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New coronavirus variants possible, but its pandemic potential already exhausted — expert

"New strains may emerge. It is constantly mutating, but, based on all indications, the coronavirus has already exhausted its pandemic potential," Dr. Gennady Onishchenko said

MOSCOW, January 25. /TASS/. The novel coronavirus pathogen has exhausted its pandemic potential, although new variants of the virus may still emerge, a prominent Russian epidemiologist has told TASS.

Dr. Gennady Onishchenko, member of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Vice President of the Russian Academy of Education, said the virus’ ability to mutate has caused several serious waves of the infection globally in the past.

"New strains may emerge. It [the virus] is constantly mutating, but, based on all indications, the coronavirus has already exhausted its pandemic potential," Onishchenko said.

One of the sessions of the World Economic Forum, held in Davos between January 15 and 19, was headlined ‘Preparing for Disease X.’ It focused on preparations for a pandemic and caused a serious debate in the media and on social networks. WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the notion of ‘disease X’ has been used since 2018 to denote a hypothetical unknown disease, not a concrete infection.

Head of Russia’s Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing Anna Popova said discussion on the so-called ‘disease X’ was a part of routine work of healthcare experts, whose task is to examine and study all possible variants of a hypothetical pandemic.

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

Putin concludes state visit to Kazakhstan

Before leaving, the Russian president was answering journalists’ questions on various subjects for almost an hour

Peacekeepers deployment in Ukraine possible only with consent of all conflict parties

The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service said in a statement earlier in the day that the West may seek to achieve its objectives in Ukraine by implementing an actual occupation, deploying a so-called peacekeeping contingent of 100,000 personnel, with plans to divide the country among Romania, Poland, Germany, and the UK

Ukraine not South Korea's ally to demand weapons — newspaper

The author of the article recalled that in September the Ukrainian ambassador to Tokyo visited the Yasukuni Shrine, considered in East Asia as a symbol of Japanese militarism, of which the Korean Peninsula was a victim

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"

Israel ready for all-out war should Lebanon ceasefire be disrupted, PM says

"If the agreement is violated, we will proceed to an all-out war," Benjamin Netanyahu told

FACTBOX: What to know about attacks of militants on Syria’s government forces

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

Russia’s SVR chief questions role of NATO membership for Finnish people

"History shows that cooperation with Russia benefited Finland more than its previous attempts to follow the lead of aggressive Russophobic and even neo-Nazi policies," Sergey Naryshkin noted

Protests break out in Georgia after ruling party moves to suspend talks with EU

Demonstrators have gathered in front of the ruling Georgian Dream - Democratic Georgia party’s central office where officials remain after a meeting that decided to suspend the process of the country’s integration into the EU

Chad severs defense cooperation agreement with France — AFP

On April 18, the Chadian authorities sent a letter to the United States, in which they notified Washington about their intent to sever the military agreement

Russian forces wipe out five ATACMS launchers using Iskander missiles

In particular, two MLRS launchers and a transporter-loader vehicle were destroyed near the settlement of Tokari, and three HIMARS launchers were taken out near the settlement of Maly Bobrik, the statement reads

Press review: CSTO discusses Russian weapons as US and Russia continue prisoner talks

Top stories from the Russian press on Friday, November 29th

North Korean defense minister notes extensive exchanges with Russia

No Kwang Chol expressed confidence that the official visit of the Russian Defense Minister to North Korea "marks a key moment in the exchange of valuable and constructive proposals, contributing to strengthening the defense and security capabilities of both countries and fostering friendship, cooperation, and development between their armies"

Iran challenges US, UK, France military capabilities, IRGC general says

"The entire military potential of the US, UK, and France was mobilized to prevent Iran's operation, but the IRGC completed its mission," Ali Fadavi said

Russian scientists to develop computer working at ‘speed of light’ by 2027 — researcher

"In the next two years, we plan to create a working prototype with processing speed of over 10 to the power of 19 operations per second, which significantly exceeds the current global level," Alexander Sergeyev said

Russia winning in Ukrainian conflict, Polish national security chief says

"The Russian side unquestionably holds both the initiative and the advantage on the battlefield," Head of the Polish National Security Bureau Jacek Siewiera said

