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Middle East conflict

Death toll in Israeli strike on school in Gaza climbs to 36 — media

The building that came under fire was housing refugees and displaced persons

BEIRUT, 26 May. /TASS/. The death toll in a strike by the Israeli Air Force on the building of the Fahmi Al-Jarjawi school in Gaza has increased to 36, the Lebanese Al Mayadeen TV channel reported.

Earlier, the Qatar-based Al Jazeera TV channel reported 25 casualties, including several children, a journalist and at least two aid workers. It stated that the building that came under fire was housing refugees and displaced persons.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7, 2023 after militants from the Gaza Strip-based radical Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise incursion on Israeli territory, killing many Israeli kibbutz residents living near the Gaza border and abducting more than 240 Israelis, including women, children and the elderly. Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and launched bombardments of the enclave.

On March 18, the IDF resumed fighting in the Gaza Strip, launching massive strikes on the enclave and thus breaking the ceasefire established in January. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office stated that Israel had restarted military operations in the enclave after the Gaza-based Palestinian movement Hamas rejected the US proposals put forward by mediators and US Special Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff. The office claimed that the Israeli military had resumed strikes on Hamas targets in Gaza to advance the release of hostages and that the army would intensify its campaign in the enclave. The Gaza-based movement has blamed the United States for the renewal of Israeli aggression.

INTERVIEW: Russian ambassador says NATO arms Moldova despite its neutral status

According to the diplomat, it is in Moldova's national interests to preserve its neutral status and sovereignty

UN General Assembly adopts Russia-initiated draft resolution to modernize organization

The document sets out plans to strengthen the impact of the United Nations in the face of mounting global challenges and an increasingly complicated financial situation

Bulgaria denies smuggling arms from Ukraine

The Bulgarian Foreign Ministry said that it "consistently implements" strict standards of arms export control

Russia, US discuss plans for deorbiting International Space Station — Roscosmos

The commission’s experts discussed among other issues, measures to reduce risks stemming from air leaks from the transfer module

Trade with EU could drop to zero — Russian Foreign Ministry

Alexander Grushko also noted that the EU has adopted its 18th package of anti-Russian sanctions and intends to fully abandon Russian energy resources, including oil and gas

EU imposes sanctions on prominent Russian film director Shakhnazarov — gazette

The European Union imposed sanctions on nine other Russian individuals, the Official Journal of the European Union reported

NATO strategy aimed at preparing for war with Russia — Deputy Russian Foreign Minister

Alexander Grushko stressed that Ukraine, in the eyes of the West, is an instrument of "fighting the Russian Federation to inflict a strategic defeat on it"

Trump believes Ukraine should go on offensive — media

The US president also asked "if Ukraine could bomb Moscow or St. Petersburg"

Ukraine sees three deaths to every birth since start of year

According to the service, the country's population is decreasing by more than 300,000 people annually

Thousands of Bedouins flee Syria’s Sweida amid clashes - TV

According to the television channel, more than 1,000 Arab families have crossed into the Daraa governorate

WhatsApp must comply with Russian laws — Kremlin

Dmitry Peskov noted that WhatsApp remained the most popular messaging service in many countries, including Russia

Moldova unlawfully blocks Russian diplomatic mail — envoy

According to Oleg Ozerov, the embassy is suffering reputational and financial losses because people pay money for document issuing services

Netanyahu calls Pope after church in Gaza hit during Israeli strike

Earlier, Netanyahu said that Israel deeply regrets that a "stray projectile" hit the church in Gaza

Russian ballistic missiles evade Ukrainian radars, hinder Patriots — paper

According to the report, Europe plans to supply Ukraine with its Samp/T air defense systems, which could rival the US-made Patriots

'No illusions' any more regarding relations with West, Russia’s Medvedev says

The Russian security council deputy chairman was commenting on the idea that decisions from the Potsdam Conference were almost immediately breached by the Soviet Union’s former allies in the anti-Hitlerite coalition

Russia’s Medvedev responds to Trump by saying 'one really bad thing' would be WWIII

Donald Trump said earlier on Tuesday that if it weren’t for him "really bad things would have already happened to Russia"

