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Coronavirus pandemic

Russia buys back unused Sputnik V vaccines from Slovakia — health ministry

PRAGUE, July 3. /TASS/. Russia has bought back Hungary’s unused Sputnik V anti-coronavirus vaccine, Slovakian Health Ministry’s spokesperson, Zuzana Eliasova, was quoted as saying by the country’s RTVS radio on Friday.

"Russia bought back 160,000 out of the 200,000 doses delivered to the republic," she said. "Those vaccines were unused. Their expiry date is nearing."

In her words, Russia bought the vaccine at the same price that Slovakia paid for it earlier this year.

According to Eliasova, Slovakia has already sent the vaccines back to Russia and expects to receive the money within 20 days after signing an agreement.

The vaccine arrived in Slovakia on March 1. The purchase of Sputnik V, which has not yet been approved for use in the European Union, has triggered a government crisis and led to the resignation of Prime Minister Igor Matovic, who has become deputy prime minister and finance minister.

The use of Sputnik V in Slovakia began on June 7. The registration of those willing to vaccinate with it ended on June 30. More than 15,000 people were inoculated with Sputnik V in the country, including Matovic.

Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Houthis, Islamic Resistance in Iraq deliver missile strikes on Haifa

They used cruise missiles, the movement’s military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said

Aide to Iranian leader stressed possibility of changing Tehran’s nuclear doctrine

Kamal Kharrazi noted that "up to now, we have not decided to go further than 60% enrichment"

Senior Russian diplomat discusses escalation in Red Sea with Houthi delegation

The sides exchanged views on the problems of comprehensive settlement of the nine-year-long military-political crisis in Yemen, the Russian Foreign Ministry added

Russian President Putin arrives in Astana for SCO Summit

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the leaders of several international organizations were also invited

Russia’s import of medical products down 4.5 pp in 2023 — deputy PM Golikova

Tatyana Golikova added that the average annual growth of the volume of industrial production of pharmaceuticals and medical products is higher than in other sectors of the economy

Russia 'will never forget' Odessa events of 9 years ago, will punish those responsible

The ministry expressed its indignation at the lack of any probe into the incident

Russian envoy calls for re-establishing Euro-Atlantic security

According to Konstantin Gavrilov, Russia will have to develop its own ways of ensuring global and regional security jointly with its partners and all interested players

Press review: Dems scramble to replace Biden and Russia continues to feed the world

Top stories from the Russian press on Monday, July 1st

Russian troops liberate two communities in Kharkov Region, DPR over past day — top brass

Russian troops destroyed Ukrainian Air Force aircraft at a military airfield and an armament repair center over the past day, the ministry reported

US intends to ship air defense missiles to Ukraine via accelerated procedure — Pentagon

The United States will soon announced a new military aid package for Ukraine worth $2.3 billion, which will include anti-tank weapons, air defense interceptor missiles and other weapons

Ukraine fears harsh debt restructuring terms from West

Alexey Kushch noted that back in 2022 he cautioned that Kiev was losing a "historic window of opportunity" in order to cast off the "debt noose"

Press review: Kiev puts out negotiation feelers and Moscow to put OSCE membership on ice

Top stories from the Russian press on Tuesday, July 2nd

Several Ukrainian pilots finish training on F-16 fighter jets in US — Pentagon

Pentagon Spokesman refused from specifying how many pilots are undergoing training and its timelines

Ukrainian commander-in-chief describes situation in Pokrovsk area as difficult

According to Alexander Syrsky, troops in this area need more munitions and weapons

First manned launch to Russian Orbital Station scheduled to late 2028

The universal node module and the docking module are expected to be sent in 2028, while the base module is expected to be sent at the end of 2029 or in early 2030

Over 800 kg of drugs seized in CSTO countries during anti-drug operation

According to the report, a total of 536 websites that disseminated prohibited information on drugs were identified

