Russia firmly against NATO’s plans for greater presence in eastern Europe — diplomat

Top stories from the Russian press on Friday, April 19th

The conference will take place from April 23 to 25 in St. Petersburg

Funding will be provided from the federal, regional and local budgets, as well as taxes from gambling transferred to the organizer

Russia urges the International Monetary Fund to resume the effort of improving the global monetary and financial system, Anton Siluanov noted

According to Katalin Novak, Hungary’s call for the rights of the Hungarian minority in Transcarpathia to be respected should be viewed as a common European demand

The MOEX Russia Index edged up by 0.44%, the RTS Index surged by 1.13%

William Burns said "there is a very real risk that the Ukrainians could at least put Putin in a position where he could essentially dictate the terms of a political settlement"

It cannot be ruled out that the House of Representatives may pass this package as early as Saturday

Bentley came to Donbass from the United States in 2014

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, an Aerospace Forces’ Tu-22M3 bomber crashed after completing a combat mission while returning to the airfield

Victor Gumenny said the advanced systems may solve the tasks of air-space defence and may fight hypersonic weapons

israeli Permanent Representative Gilad Erdan was to address the council after Palestinian envoy Riyad Mansour

Stoltenberg said NATO believes Ukraine has the right to strike "legitimate military targets" inside Russia

On March 12, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that Yerevan asked its CSTO partners to answer where the CSTO's zone of responsibility in the republic was

According to Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov, a private residence in the village of Poroz caught fire when the unmanned aerial vehicles dropped two explosive devices

Russia’s top diplomat noted that Josep Borrell may made the statement in a moment of weakness

According to the media outlet, "the US administration will support the plan for a military operation in Rafah put forward earlier," which provides for dividing the city into numbered sectors that will be mopped up one by one

According to the official, the investigation established that Mikhail Maurov planned to travel to Ukraine to join the ranks of a right-wing Ukrainian organization called the Freedom of Russia Legion

The decision was sealed in a meeting between US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and Niger’s prime minister, Ali Lamine Zeine

The process is largely driven by increasing contribution of developing countries, Alexey Overchuk said

"In any case, whatever the modality of providing this aid, de facto it is about provoking Ukraine into further hostilities down to the last Ukrainian, putting guarantted money in the pockets of the US," Dmitry Peskov said

In chemicals production, prices edged up by 26.8% for ethers, organic peroxides, epoxides, acetals and semiacetals and their derivatives

Vladimir Saldo called on other Ukrainian servicemen to switch to the Russian side and request the corresponding assistance

Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin said in February that the Russian side had agreed with WADA to pay the membership fee for the year of 2023

Earlier, the media reported, citing a US official, that Israel had launched a missile strike on a site in Iranian territory

The first Konteiner radar went on combat duty in the Volga area region of Mordovia on December 1, 2019

Maria Zakharova described France’s decision to place its aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle, directly under NATO control as a symbolic move marking the end of "the era of an independent Paris in the international arena"

Ahmad Haqtalab argued that Israel had been conducting "subversive and terrorist activities" against the Islamic republic's nuclear infrastructure for year

There is still no full clarity regarding the future of Ukraine's western regions, the Russian foreign minister went on to say

According to Al Jazeera, Israeli security forces have killed at least five people over the past 24 hours

The geography of work in the culture sphere was wider before but "all the horizontal ties are kept," Olga Lyubimova noted

The tragedy occurred near the village of Priyutnoye located on the border of the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Zaporozhye Region

Recommendations on opportunities of using frozen Russian assets in interests of Ukraine will be presented before the G7 summit in June 2024

The top Russian diplomat referred to a swindling trick used by a thimblerigger who puts a small round object, such as a ball or pea, under one of three thimbles or cups and asks the player to guess under which the object is, while unfairly manipulating this object

Ahmad Haghtalab said on April 18 that Tehran has identified the location of Israel's "nuclear centers" and will be ready to destroy them in case the Jewish state responds to the recent Iranian attack on Israeli military facilities

Infrastructure is required to implement the investment project, both power transmission lines and the railroad, Andrey Chibis noted

In 2023 the Russian economy has demonstrated remarkable resilience and growth, Alexey Overchuk said

Egypt, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Ethiopia, became full-fledged members of BRICS from January 1, 2024

This measure is not a prohibitive one and will make it possible to make competitive conditions equal for Russian producers, the ministry said

According to Faustin-Archange Touadera, since becoming the president, his actions have been guided by the need "to modernize the army and take into account new challenges"

MIFF President Nikita Mikhalkov, a celebrated Russian film director, declared the festival open, praising the bravery of foreign cultural figures who are visiting Russia at this time

The man set himself on fire

The Russian Foreign Minister noted that "Ukrainian negotiators came and said that, for example, on the issue of maneuvers with the participation of third countries, let's replace the wording 'if all guarantor countries agree' with 'unless the majority agrees'"

The plane crashed in a field in the Krasnogvardeysky district of southern Russia’s Stavropol Region

Earlier, it was reported that Ukraine had developed a UAV with a range of up to 3,000 kilometers

The Ukrainian army lost more than 3,550 troops, four tanks and five armored combat vehicles in battles with Russian forces in the Donetsk area over the past week, the ministry reported

"The Hungarian community’s opportunities to use its native language in the fields of education, culture, media and self-governance have been significantly limited," Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto specified

Vasily Anokhin urged local residents to remain calm and refrain from filming air defenses in operation.

