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Chinese, Russian armies can deter other countries’ "evil intents" — Chinese expert

Song Zhongping stressed that China’s participation in joint exercises with Russia "reflects the continued deepening of China-Russia military cooperation"

BEIJING, August 26. /TASS/. China and Russia's military cooperation will contribute to peace and stability in the region, deterrence buildups against external forces with evil intents and the fight against hegemony and power politics, Chinese military expert and TV commentator Song Zhongping told the Global Times on Thursday. He was commenting on the Vostok-2022 drills involving contingents from both countries.

"China and Russia will learn from each other, as both militaries have their own advantages," Song said.

He stressed that China’s participation in joint exercises with Russia "reflects the continued deepening of China-Russia military cooperation."

Senior Colonel Tan Kefei, a spokesperson at China's Ministry of National Defense, said at a regular press conference on Thursday the People’s Liberation Army had dispatched some of its troops to Russia to take part in the Vostok-2022 exercise.

Chinese ground and air forces have arrived at designated positions and the Chinese naval forces carried out communications exercises after having rendezvoused with Russian warships at sea, Tan announced.

The strategic command and staff exercise will be held from August 30 to September 5 under the command of the Chief of the Russian Armed Forces’ General Staff Valery Gerasimov at 13 training grounds of the Eastern Military District. The other participants in the Vostok-2022 drills are Belarus, India, Mongolia and Tajikistan.

Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Israeli aviation strikes towns in Gaza Strip

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

Crimea, Donbass to forever remain within Russia, Slovak PM tells national parliament

Robert Fico believes Moscow will win in its confrontation with Kiev

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

Russian forces destroy Ukrainian command post, two S-300 missile launchers over day

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

North Korea conducts new anti-aircraft missile test — KCNA

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

Three Ukrainian soldiers swim across Dnieper to surrender to Russian troops — governor

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

No foreign state attacks Iran — TV

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

Drones downed over Isfahan cause no damage, says Iranian foreign minister

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

Russia knows French military instructors working in Ukraine — Lavrov

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]"

FACTBOX: Collective Security Treaty Organization

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

Russia’s defense chief inspects production of tanks, flamethrowers at Siberian enterprise

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

Unidentified man attempts suicide outside courthouse where Trump trial is underway

The man set himself on fire

NATO discussing transfer of ‘deep precision strike capabilities’ to Ukraine — Stoltenberg

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

Russian economy positively influences neighboring countries — Deputy PM

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

Russia has significant amount of West’s funds in case of confiscation of its assets

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

Two people killed in borderline Belgorod Region in Ukrainian drone attack — governor

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

Court arrests another man accused of blowing up car of former SBU officer in Moscow

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

Russia bans 235 Australian local government officials from entering country — MFA

"Taking into account the fact that Canberra does not intend to give up its anti-Russian course and continues to introduce new sanctions, work on updating the Russian stop list will continue," the ministry said

French, US, British nukes all interwoven — Russian diplomat

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"

US 'not forgetting' to help itself with aid to Ukraine — Kremlin

"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

Kiev lacks both troops and equipment near Chasov Yar in DPR, says retired general

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

Izvestia correspondent Semyon Eremin killed in special operation zone

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

Proposals on Russian assets confiscation undermine financial system — Finance Minister

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

US-led coalition’s aircraft violate Syrian airspace 13 times in past day

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

Senior Chinese official to take part in conference on security in Russia — diplomat

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

Founder of neo-Nazi cell in Crimea flees to Georgia — source

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

West wants to make Transnistria hotbed of tension — Lavrov

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"

West close to sending military to Ukraine, this would 'drag Europe to bottom' — Orban

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

Shoigu orders additional tank protection sets for Ukraine operation

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

Security guarantees on Ukraine did not apply to Crimea, Donbass — Lavrov

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'"

Ukrainian POW exposes poor battlefield performance of NATO-supplied Javelins, NLAWs

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

BRICS’ expansion makes it much stronger — senior Russian diplomat

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

Ukraine’s military loses positions near Avdeyevka, says DPR

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

Russian stock indices rising on Friday

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

Military base near Iran’s Isfahan hit following attack — newspaper

The sources said that Iranian forces managed to destroy several small drones near the city of Tabriz, about 800 kilometers from Isfahan

Russia’s advanced radar in Kaliningrad to monitor entire territory of Europe — source

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

Ukrainians abroad storming embassies to avoid mobilization, Russian diplomat says

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

G7 leaders to decide on Russian assets use — Italian Deputy PM

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

Iran threatens to attack Israel's "nuclear centers" in case of aggression on its part