Share of domestic production of vital medicines in Russia to rise to 90% — PM

The move "will facilitate the formation of technological sovereignty in the area of pharma and medical industry," Mikhail Mishustin stressed

US-led coalition aircraft violate Syrian airspace over 320 times in June

Syria’s authorities and the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the Opposing Parties in Syria have helped 29 refugees leave the Rukban camp in the al-Tanf area, where the humanitarian situation is on the edge of catastrophe

Ukraine losing whole battalions every day in special-op zone — DPR adviser

Igor Kimakovsky noted that currently Russian forces are registering tactical success practically everywhere in the DPR

Sales of new cars in Russia up 63% in 1H 2024 to over 844,000 units — ministry

Sales of new electric vehicles amounted to 11,200 units in the period (+137%)

Russia, China, Kazakhstan have reached agreement on creation of single digital corridor

The document was signed by Slavtrans-Service JSC, Xi'an Free Trade Port Construction and Operation Co., Ltd. and КTZ Express JSC

Former US President Trump can ‘hardly’ resolve Ukrainian conflict within 24 hours

Russian Ambassador to London Andrey Kelin noted that Russia was "not going to stop with its offensive actions" even if negotiations on the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine were launched

Russian forces destroy another US-made Abrams tank in Ukraine

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, it was destroyed in the Avdeyevka area with the use of a Msta-S self-propelled gun

Pentagon considers use of US weapons against Crimea admissible

Don't have any specifics to provide on that front, other than to say you know our policy as it relates to the use of long-range weapons into Russia has not changed, said Pentagon Spokesman

Beijing opposes hegemony, ready to promote multipolar world — Chinese leader

Xi Jinping said that Beijing is ready to promote equal multipolarity of the world

At least 12 die in Israeli strike on residential house in central Gaza — TV

According to the report, several more people were wounded

Russia develops single-use combat drone to intercept enemy UAVs

It is noted that before destroying an enemy UAV, the Vogan must get a corresponding command from an operator who makes a decision based on the image from the drone’s video camera

New security architecture in Eurasia to exclude external military presence — Russia’s MFA

Maria Zakharova recalled that the initiative to create a new continent-wide security architecture in the Eurasian space had been put forward by Russian President Vladimir Putin

Cyprus negotiations stalled, no compromise in sight — Russian envoy

Vasily Nebenzya added that the UN Security Council is now seeing that the sides to the conflict are becoming more entrenched in their positions

Xi arrives in Astana to attend SCO summit

Xi Jinping is making state visits to Kazakhstan and Tajikistan during this international trip, which will last until July 6

Chisinau turns down Tiraspol’s terms for peaceful settlement — Transnistrian leader

Considering that talks in the 5+2 format (Moldova, Transnistria, the OSCE, Russia, Ukraine and observers from the United States and the European Union) are frozen, "one cannot use this as an excuse not to come to terms," Vadim Krasnoselsky said

EU needs change, because instead of peace and order there is war and migration — Orban

Hungarian Prime Minister expressed the hope that right-wing conservative forces will be able to bring about changes in the EU

Naval aircraft hammer enemy targets during drills in Russia’s westernmost region

The naval aviation pilots are accomplishing combat training objectives both in the daytime and at night and about 50 sorties have been planned, the Baltic Fleet’s press office specified

Russian official highlights growing threat coming from Ukraine's jet-powered drones

According to Andrey Tabekin, experts are currently working on ways to jam such drones

Lithuania protests to Russia over airspace violation

The Lithuanian Foreign Ministry said that "the incident took place on June 30, when an airplane owned by the Russian airline Pobeda, as it was heading from Moscow to Kaliningrad illegally entered Lithuanian airspace over the Baltic Sea"

Roscosmos chief approves schedule of creating Russian orbital station through 2033

Russia is set to launch the future orbital outpost’s first research and energy module in 2027, the space corporation said

Over 90% of Donbass, Zaporozhye and Kherson voters favor joining Russia — first results