Ukrainian officer says Zelensky's demobilization comments spell doom for scores of troops

When Vladimir Zelensky says 'only after victory' it’s effectively a death sentence for hundreds of thousands of people, Denis Yaroslavsky said

Britain may join Trump plan to buy US weapons for Ukraine — Bloomberg

According to the report, Defense Secretary of the United Kingdom John Healey and German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius intend to discuss this on July 21

Putin reaffirms commitment to peace deal on Ukraine in call with Erdogan

On June 2, the second round of Russia-Ukraine talks took place in Istanbul

Ukraine doesn’t have resources to carry out offensive — Strana

Analysts note that recently all Ukrainian attempts to attack have ended with heavy losses and little or no result

Two Chinese banks included in EU sanctions package

Head offices of both banks are located in the Province of Heilongjiang in Northeast China

Russian forces destroy two groups of Ukrainian soldiers in Dnepropetrovsk Region

Among the enemy personnel destroyed, there were soldiers of recently deployed rear units

Ukraine pulling best infantry, drone units to Krasnoarmeisk — expert

According to Igor KImakovsky, units of Russia’s Battlegroup Center are pushing Ukrainian troops west of the city near the village of Udachnoye

Russia’s anti-tank missile system gets ‘top attack’ capability similar to US Javelin

As its specific feature, a Javelin missile climbs above using an arched flight trajectory and then strikes down the turrets of tanks and other armored vehicles where the armor is the thinnest

Germany cannot recognize Taliban as Afghanistan’s leadership — Chancellor Merz

Germany, according to Friedrich Merz, does not recognize the de facto government of Afghanistan but has never severed diplomatic ties with that country

Russian lawmaker reminds US general of nuclear doctrine

"An attack on the Kaliningrad Region will mean an attack on Russia, with all due retaliatory measures, stipulated, among other things, by its nuclear doctrine," Leonid Slutsky said

Company of Russian businessman will invest in Musk’s deal with Twitter — Bloomberg

Earlier, Alexander Tamas put money into rocket company SpaceX and brain-machine maker Neuralink Corp., which also belong to Elon Musk

US has couple more major trade deals in pipeline — Trump

"We have a couple of big ones to announce pretty soon," the president said

Western arms makers likely to support Kiev’s idea to test weapons versus Russia — expert

According to the expert, it is rather difficult to mock up actual battlefield conditions and weapons that were tested and entered into service in peacetime may turn out to be not that effective on the battlefield as expected

West’s threats of secondary sanctions to benefit multipolar world — Russian diplomat

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said earlier that secondary sanctions may be applied against China, India and Brazil

US pressures Israel to help resolve crisis in Syria — Sky News Arabia

According to the source, the United States is participating in negotiations aimed at agreeing on the deployment of security forces of the Syrian transitional government in the province of Al-Suwayda

Complicated effort underway to pull Russia-US ties from deplorable state — Kremlin

"The process itself is very complicated and time-consuming," Dmitry Peskov added

Moscow says shelling of Kramatorsk by Ukraine confirms Russian operation is justified

The Russian Foreign Ministry expressed confidence that Kiev won’t be able to evade responsibility for the shelling of civilians in Kramatorsk

Air defense system shoots down three Ukrainian UAVs flying to Moscow

Sergey Sobyanin said that emergency services specialists are working at the crash site

Kiev prepping provocation with ammonia detonation in Donetsk region — Russia’s top brass

"The intention is to subsequently accuse our country of deliberately creating a man-made disaster and inflict reputational damage on our country," Alexey Rtishchev specified

Russia to treat 'coalition of the willing' forces in Ukraine as military target — MFA

"The Russian side has repeatedly stated that a deployment of armed forces of other countries in Ukraine under any pretense would be absolutely unacceptable and it would regard this as preparations for foreign military intervention," Maria Zakharova stated

Russian stock market indices in the green on Friday — market data

The MOEX Russia Index gained 0.84% to 2,784.63 points, while the RTS Index added 0.67% to 1,120.15 points

Russia says Ukraine lost over 435 troops from battlegroup Center operations over past day

