Swiss conference is not "a free forum to discuss the path to peace between Russia and Ukraine."

Uralchem no longer considers possibility of building plant in Angola

Answering a question about the possibility of acquiring new foreign assets for companies, Uralchem Board Chairman Dimitry Tatyanin said, "We are always ready to work with partners from all over the world"

Russia’s battlegroup North continues moving deeper into enemy defenses — spokesman

The enemy lost more than 265 servicemen

Harris assures Zelensky US seeks settlement in Ukraine on Kiev’s terms

At a meeting with Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky on the sidelines of the conference in Switzerland, Harris "underscored the United States’ unwavering support for the people of Ukraine."

Putin underscores professionalism, courage of military medics

"I thank all military medics for the highest professionalism, courage, resilience, and constant tenderness," Russian President said

Russian warplanes deliver strikes on four militant hideouts in Syrian mountains

Over the past day, Syrian militants attacked pro-government forces’ positions in the Idlib de-escalation zone nine times

Peace process without Russia inconceivable — Swiss president

Amherd said that in Burgenstock, they "will be making that first crucial step. It is up to us to make sure it is followed by a second."

Medicine for Bekhterev’s disease may cause medical tourism to Russia — Health Minister

Previously, the media reported that the Russian Health Ministry registered the first treatment for the Bekhterev’s disease in the world