Counting has already begun at a number of polling stations in the territory, and the final results may be known by Wednesday morning

US set to announce $2.3 bln arms package for Ukraine — media

The new arms package will reportedly include anti-tank weapons, as well as interceptor missiles for air defense systems

SCO summit in Astana to approve initiative on world unity for just peace

According to the Kazakh Foreign Ministry, in general, the heads of state will review a wide range of issues facilitating the further bolstering of multifaceted cooperation within the SCO

Twenty-four documents will be signed at SCO summit in Astana — Russian presidential aide

"Quite serious preparatory work was carried out before the summit," Yury Ushakov stressed

Lithuanian fertilizer producer plans to triple income in 2024

Lifosa expects to produce 606,000 metric tons of granulate nitrogen and phosphate fertilizers, 19,000 metric tons of urea phosphates, and 63,000 metric tons of feed phosphates

Trump’s sentencing under paper falsifying case postponed to September 18

Judge Juan Merchan postponed the sentencing date from July 11 for over two months and satisfied Trump’s lawyers’ request to file an application to cancel the guilty verdict

218 candidates withdraw ahead of second round of France’s snap parliamentary elections

They did this in favor of stronger candidates in a bid not to let Marine Le Pen’s right-wing National Rally Party win the elections

Russian government approves list of unfriendly countries

There are two countries on the list

Ukrainian military thrown from left bank in Kherson Region, fighting underway on islands

The fighting has moved to the islands, with the Russian army having ramped up activities

Committee recommends Federation Council suspend Russia's OSCE PA membership

According to the draft statement, Russian senators and State Duma MPs are adamant that restricting parliamentarians who represent the people from taking part in OSCE PA events is unacceptable

Russian Embassy in London attacked

A large group chanting slogans against the Syrian government threw stones at the building, breaking windows

No expectations from Hungarian PM’s visit to Kiev, says Kremlin spokesman

Dmitry Peskov stressed, however, that "Orban is well known as a politician who knows how to defend his country’s interests in quite a tough manner"

Putin to hold series of bilateral meetings on SCO summit margins — Kremlin aide

According to Yury Ushakov, Moscow considers the summit in Astana as an "opportunity to organize bilateral contacts with the country leaders who will attend it"

Belarus’ southern, western borders safely protected — Lukashenko

"I guarantee that there will be no clashes on the border with Ukraine," the Belarusian leader underlined

Russian stocks close in the green on Tuesday

The yuan exchange rate fell by 0.06% to 11.81 rubles

Lavrov, Szijjarto say Kiev must ensure rights of all ethnic minorities — Foreign Ministry

The ministry noted that the sides praised the achieved level of the Russian-Hungarian political dialogue

Belarus to respond to Ukraine if it ventures provocations on border — Lukashenko

"We will spare no effort to prevent the slightest escalation," the Belarusian leader stressed

Russian military vows to prevent recurrence of Transnistrian conflict

"The operation group is cooperating with all law enforcement structures of Transnistria," Colonel Dmitry Zelenkov reported

Upgraded frigate enters service with Russian Pacific Fleet’s constant alert forces

It has completed the program of shipbuilders’ trials

World Bank recognizes Russia as high income country

It follows from the document that the gross national income per capita in Russia is $14,250

Russian president submits protocol on e-commerce in EAEU for State Duma’s ratification

It stipulates registering goods acquired within foreign electronic commerce as a separate category of goods with determination of peculiarities of its regulation

West cares little about human lives, is interested in Russia’s resources — Serbian leader

Vucic stressed earlier that the Ukrainian conflict cannot be ended right now

Belarusian volunteer corps was involved in recent attack on Belgorod Region — Lukashenko

There are fewer than one hundred people, true, but a corps nonetheless, said Belarusian President

Ukraine turns down Hungarian PM’s ceasefire proposal

According to the statement, Ukraine’s position is that the crisis settlement could be reached through the Kiev-initiated peace summits