According to the spokesman, units of the battlegroup Center struck formations of four Ukrainian mechanized brigades, a jaeger brigade and airborne assault brigades, a Marines brigade and a Territorial Defense brigade in the areas of Krasnoarmeysk, Novoverbskoye, Novoukrainka, Muravka, Petrovskoye and Stepanovka

Russia must respond to West’s treachery and even act preemptively — Medvedev

According to the Russian official, "the Potsdam Conference taught us that relations with the West should not be based on illusions"

Medvedev calls Western actions against Russia a full-out war

"To Western elites, an independent and strong Russia has always seemed a historical anomaly and a very effective rebuff to the idea of their `civilizational superiority’", the politician maintained

Kremlin says is unaware of plan for Putin, Trump, Xi to meet in China in September

The British newspaper reported that Xi wants the US and Russian leaders to meet for war commemorations in September

Russia says EU’s 18th package of sanctions not to have desired effect

The restrictions imposed on imports from third countries of petroleum products produced from Russian oil "will inevitably lead to an increase in fuel prices on the EU market, the Russian Permanent Mission to the EU said

Russian, Turkish leaders discuss recent escalations in Syria over phone — Kremlin

The situation in Syria aggravated on July 13 when clashes between Arab tribal militias and Druze self-defense groups broke out in the heavily Druze-populated Sweida governorate

Trump's ultimatum suggests Ukraine able to hold on no longer than 50 days — expert

According to Ralph Bosshard, the US leader now has “little time left” to help Ukrainian forces stabilize the front before he and Vladimir Zelensky present new proposals to Russia aimed at resolving the conflict

FACTBOX: What we know about EU’s 18th sanctions package against Russia

The 18th package includes an expanded blacklist of individuals and legal entities, restrictions on tankers transporting Russian oil, measures targeting several banks, and new export controls on dual-use goods and technologies

UK to lower price cap for Russian oil, following EU — Chancellor

Rachel Reeves said that the UK and its EU allies are turning the screw on

EU fully prohibits financial transactions with Belarus — EU Council

"Today’s package also further mirrors the measures imposed on Belarus’ trade with those imposed on Russia," the EU Council added

Russia treats Ukraine, bilateral relations as separate lines in dialogue with US — Kremlin

"One topic is the Ukrainian settlement, and another one is our bilateral relations, all irritants in our ties, problematic issues, which we have a lot of," Dmitry Peskov said

Moscow dismisses media reports that North Korean resort closed to Russians as fake news

"The American media, in cahoots with US intelligence, planted this fake news story," Maria Zakharova said

INTERVIEW: Russia minimized its military presence in Transnistria, Russian ambassador says

According to the diplomat, Russia has not taken a single step that would call into question the decisions that were taken at the talks on the settlement of the Transnistrian issue

EU’s fresh sanctions target 22 Russian banks, including T-Bank, Bank Saint Petersburg

Any transactions between European financial institutions and the affected banks are prohibited

Fifth drone shot down near Moscow — mayor

Earlier in the day, Sergey Sobyanin reported the elimination of four drones flying toward Moscow

EU blacklists 23 Russian companies as part of 18th sanctions package — gazette

The sanctions package targets the Izhevsk Mechanical Plant, Aeroscan, a Moscow-based provider of solutions for businesses using unmanned aerial technologies, YATEC, a gas producer in Yakutia, and the Rubin research and development company, the bloc’s official gazette reports

Russia developed immunity to sanctions and adapted — Kremlin

The most recent EU’s 18th package of sanctions includes a lower price cap on Russian oil purchases within the bloc, restrictions on the possible restoration of Nord Stream gas pipelines, and measures targeting oil tankers, banks, as well as various export categories

Russia seeks to prevent fragmentation of Eurasian space — Foreign Ministry

According to Alexander Grushko, many influential players, primarily the United States, the European Union, China and Turkey are trying to play an increasingly active role in the region

Russian MFA spokeswoman talks about weapons smuggling from Ukraine, raps German officials

TASS has put together the highlights from the news conference

Russia says Ukraine lost up to 170 soldiers in battlegroup South area of operations