Hungarian PM sounds alarm over presence of US, French troops in Ukraine

Additionally, the news that Russia used its latest Oreshnik high-precision ballistic missile, which has significant destructive power, to destroy Yuzhmash, a Ukrainian defense plant in Dnipro (previously known as Dnepropetrovsk), is alarming, Viktor Orban stressed

FACTBOX: Ukraine faces explosions, blackouts

Explosions occurred in Kiev, Nikolayev, Vinnitsa, Kropivnitskoye, Odessa, Kharkov, Lutsk, Ivanovo-Frankovsk, and Rovno

Up to 200,000 deserters in Ukrainian army, Verkhovna Rada MP says

Ukrainian troops are leaving their duties, as "bone-tired by the constancy of war, they are psychologically and emotionally scarred," the article reads

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

"The development of a super-heavy class rocket exposed a need for introducing innovative solutions, including new materials and engines," the press service said

No turning back on BRICS independent payment system

According to Sergey Ryabkov, BRICS is creating a payment structure that countries of the global majority can use to protect themselves from "hostile states" who want to do them harm

Kiev can only produce 'dirty bomb,' Russia to give appropriate response — Putin

"Of course, it’s possible to produce something dirty - the so-called 'dirty bomb' - using waste from nuclear power plants," the Russian leader emphasized

Putin apologizes to Merkel over labrador incident

The president said that he "wanted to create a casual, friendly atmosphere" and did not know that the former German chancellor was afraid of dogs

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

Russia, North Korea remain good neighbors, longtime friends — Russian defense minister

"The most important outcome of the summit was the signing of a new fundamental interstate document - the Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between Russia and North Korea," Andrey Belousov stressed

Ukrainian forces follow Russian troops’ example to use fiber optics drones, Putin says

The head of state is confident that there will be a quick response from the Russian side

Georgian Police pushes protesters from entire Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi

Several people were apprehended

Kiev has ‘no chance’ of retaking lost territories — Blackwater founder

Erik Prince noted that it was necessary to end the Ukrainian conflict as soon as possible

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

"A total of 100,000 so-called peacekeepers are planned to be sent to Ukraine," the SVR noted

Ukrainian media reports plant in Lvov Region destroyed

The plant specializes in manufacturing bits for drilling artesian, oil, and gas boreholes

Ukrainian army says desertion main reason for loss of Ugledar

The Ukrainian officer said that each company in his battalion was supposed to have 120 men, but "due to deaths, injuries and desertions," some companies had as few as 10 soldiers

Nuclear arms unable to protect Ukraine, likely to aggravate conflict — Chinese expert

"If Ukraine were to acquire nuclear weapons again, they would not only fail to enhance its security, but would escalate the Russia-Ukraine conflict into a potential nuclear war," Sun Qi said

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

Mikhail Galuzin described such plans as provocative and noted that they "confirm the West’s intention to continue its profound engagement in a direct standoff with Russia"

Qatar holds negotiations to expand areas of mediation between Russia, Ukraine

"We hold negotiations on other kinds of mediation. Recently, we have started working on the issue of the POWs," Qatari Foreign Ministry Spokesman Majed bin Mohammed al-Ansari added

Oreshnik becomes serious problem for Ukraine — Polish general

According to Waldemar Skrzypczak, satellite reconnaissance failed to detect the launch and flight of this missile

Several Oreshnik missiles equivalent to nuclear strike, do not harm environment — Putin

The Russian president still reiterated that such a strike is not nuclear, because it is highly accurate and not equipped with a nuclear explosive device

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards eyes big response to Israel's latest attack

Iran’s Operation True Promise was carried out in April in response to the Israeli bombing of the Islamic republic’s embassy in Damascus

Export duty on coking coal to be canceled from December 1 — Russian Energy Minister

Russia currently has the moratorium in effect on the steam coal export duty

Stabilization in Afghanistan opens door for deeper relations — Putin

The Russian president pointed to a tense global situation

Groundless attacks on Russian journalists become trend in West — TASS

"When you want to find a black cat in a dark room, but the cat is a myth, you can find fault with anything," First Deputy Director General Mikhail Gusman noted