Biden’s team thwarts calls for his replacement after debate failure — Washington Post

According to the report, Biden’s campaign made private calls to campaign donors and Democratic lawmakers

New Pantsir-S1M upgraded after Syria to be able to hit any drones — designer

The new missile’s range has been increased to 30 kilometers

Iran sees no obstacles to military-technical cooperation with Russia

Kamal Kharrazi also refuted repeated accusations of Iran selling drones to Russia, stressing that they were false

BRICS goals in line with Thailand’s foreign political line — ex-ambassador to Russia

"Thailand has always supported the interests of developing countries at multisided forums," Thanatip Upatising pointed out

Israeli minister’s suggestion of nuclear strike on Gaza raises questions — Russian MFA

Maria Zakharova stressed that such statements by Israeli officials shed light on the true reasons why Tel Aviv was opposing the establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East

Kremlin spokesman unaware of satellite tampering allegations

"We need to find out whether this is the competence of any UN structures," Dmitry Peskov said

Orban arrives in Kiev to discuss ways toward resolving Ukraine conflict

It is Viktor Orban’s first visit to Kiev since hostilities broke out in Ukraine

Two Russian Northern Fleet warships call at Venezuelan port

During the port call, the crews of the Russian ships will be given an opportunity to rest after the long-distance voyage and see local sights

Russian oil industry will be independent of foreign equipment by 2027 — Gazprom Neft CEO

According to Alexander Dyukov, digital technologies are also important for the industry, which can significantly increase the efficiency of working with both hard-to-recover reserves and traditional reserves

Russia bans entry to 99 Canadian citizens — Foreign Ministry

According to the statement, the list includes the individuals "who are involved in the elaboration and implementation of Ottawa’s Russophobic course"

Ukraine’s irretrievable losses five-times higher than Russia’s, Putin says

According to him, this is the reason behind attempts to carry out an all-out mobilization campaign in Ukraine

Russia’s battlegroup West thwarts Ukraine’s attempts to strengthen its positions

Over the past 24 hours, up to 120 enemy military personnel, two towed FH-70 howitzers, seven units of car equipment, five aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles and two ammunition supply points were destroyed

Turkey ousts Austria from 2024 UEFA Euro Cup with 2-1 win in Last 16 stage

Turkey is now set to play against the Netherlands in the quarterfinals of the 2024 UEFA Euro Cup

Over 900 radicals eliminated during Israel’s operation in Rafah — General Staff

According to Halevi, the Israeli military inRafah "is now focused on the destruction of the terrorist infrastructure and the destruction of the underground infrastructure, which takes time."

Russian senior diplomat notes West’s responsibility for escalation in Ukraine — statement

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko also discussed the settlement in Kosovo during negotiations with Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Duric

Bank of Russia raises dollar rate for July 3 to 87.992 rubles

The official euro exchange rate was lowered by 26 kopecks to 93.695 rubles

UK’s attempts to isolate Moscow failed — Russian envoy

According to Andrey Kelin, London’s efforts to isolate Russia are "very detrimental for the UK itself"

Serbian president lauds robust relations with Russia

On Monday, the Russian deputy foreign minister held talks with Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Ivica Dacic, who also serves as the country’s interior minister, and Defense Minister Aleksandar Vulin

Putin does not plan separate talks with Lukashenko in Astana — Kremlin aide

"We were in Belarus not long ago, we are engaged in a dialogue all the time," Yury Ushakov noted

Russia’s pharma production up almost 8% in 5M 2024 — PM

Mikhail Mishustin noted that five federal projects that are aimed at developing medical science, creating pharmaceutical forms and new generation platforms will be included in the national project

Press review: Putin receives Congolese president and rumors fly after failed Bolivia coup

Top stories from the Russian press on Friday, June 28th

Kanye West leaves Moscow

Designer Gosha Rubchinskiy was seeing him off

Putin to discuss his upcoming visit to Turkey with Erdogan on sidelines of SCO summit