According to the spokesman, units of the battlegroup South seized control of better positions, struck manpower and equipment of three Ukrainian mechanized brigades, an airmobile brigade and a mountain assault brigade and a territorial defense brigade in the area of the settlements of Seversk, Konstantinovka, Kleban-Byk, Pleshcheyevka and Novosyolovka

Trump sketched erotic drawing for Epstein’s birthday, WSJ claims

According to the newspaper, the drawing, depicting an outline of a woman’s breasts and a "Donald" signature was accompanied by the line: "Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret"

Ukrainian attack on Energodar, regional power equipment fails to disrupt ZNPP's operations

The plant noted that all safety protocols remain intact and operational conditions have not been compromised

Russian troops liberate ten communities in Ukraine operation over week — top brass

Russia’s Battlegroup South inflicted more than 1,040 casualties on Ukrainian troops and destroyed 13 enemy artillery guns in its area of responsibility over the week, the Defense Ministry reported

Israel, Syria agree to a ceasefire with support from Washington

US Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack also called on Druze, Bedouins, and Sunnis to put down their weapons and, jointly with other minorities, "build a new and united Syrian identity in peace and prosperity with its neighbors"

Press review: Trump’s Ukraine stance raises doubts as EU states opt out of US arms funding

Top stories from the Russian press on Thursday, July 17th

Russia to give decisive response if attacked by Taurus — MFA

Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also noted that Germany’s assistance in the production of long-range systems in Ukraine could mask plans to localize the assembly of Taurus missiles at Ukrainian defense industry facilities

RDIF calls for dialogue instead of sanctioning spiral — chief executive

Kirill Dmitriev stressed that the EU is afraid of peace and continues to be in the grip of hostile narratives

Russian embassy in Canada denies Moscow behind UK cyberattacks

Earlier on Friday, the UK imposed sanctions on 18 Russians, who were allegedly involved in cyberattacks

EU makes ‘concessions’ for Slovakia to approve sanctions against Russia — DPA

The document will now be published in the Official Journal of the EU, after which the sanctions will come into force

Zelensky wants to sack Zaluzhny because of his secret talks with West — Hersh

Commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, says journalist, talks about the possibility of a ceasefire and peace process

Israeli strike on church in Gaza leaves three dead, nine wounded — patriarchy

Casualties include the community’s parish priest, Father Gabriel Romanelli, who sustained light injuries

EU’s rejection of Russian gas leading to adverse consequences — Putin

Huge restrictions have already been introduced for EU countries

Russia must respond to West’s treachery and even act preemptively — Medvedev

According to the Russian security council deputy chairman, Russia has learned the lessons of Potsdam and no longer has any illusions about relations with the West

Trump demands Germany transfer Patriot from its stocks to Kiev — Bild

According to the newspaper, the president does not intend to share the systems that the American army has

Russia’s Consulate General slams banning frigate Shtandart from entering Scottish harbor

It noted that "although the Shtandart does not belong to the Russian Federation, she is a replica of the Russian frigate built in 1703 by Peter the Great"

Times says Trump may meet with Putin, Xi in China

According to the report, a series of trade deals between the United States and China forced Trump to reconsider his hostile course towards Beijing

Russia’s Medvedev proposes fourth 'D' for Ukraine as deparasitization

Exactly 80 years ago, on July 17, 1945, the Potsdam Conference began, bringing together the heads of government from the Soviet Union, the United States, and Great Britain. The meeting laid the foundation for the post-war world order.

Brazil to reroute exports from US to other countries after tariff move — Lula da Silva

According to the president, Brazil values relations with the US, but not at the expense of its sovereignty

Press review: US and EU delay weapons to Ukraine as Syria fighting alarms Turkey

Top stories from the Russian press on Friday, July 18th

UN cuts aid to refugees worldwide amid funding issues

In 2025, the main UNHCR assistance programs have already been reduced by $1.4 billion

West’s push for rare-earth metals access borders on robbery — Russian MFA

"Rare-earth metals are the prize in the trade wars underway between the key suppliers of AI solutions to the market," Maria Zakharova pointed out

Gabbard accuses Obama administration of fabricating data on Russian interference in 2016