Decision-making centers in Kiev could be targeted in Oreshnik strikes — Putin

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

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

"NATO has been unfolding training centers in Ukraine in an effort to train at least 1 million mobilized Ukrainians," the SVR highlighted

Situation with ruble rate under control — Putin

The Russian leader stressed that "there are definitely no grounds for panic"

Zelensky shook up by Russia’s response to permission to attack it — Lavrov

According to the Russian foreign minister, the West is directly involved in the use of long-range weapons against Russia, as not a single missile could be launched without its involvement

Press review: Russia to avenge Kiev's new strike as experts analyze US-EU trade risks

Top stories from the Russian press on Wednesday, November 27th

Ukrainian group of 22 servicemen surrenders in Kursk Region — law enforcement officials

Photos and videos of the surrender were also posted by military reporter and expert Boris Rozhin on his Telegram channel

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

"We urge Syria’s authorities to reassert control and restore constitutional order as soon as possible," Dmitry Peskov stressed

Oreshnik’s massive strike comparable to nuclear weapons — Putin

The Russian leader additionally stressed that "certainly, Oreshnik is not a weapon of mass destruction"

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

Biden’s initiative on Middle Eastern ceasefire overdue yet important — Erdogan

"Regional and global peace cannot be achieved unless an urgent, just, lasting ceasefire is established in Gaza," the Turkish leader stressed

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

Kiev regime’s ringleaders completely illegitimate, says Putin

"From the legal point of view, they do not even have the right to give orders to the armed forces, because they are usurpers of power," the president said

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

Mikhail Galuzin stressed that the '3+3' regional cooperation platform is important for harmonizing the interests of all countries of the region

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

Georgia suspends consultations on launch of EU accession talks until 2028

According to Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, Georgia needs to make European bureaucrats understand that they should use decent language with the country rather than employ blackmail and insults

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

Clashes between protesters, police break out in Georgian capital

Police officers are using tear gas, trying to push protesters back

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

Sergey Andreyev explained that relations will eventually need to be restored, so Russia does not want to initiate an escalation

Root causes need to be addressed to settle Ukrainian conflict — Kremlin spokesman

"Everything here is much deeper than a decision to send a peacekeeper mission," Dmitry Peskov said

Israel violates ceasefire agreement multiple times — Lebanese army

According to the statement, the Lebanese military command "is keeping an eye on [Israel’s] violations in coordination with the relevant agencies"

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

Ukraine demolishes buildings with soldiers inside as Russian forces advance — DPR leader

Amid the successful advance of Russian forces, Ukrainian troops have been indiscriminately attacking civilian neighborhoods in Gorlovka, which is adjacent to Dzerzhinsk, Denis Pushilin said

Putin signs law on taxation of digital currencies

According to the law, digital currency is recognized as property

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

Over the past day, the enemy lost more than 250 men, an infantry fighting vehicle, an armored fighting vehicle, six cars and five mortars

Russia launches 100 missiles at Ukraine in past two days — Putin

According to the president, overnight, the Russian Armed Forces launched a comprehensive strike with 90 missiles and 100 drones, hitting 17 Ukrainian military targets

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

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

On Tuesday, about 60 British military experts were stationed at US airbases across the UK to operate a counter-UAV system to operate a counter-UAV system designed to detect, track and destroy them

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"

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

"The arms race is rapidly gaining momentum," Alexander Lukashenko underlined

Defense Minister notes active expansion of Russia-North Korea military cooperation

"We look forward to close and fruitful cooperation with our Korean comrades," Andrey Belousov said

Three dead, 21 poisoned in social center in Russia’s Altay Region

It is reported that the organization’s premises were decontaminated and sanitized

Putin believes that US President-elect Trump’s life may be in danger

Donald Trump survived two assassination attempts this year: one during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania in July, and the second one in September, when a radical supporter of aid to Ukraine opened fire near Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida

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

He made this comment answering a question if Russia can strike military hubs in Romania and Poland

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

The head of state held a meeting with the leadership of the Russian Foreign Ministry in June, where he listed the conditions for talks with Ukraine

Putin declares Kazakhstan visit a success

The Russian leader pointed out that Kazakhstan is more than just a trusted ally of Russia

