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China earthquake death toll rises to 144

A magnitude-6.2 earthquake struck in the small hours on Monday, December 18, with the epicenter of the seismic event being located at a depth of 10 kilometers

BEIJING, December 22. /TASS/. The death toll from a recent earthquake that rocked northwestern China has risen to 144, according to China Central Television.

Of that number, 113 people were killed in the Gansu province and the 31 others fell victim in the province of Qinghai, the updated figure shows. Three more people are still missing in the latter province.

A magnitude-6.2 earthquake struck in the small hours on Monday, December 18. The epicenter of the seismic event was located at a depth of 10 kilometers. Weathermen say night temperatures may drop to as low as -14 Centigrade in that region in the next few days.

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The Russian Union of Journalists urged Russian media to support appeal to UNESCO

"Let's all together fight for truth and justice in the name of the memory of our fallen colleagues!" the union said

Sending EU troops to Ukraine to make peace settlement impossible — Austrian lawmaker

Harald Vilimsky noted that the joint deployment of European troops will further escalate the security situation in Europe

Case against Ukrainian militants, Ukrainian losses: situation in Kursk Region

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Britain’s MI6 chief admits London's involvement in covert operations in Ukraine

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Kremlin considers militants' attack on Aleppo encroachment on Syria's sovereignty

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North Korean leader sees missile strikes inside Russia as Western involvement in conflict

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West beginning to realize only part of Ukraine will remain — Lavrov

According to the Russian foreign minister, this represents the "confrontational logic" of the West

Russia winning in Ukrainian conflict, Polish national security chief says

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Kiev opposes Washington's demand for lowering draft age — media

A representative of US President Joe Biden's administration had earlier stated that the Ukrainian military is facing a critical manpower shortage

Russia sees no need to downgrade relations with Poland, ambassador says

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Russia's opponents see Finland as springboard in case of open conflict — politician

Leonid Slutsky noted that the current and previous leadership of Finland has been and remains engaged "on the lower turn of the sine wave, which is now marked by a sharp cooling of bilateral relations"

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The Russian leader also mentioned military facilities and defense industry enterprises as possible targets

West deploying troops to Ukraine to up ante in fight with Russia — senior diplomat

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Syrian government forces attacking terrorist headquarters in Idlib, Al-Dana — media

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Kiev troops attempted to kill British mercenary who surrendered to Russians — officer

In his words, they fired conventional 120mm mortar rounds, silent munitions and at least one FPV drone with a fragmentation charge

NATO spies study damage from Oreshnik at Yuzhmash — expert

Alexander Stepanov emphasized that both Kiev and its Western allies are closely scrutinizing the consequences of the strike on the plant

US funds 'Nazis, maniacs' in Ukraine, Israel — American journalist

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Russia against sending OPCW reps to probe into chemical incidents in Ukraine — diplomat

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Belarusian President Lukashenko points to 'NATOfication' of Europe, entire world

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Bilateral exchanges between Russia, North Korea their own business — Chinese MFA

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Serbia lauds development of bilateral ties with Russia — Serbian parliament

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IN BRIEF: How Russia responded to Kiev’s strikes deep into its territory

Here are the key points about the strikes on Ukrainian military-industrial facilities

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NATO growing more inclined to freeze Ukraine conflict — Russia’s SVR

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Leonardo booking system’s functionality restored — Rostec

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Romania, Poland, Germany, UK plan to divide Ukraine — Russia's foreign intel

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Kiev's defeatist rhetoric may be masking planned attacks on Russia — expert

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Russia works on transforming '3+3' platform into organization — senior diplomat

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Putin approves purchase of Russian Elevator Company from French grain trader Louis Dreyfus

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Medvedev says Zelensky's fate won't be pretty if Ukraine faces second Maidan

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Syrian army eliminates hundreds of terrorists, repelling their attack on Aleppo, Idlib

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Russia ready for talks with Ukraine on conditions proposed in June — Putin

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Foreign fighters involved in terrorist attacks in Aleppo, Idlib provinces — Syrian army

The Syrian Armed Forces’ General Command warned that "terrorist organizations are spreading misleading information, news and videos on their platforms aimed at intimidating citizens"