Arnulf Damerau said that he provided details of the meeting, along with evidence and a list of names of those involved, to US and European intelligence agencies

The law enforcement employees exert efforts to identify the instigators of this crime, Igor Krasnov said

"This military whirlpool can drag Europe to the bottom. Brussels is playing with fire and angering God," the Hungarian prime minister said

According to the foreign minister, Russia has decided not to depend on the West in all spheres, including those in which it can limit the country's development

Russian forces improved their frontline positions and repelled a Ukrainian army counterattack in the Donetsk area where the enemy lost roughly 590 troops over the past day, the ministry reported

All the presented drones and payload were created from domestic composite materials and elements

There are no casualties, Governor Vladislav Shapsha said

Investigators have established that the funds that were received through commercial organizations, such as the oil and gas company Burisma Holdings operating in Ukraine, have been used to carry out terrorist acts in Russia and abroad

Ararat Mirzoyan also said that Yerevan is currently making efforts to expand cooperation with the European Union and the United States

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

The minister also inspected the training process in Omsk Armor Engineering Institute

The Security Service of Ukraine announced earlier that in a joint operation with law enforcement agencies in Ukraine and Poland it thwarted an attempt to assassinate Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky

The Collective Security Treaty came into force on April 20, 1994 to herald the emergence what would eventually become the Collective Security Treaty Organization. The six member-countries are Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan

A power test of a super-large warhead designed for "Hwasal-1 Ra-3" strategic cruise missile was held as well

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said that BRICS nations have already established a special channel for information exchange between their central banks

Two shelling attacks on the positions of Syrian government army by the Jabhat al-Nusra groups were reported in the Idlib de-escalation zone

Earlier in its report on the development of the world economy, the IMF noted that Russian oil is sold on the world market mainly above the price ceiling that the West tried to set

According to the news agency, one PMF fighter was killed and six were wounded

The Foreign Minister pointed to the fact that Switzerland is on board with all Western sanctions

Construction of the plant in the Atyrau region is planned to be completed by 2029

Fox News said the Jewish state delivered a limited strike on Iran

"They would have been scared had anyone come down on them with similar ferocity," the Russian foreign minister added

On April 10, the vehicle was also spotted when the North Korean leader visited Kim Jong Il Military and Political Academy

It has reached 911 centimeters

Russia views the West’s encroachment on its assets as "a blatant and shameless theft for the purpose of lining its pockets," Maria Zakharova noted

The group contains US finance and justice ministers, representatives of Australia, the UK, Germany, Italy, Canada, France, Japan, as well as the European Commission

Emmanuel Macron added that Europe’s resources are limited, and the European Union will continue helping Kiev keeping in mind its own reserves

The first negotiations between Russia and Ukraine after the start of the special military operation took place in early March 2022 in Belarus, but they did not bring tangible results

In monetary terms, Russian oil exports to China increased by 17.9% to $13.858 bln in the first quarter of the year

Sergey Shoigu handed down an instruction for the defense enterprise to ramp up the production of T-80BVM tanks, the Defense Ministry said

He also revealed that some weapon batches contained anti-armor systems whose service life had expired

"The effect of the customs duty totaling 35%, renewed in December 203 in respected of imported perfumery, cosmetics and home care products will cover certain new positions of these products from unfriendly countries," the ministry said

"We have not received any external attack, and the discussion leans more towards infiltration than attack," a senior Iranian official reported

Earlier, the "Columbine" movement was recognized a terror group

According to the president, this step will help strengthen his country’s defense potential and contribute to bolstering the national armed forces’ capabilities

The IMF states that the restrictions led to the need to rebuild the economy

Evacuation campaigns are regularly organized by the Kiev government, under the pretext of security issues

Ivan Paskar is charged with illegally transporting explosive substances, but he does not recognize his guilt

Igor Kimakovsky said that Ukrainian forces suffered heavy casualties among personnel and military hardware, including Western equipment

On Tuesday, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky signed the mobilization law passed by the Verkhovna Rada (parliament) in the second and final reading on April 11

The Russian foreign minister also described Armenia and Russia as more than formal allies

Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu has visited a testing ground in the Moscow Military District where new models of small arms developed with the participation of snipers who carried out missions in the special military operation zone were presented

It is reported that several drones had been intercepted by the national air defense forces over Isfahan

Donald Tusk said that German Chancellor’s call to send more air defense systems to Kiev had no relation to Poland, provided the country's geographical position near the frontline

The Russian foreign minister emphasized that the situation on the ground had changed significantly

According to the top Russian diplomat, the leaders who rule countries where they claim to be from while holding foreign passports "will not enjoy support and authority for long"

According to Al Jazeera, air strikes hit the towns of Deir al Balah and Rafah

Dmitry Polyansky noted that the IAEA chief is being very cautious about the issue of attacks on the nuclear facility

According to the official, flood waters receded from 1,117 homes and households in the Urals region of Orenburg in the past day, which is the highest number recorded in the flooded regions

Military commanders of Ukrainian army brigades "lack both personnel and the required amount of equipment" while Russian troops enjoy a considerable superiority, especially in artillery, Sergey Krivonos noted

On April 19, the Ukrainian military attacked the training center of Zaporozhye NPP again, but the drone was neutralized over the roof of the building

At the same time, the top Russian diplomat pointed out that "there is information that not only French mercenaries, but also instructors, maybe even together, but along with some other representatives of military and special services of European countries are working there [in Ukraine]"