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

Ukrainian drones continue to fly over Zaporozhye NPP — press service

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Russian economy proves resilience amid large-scale sanctions — IMF

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

US assured Israel that Iranian drones will be intercepted — US journalist Hersh

He also said that the US military contacted Russia and the United Kingdom while evaluating the potential of the Iranian attack

West can’t comprehend Russia’s resilience — Lavrov

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

S-500 system to be supplied to Armed Forces after 2015

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

Russia ready for Ukraine talks, but not with Zelensky — Lavrov

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Switzerland does not suit Russia for negotiations on Ukraine — Lavrov

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

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Ukrainian drone damages energy infrastructure in Russia’s Kaluga Region

There are no casualties, Governor Vladislav Shapsha said

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Lavrov speaks of West’s agony, Russia’s approach to any future talks with Kiev

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Lavrov labels way West ramping up sanctions against Russia as mindless

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US gives nod to Israeli operation in Rafah in exchange for canceling major attack on Iran

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Ukrainian trace obvious in Crocus City Hall attack — Russian prosecutor general

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

Hungarians in western Ukraine should get their rights back, Budapest says

"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

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Viktor Orban believes the first phase of the conflict, which included proposals on sending troops to Ukraine, is over

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Final statement by G7 top diplomats to call for supplying more air defenses to Kiev

Earlier, Ukrainian Foreign Minister said Kiev required US-made Patriot systems and Italian-French Samp-T theatre antimissile systems

Russian instructors help train over 10,000 Central African troops — CAR president

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Kremlin declines to comment on alleged assassination attempt on Zelensky in Poland

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

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

Russian Cabinet expands list of perfumery, cosmetic products subjected to import duty

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Blast rocks military base south of Baghdad — Reuters

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BRICS looking at creating common digital payment platform

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US volunteer Russel Bentley missing in Donetsk killed — RT editor-in-chief

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Nearly half of those present in UN Security Council hall walk out before Israel’s address

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World’s anti-doping agency WADA still waits for Russia’s 2023 financial contribution

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Chinese analyst sees US veto on Palestine as reflection of arrogance, double standards

Wang Wen stated that it’s still very hard to achieve a settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Armenia’s relations with Russia not at their highest — top diplomat

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

Death toll in Gaza Strip since tensions escalated exceeds 34,000 — Health Ministry

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One crew member of jet crashed in Stavropol Region killed, search for another continues

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

Russian military base may appear in CAR’s eastern region — President Touadera

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Russia's revenues from oil exports remain high despite price ceiling — IMF

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Press review: Biden backs aid to Israel, Ukraine and Russia assets giving West legal fits

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

Swiss parliament votes against joining task force on frozen Russian assets

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

Iran may target Israeli nuclear center in Dimona in case of Israel’s attack — TV

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

Russia’s export duty on wheat to be $37.42 per metric ton from April 24

The floating duty on Russian grain exports is effective from June 2, 2021

Russian investigators start inquiry into financing of terrorism by US, NATO officials

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US House passes procedural vote on Ukraine aid bill

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Two pilots of jet that crashed in southern Russia hospitalized

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Russia delivers 34 strikes on Ukrainian military infrastructure over week — top brass

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Putin signs law on holding World Friendship Games

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No plans for pauses in fighting if talks on Ukraine begin, Lavrov says

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

Russia can join top three countries by lithium reserves — governor

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

Russia won’t allow NATO to move closer in Ukraine — Lavrov

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

Lavrov says Borrell let it slip that Europe ‘fighting against Russia’

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

Moscow International Film Festival kicks off

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

Polish premier refuses to hand over his country’s Patriot systems to Ukraine

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

Armenia has to define CSTO’s zone of responsibility on its territory, says Lavrov

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

Grossi ignores ‘elephant in the room’ in Zaporozhye nuke plant situation — Russian envoy

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

Russian industrial producers’ prices up 2.4% in March — statistics

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

French president says creating Israeli-type air defense network for Ukraine impossible

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

Ukraine’s new ethnic minorities law insufficient to protect Magyars — Hungarian president

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

Russia not to go for settlement on Ukraine based on 'Zelensky formula' — Lavrov

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

Russian government increases customs duties on beer from unfriendly countries

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

Iran suspends flights above several cities amid reports of air attack — IRNA

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

Russian military closely monitors all Ukrainian 'novelties' — Kremlin on UAVs

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Kiev ordered mandatory evacuation from Kharkov Region to accommodate mercenaries

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

Russia to scrap moratorium on intermediate missiles if US deploys them anywhere — MFA

Sergey Ryabkov said the US seeks to maintain military superiority in a great variety of areas