Strike on NATO bases possible in case of escalation, Medvedev says

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Russia not going to leave strikes deep inside country unanswered — Putin

"As I have repeatedly said, we will always respond," the president emphasized

Design of super-heavy rocket to be finalized based on new technologies — Roscosmos

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US mercenary in-absentia arrest, Ukrainian losses: situation in Kursk Region

Over the day, Ukraine lost more than 340 troops, an armored personnel carrier, an armored combat vehicle, 12 motor vehicles, an artillery piece and six mortars

Aeroflot reports difficulties with purchases, returns of tickets

The service provider takes measures to restore normal operation of the system as soon as possible, Aeroflot said

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meets with Russian defense minister — KCNA

"Kim Jong Un said that Korea-Russia relations are a strong security mechanism that facilitates the prosperity of the peoples in the two countries, alleviates the situation in the region and guarantees international strategic stability," the news agency said

Russia’s top diplomat slams NATO for discussions of preemptive strikes on Russia

"These claims were made by some admiral. Absolutely reckless. They have a lot of high-ranking military officials who have never even seen real battle," Sergey Lavrov stated

Russia weighs resumption of nuclear tests — senior diplomat

"The situation is quite complicated," Sergey Ryabkov said

Unidentified UAVs continue to appear over US Air Force bases in UK — newspaper

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Ukrainian servicemen abandon military units due to fear of Russian army — official

Kiev is constantly losing control over populated areas because "tens of thousands of tired and desperate Ukrainian servicemen are leaving their positions to flee in an unknown direction," the agency reported

UK continuing arms supplies to Kiev fraught with conflict of nuclear powers — diplomat

Andrey Kelin noted that "the British have utterly ignored all our warnings and opted for escalatory actions to further worsen the Ukrainian crisis"

Elite units of Syrian troops deployed to Aleppo to defeat gangs — newspaper

Earlier, Syrian servicemen eliminated dozens of Jabhat al-Nusra militants during clashes in northern Aleppo

Russian troops liberate four communities in Donetsk area, Kharkov Region over week

Russian forces delivered one massive and 32 combined strikes by air-launched, seaborne and ground-based precision weapons, hitting Ukrainian military airfields and power facilities of defense enterprises over the past week, the ministry reported

Russia to continue gathering evidence about Kiev’s chemical crimes — diplomat

According to Vladimir Tarabrin, Russia’s mission to the OPCW has submitted more than 30 notes to the organization, and they are available to the general public

Police use water cannons against protesters at Tbilisi rally

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Welcome to Russia project helps to find spiritual, moral refuge — State Duma deputy

People want to move to Russia to preserve traditional values and maintain their own history, Maria Butina noted

Hungarian PM’s office rules out his trip to Moscow for 80th anniversary of Victory

Gergely Gulyas was commenting on the decision of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico to go to the Russian capital to celebrate the anniversary of Victory at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin

Biden unlikely to dare to seriously increase military aid to Kiev — expert

"The potential future use of Oreshnik will render ATACMS and Storm Shadow as battle-losing capabilities," a retired British diplomat and former economic counsellor at the British Embassy in Moscow Ian Proud said

Riot police fully clears square in front of Georgian parliament from protesters

The protesters moved up Rustaveli Avenue

Takeaways from Putin’s Q&A session in Kazakhstan: Oreshnik missile, inflation, ruble

The Russian president also spoke about inflation and the ruble exchange rate, noting that the situation is under control

Russia designs Titan rifle for commandos

The rifle is reliable with precise and dense fire

Presidential aide blames West for attempts to harm Russia at sea

Nikolay Patrushev said that in a situation like this Russia should firmly defend its position and prepare tools for the "comprehensive management of maritime activities aimed at ensuring national interests"

Hungary greenlights pouring of first concrete in Paks-2 NPP foundation — MFA

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto noted that in order to approve the construction of Paks-2, some not-so-simple safety measures had to be taken

Lavrov clarifies Russia's position on Ukraine crisis to foreign diplomats — MFA

"Participants in the roundtable exchanged views on the conflict and other pressing international topics," the ministry stated

Debt burden of Russian stands at 11% of total households income — Central Bank

"This is a comfortable level, so we do not see any risks at large," Deputy Governor of the Bank of Russia Philipp Gabuniya said