One in three relocated individuals return to Russia from Ukraine — diplomat

Maria Zakharova pointed out that the Kiev regime itself brands these figures as "terrible"

Over 400 terrorists from Jabhat al-Nusra group wiped out in Aleppo, Idlib in past day

According to the Russian military, Jabhat al-Nusra’s units carried out 13 shelling attacks on the Syrian army’s positions in the Idlib de-escalation zone in the past day, with 12 attacks reported in the Idlib province and another one in the Aleppo Province

Biden's decision on ATACMS 'not panacea', it will harm Kiev — Defense News columnists

The article reads that the US intelligence community warned of the risks associated with US missile strikes on Russian territory and suggested abandoning the decision

Putin slams election mudslinging against Trump’s family as 'vile'

According to the Russian president, when gangs fight with each other, they "don’t target women and children but leave them alone"

No existing missile defense system can counter Oreshnik — US expert

Theodore Postol also vehemently rejected suggestions that the Oreshnik system represents previous outdated developments of Moscow

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

Ukraine’s military fires 65 munitions at Russia’s borderline Belgorod Region over day

Over the past 24 hours, the Ukrainian army fired 44 munitions and launched four drones on the Graivoronsky district and attacked the Krasnoyaruzhsky district with 14 munitions and 10 drones, damaging two private homes, two cars, an infrastructure site and a social facility, Vyacheslav Gladkov specified

Kiev 'experimented' with using NATO troops in Kursk hostilities — official

Igor Kimakovsky added that the addition of foreign troops didn't help the armed forces of Ukraine because of effective measures taken by Russian intelligence and Aerospace Defense Forces

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

Russian passengers on Antarctica cruise liner with engine failure go on hunger strike

The liner left Cape Town on November 13 for a 20-day cruise, and passengers say they paid between $9,000 and $12,000 for the trip

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

Mao Ning also stated that she was not aware of the details of Belousov's visit and reiterated that China's position on the Ukrainian crisis remains consistent

Iran informs IAEA of plans to install more uranium enrichment units — report

Tehran informed the IAEA that eight recently added cascades of IR-6 machines would enrich uranium to up to 5% purity

Western analysts describe Russia's Oreshnik as longest-range weapon ever used in Europe

The recent strike on the Yuzhmash missile-producing plant in Ukraine demonstrated Russia’s "real military capability", a nuclear nonproliferation expert at the Middlebury Institute for International Studies said

Russia may block agenda of US Security Council presidency next month — mission to UN

First Deputy Permanent Representative of Russia to the UN Dmitry Polyansky said that the US may try to complicate life for the successors to the presidency

Syrian forces begin counteroffensive near Aleppo — TV

According to the report, the government forces have already liberated the town of El Bakoum

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 not going to leave strikes deep inside country unanswered — Putin

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

Israel reports some violations of Lebanon ceasefire by Hezbollah

"The Israeli Air Force attacked the terrorists," IDF said

Russia strikes Ukrainian military airfields, manpower in 146 areas over past day

Russia’s Battlegroup South inflicted roughly 330 casualties on Ukrainian troops and destroyed two enemy ammunition depots in its area of responsibility over the past day, the Defense Ministry reported

Japan's PM reiterates desire to sign peace treaty with Russia

Moscow and Tokyo have been negotiating a peace treaty to mark the end of World War II since the mid-20th century

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

Paris grants Netanyahu immunity for Lebanon ceasefire role, French magazine says

The report indicates that shortly after the ICC issued its warrant, Macron had a phone conversation with Netanyahu, in which he acknowledged that Paris was obliged to respect the ICC and cooperate fully

Russia designs Titan rifle for commandos

The rifle is reliable with precise and dense fire

Russians wipe out three Ukrainian strongholds, over 20 Azov fighters in advance on Kharkov

According to Andrey Marochko, during their advance near Kopanki, which was liberated earlier this week, the Russian forces improved their tactical positions southwest of the locality as they also expanded their control zone at this sector of the line of engagement

Ukrainians facing critical battlefield situation amid manpower shortages — CNN

Earlier reports indicated that an official in the Biden administration had surmised that Ukrainian forces need more manpower