"We maintain constant dialogue with the Turkish side, constantly in touch over the phone," Kremlin Aide Yury Ushakov underlined

Retired Ukrainian general says Zelensky could pin his failures on Syrsky, fire him

Sergey Krivonos also said the political leadership failed to pivot the economy on a war footing to provide the military with munitions, drones, fuel, and to recruit and equip brigades

Kiev shifts rhetoric on negotiations, but not its position on them — ex-Ukrainian PM

Nikolay Azarov believes that the decision on the settlement of the conflict is not up to Kiev

Russian sniper reports elimination of Ukrainian serviceman wearing helmet with SS emblem

He specified that his group took the helmet as proof of the elimination

Beijing criticizes NATO for shifting blame in Ukraine conflict, urges self-reflection

According to Mao Ning, "NATO continues to outright challenge China as it interferes in its domestic affairs, distorting and discrediting China’s domestic and foreign policy and creating a major threat to its interests"

US surveillance drones can be stopped by MiG-31 jets, air defense systems — analyst

Igor Korotchenko said the most effective way to fight such targets is to use long-range surface-to-air missile systems, such as the S-400 or S-300V, which are armed with long-range SAMs, as well as use air-to-air missiles carried by MiG-31s

Russian forces strike nine Ukrainian Su-27, MiG-29 fighter jets over past day

Russia’s Battlegroup North repelled two Ukrainian army counterattacks in the Kharkov area over the past day, the Defense Ministry reported

Belarus not going to get involved into any hostilities — Lukashenko

According to the Belarusian president, NATO doesn’t want the war in Ukraine to be ended, instead, it is seeking to drag Belarusians into it

Russian commander predicts Ukraine conflict will end this fall

According to Apty Alaudinov, officials in Kiev have figured out that the war is nearing an end

Houthis, Islamic Resistance in Iraq deliver missile strikes on Haifa

They used cruise missiles, the movement’s military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said

Iran ready to strike Israel again once 'conditions are ripe' — senior IRGC commander

According to Amir Ali Hajizadeh, Tehran "is sad to see that [Israel] has been committing crimes in Palestine for nearly nine months with the support of the US and its European allies"

Lukashenko sounds alarm on Ukrainian troop movements near Belarusian border

Earlier, Minsk reported Ukrainian troops amassing on the border with Belarus. General Chief-of-Staff Pavel Muraveiko noted the active movement of Ukrainian forces, periodic drone flights across the border and the activization of reconnaissance of Belarusian territory

Biden’s family implores him to stay in presidential race — CNN

According to the sources, the president’s close ones implore him to keep fighting and expressed their "unequivocal support" during the family get-together at Camp David

Roscosmos tasks two companies with building constellation of earth sensing satellites

According to Ilshat Gubaidullin, the system's chief designer, the first two satellites will be built on NPO Lavochkin's Karat-200 platform, which has proven its reliability

Loss of five Su-27s unaffordable for Ukrainian forces — Forbes

According to the business magazine, the attack may have inflicted one of the costliest losses on the Ukrainians since Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine

Russia considers SCO, BRICS backbones of new international order — Kremlin aide

Yury Ushakov described SCO and BRICS as "locomotives in the context of establishing genuine multilateralism in global affairs"

Russian forces overwhelming Ukrainians in northern Volchansk, military leader says

"And, certainly, we are pushing forward every day while squeezing the enemy out of all their positions," Major General Apty Alaudinov stressed

Russian troops create ZVeraBoi counter-drone buggy in Ukraine operation

The vehicle’s front part features a turret with two mounted PKT machine-guns and an improvised six-barrel muzzle-loading shotgun placed between them

Le Pen accuses Macron of preparing 'administrative coup'

The politician expressed hope that this information is nothing more but rumors, but noted that even before the first round of elections, last Wednesday, "many more appointments were made than during usual cabinet meetings"