Their goal was to subvert the will of the American people and enact what was essentially a years-long coup with the objective of trying to usurp US leader Donald Trump from fulfilling the mandate, Director of National Intelligence said

Yemen’s Houthis report delivering missile strike on international airport in Israel

According to the rebels’ spokesperson Yahya Saree, the operation "successfully achieved its objective"

PM says Ukraine agrees in principle to sell UAVs to US

Yulia Sviridenko said Defense Minister Denis Shmygal will develop this proposal with the American side

Putin, Erdogan call for respecting Syria’s sovereignty

The situation in Syria aggravated on July 13 when clashes between Arab tribal militias and Druze self-defense groups broke out in the heavily Druze-populated Sweida governorate

Air defense system downs 13 drones targeting Moscow in span of less than two hours

"Emergency services are working where the debris fell," Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said

Russia says Ukraine lost up to 190 troops in battlegroup North area over past day

According to the spokesman, units of the battlegroup struck manpower and equipment of Ukrainian mechanized and airborne assault brigades and two assault regiments in the areas of the settlements of Pavlovka, Ryzhevka, Khrapovshchina and Kondratovka in the Sumy Region. In the Kharkov area, units of a Territorial Defense brigade were struck in the area of Volchansk

India cautions EU against double standards in energy trade — Foreign Ministry

Official Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stressed that Government of India considers the provision of energy security a responsibility of paramount importance to meet the basic needs of its citizens

Western plan to destroy Russia fails, says senior Russian diplomat

Alexander Grushko specified that the West had failed to defeat Russia on the battlefield, to run Russia’s economy into the ground and to disintegrate Russia

Trump says BRICS `fading out fast’ in wake of his 10% tariff threat for group

"BRICS wanted to try and take over the dollar, the dominance of the dollar, and the standard of the dollar," US President said

Russia nixes defense cooperation agreement with Germany

The agreement was signed in 1996

Trump calls Biden cruel, incompetent

US leader said that the previous American administration "tried to crush the industry" of cryptocurrencies

Bogota says to crack down on Colombian mercenaries fighting overseas

Deputy Foreign Minister Mauricio Jaramillo stressed that sending Colombians to third countries to fight for foreign armies is a topic that the authorities would like to resolve

Israeli military intercept missile launched from Yemen

Earlier in the day, sirens sounded in many parts of Israel, including in Tel Aviv

Trump says looking forward to media magnate Murdoch’s testimony in court

The WSJ reported earlier that US leader sent a drawing with an outline of a woman’s breasts accompanied by a letter as a gift for Epstein’s 50th birthday, following this publication, the president said he would sue the Wall Street Journal and media magnate Rupert Murdoch

Israel has no objection to Russia supplying nuclear materials to Iran — envoy in Moscow

Simona Halperin added that same goes for the removal of spent materials

Russia discovers Ukrainian weapons cache containing chemical-laced IEDs

A cache with drone equipment was found by the Federal Security Service near the village of Ilyinka in the Donetsk People’s Republic in May 2025

Russia not ruling out countermeasures against new EU sanctions — Foreign Ministry

"We will take measures supporting our interests in case of necessity," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko stressed

Russian ambassador says full-scale gas supplies to Moldova must resume

According to Oleg Ozerov, Russia has repeatedly called and continues to call for the "normalization of energy supply issues" with Moldova

Russia considers Western military sites in Ukraine legitimate targets — Kremlin

Earlier, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova reiterated Moscow’s position that the deployment of any foreign troops to Ukraine was unacceptable

Russian deputy says WhatsApp poses threat to national security

Anton Nemkin said that the fate of WhatsApp in Russia is sealed

EU lowers price ceiling for Russian oil to $47.6 per barrel

The EU also imposed further sanctions across the shadow fleet value chain

INTERVIEW: Russian ambassador says NATO arms Moldova despite its neutral status

According to the diplomat, it is in Moldova's national interests to preserve its neutral status and sovereignty

Russian forces capture foreign mercenaries in DPR, scout says

According to the scout with the callsign Husky, the foreigners were stationed in a building that Russian forces seized in about five minutes