Snap combat readiness check in Russia’s Eastern Military District involves 8,000 personnel

The combat readiness check also involves more than 3,000 pieces of military equipment.

MOSCOW, July 31. /TASS/. Around 8,000 military personnel, nearly 50 warplanes and helicopters, as well as more than 3,000 pieces of military equipment of Russia’s Eastern Military District are involved in the active phase of a snap combat readiness check being held at the Tsugol test range in the Transbaikal region, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.

"During the combat readiness check, the personnel of one of the motor-rifle units of the combined-arms army deployed to the Transbaikal region marched for 150 kilometers and crossed the Onon River," the statement reads. "During the march, Mil Mi-24 attack helicopters covered military hardware," the Defense Ministry added.

The military personnel used a floating bridge installed by the unit’s engineers to get infantry combat vehicles and tanks across the Onon river.

Source: ITAR-TASS 31-07-2017

Russia’s main Navy Day parade to be held in St. Petersburg

The parade will revive the tradition started by Peter I the Great in 1714.

ST. PETERSBURG, July 30. /TASS/. Events to mark the Russian Navy Day, traditionally celebrated on the last Sunday of July, will be held all over the country with the main parade scheduled to take place in Russia’s second largest city of St. Petersburg.

The St. Petersburg parade will be held on the Neva River and in the port of Kronstadt, a municipal town that makes a part of the federal city of Saint Petersburg. Russian deputy Navy commander, Alexander Fedotenkov said the parade will revive the tradition started by Peter I the Great in 1714.

The Russian Defense Ministry said that "for the first time in the entire history of naval parades in St. Petersburg, more than 5,000 sailors from the Baltic, Northern and Black Sea fleets, as well as the Caspian flotilla, will take place in the festivities."

In total, about 50 ships and submarines will take part in the parade, while more than 40 planes and helicopters of the naval aviation will fly above the city.

Guests of the parade will see the Northern Fleet flagship, the Pyotr Velikiy battlecruiser; the world’s biggest nuclear submarine, the Dmitry Donskoy; and a number of the Russian navy’s newest warships, including the Ivan Gren landing ship, the Admiral Makarov frigate, as well as the Veliky Novgorod and the Vladikavkaz submarines.

China’s Hefei corvette, the Yuncheng frigate and the Luoma Lake support vessel, which took part in the Russian-Chinese exercise Naval Interaction 2017 in the Baltic Sea earlier this week, will also take part in the parade.

On the day of the parade, various naval aviation aircraft will fly above the city, including the Su-33K and the MiG-29K carrier-based fighter aircraft, Su-24M attack aircraft and Su-30SM multirole fighter aircraft, MiG-31BM interceptor aircraft, Il-38 and Tu-124M anti-submarine warfare and maritime patrol aircraft and other planes. The air show will also feature the Ka-52K Katran ship-based reconnaissance and combat helicopters, Ka-27 and Ka-29 anti-submarine warfare helicopters, as well as Mi-8 and Mi-24VP helicopters.

2017 marks the 321 anniversary of the Russian Navy, created on October 30, 1696, by a decree of Peter I the Great.

Source: ITAR-TASS 30-07-2017

Rogozin demands tough measures on Romania, Moldova after disruption of visit

"The sharp tonality of my utterances reflects my emotions over the inconveniences over what happened to the passengers on our flight," Rogozin wrote in Facebook.

MOSCOW, July 29. /TASS/. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said on Friday the actions of the Romanian civil aviation authorities and the Moldovan government, which resulted in the disruption of his visit to Moldova, called for retaliatory measures.

"The sharp tonality of my utterances reflects my emotions over the inconveniences over what happened to the passengers on our flight," Rogozin wrote in Facebook. "Most of them were returning home. I always traveled to Moldova by regular flights of Russian airlines. The shameful stunt of the Romanians and the Moldovan government requires careful analysis and precisely calculated stinging countermeasures."

As reported earlier, Dmitry Rogozin’s visit to Moldova was disrupted on Friday because of Romanian air navigation service refusal to let a regular Moscow-Chisinau flight of S7 airline through the Romanian airspace due to the presence of a ‘person under sanctions’ aboard.

Rogozin is one of the Russian officials, whom the EU blacklisted after Crimea’s reunification with Russia and the unfolding of the armed civil conflict in Eastern Ukraine.

On flights between Moscow and Chisinau, Russian airlines use a long bypass route crossing the territories of Belarus, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania after Ukraine closed its airspace for them.

The S7 jet had to make a landing in the Belarusian capital Minsk, where from he left for Moscow by an Aeroflot flight.

Rogozin said in connection with the incident that Western countries "will never reconcile themselves" to Russia’s aspirations to being a free and strong country. "They were quite content with the tipsy Russia of the 1990’s but they will never reconcile themselves with our will to be free and strong."

"And being the way we want to be, that is, free and strong would be the best response to all these sanctions and dirty tricks," Rogozin indicated. "And we’ll decide in the regular course of business how to knock the hell out of those vile creatures."

He was heading for Chisinau at a personal invitation from President Igor Dodon, whom he planned to hold talks with.

A spokesman for the Romanian Foreign Ministry confirmed to TASS the jet, aboard which Rogozin was traveling to Chisinau, had been denied entry to the Romanian airspace.

Source: ITAR-TASS 29-07-2017

FSB detains Central Asians on suspicion of plotting terrorist attacks in St Petersburg

MOSCOW, July 28. /TASS/. FSB detained seven people coming from Central Asia on suspicion of plotting terrorist attacks in St. Petersburg, FSB said on Friday.

"The Federal Security Service on July 28, 2017, detained a group of seven people, who come from the Central Asian region, as they are suspected of plotting terrorist attacks in St. Petersburg's railway transport and public places," FSB said.

Source: ITAR-TASS 28-07-2017

Russian expedition recovers unique naval gun from Kerch Strait

The ships sank during a major landfall operation in November 1943.

KERCH (Crimea), July 27. /TASS/. A 76 mm anti-aircraft naval gun from aboard a Soviet gunboat, BK-73, which sank during World War II, was recovered on Wednesday from the Kerch Strait that connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.

The recovery was done by members of a search party under the umbrella of the Russian Defense Ministry, the head of the party, Andrei Taranov told reporters.

The search for ships sunken during World War II in the Black Sea and the Kerch Strait began on July 19.

"In the course of the works, the expedition found a naval gun, the fragments of plating and the post the gun had been attached to," he said. "The gun itself is in a good condition and we’ll install it in Patriot Park in Kerch after restoration."

Alexander Yolkin, the chief scientific supervisor of the expedition who represents Batareya 29 Bis public association said the gun fell into the category of the so-called Lender Guns as it belonged to Pattern 1914/15 designed by Franz Lender. The latter man was the Russian designer of artillery weapons who made an important contribution to the theory and practice of delivering gunfire at aerial targets.

"Pattern 1914/15 guns were the first antiaircraft weapons installed on Russian naval ships," Yolkin said adding that their combat employment continued during World War II.

The searchers have tracked down another three sunken gunboats in the Kerch Strait. One of them was a fire support vessel. The party recovered the Katyusha salvo system and cartridges from it.

The ships sank during a major landfall operation in November 1943. In part, the BK-73 that had a twelve-strong crew and was carrying 42 marines tripped a mine some 10 km away from the Crimean shore. All the sailors and marines died.

All the sites where the ships sank are charted now and the authorities have listed them as military tombs protected by the state.

Source: ITAR-TASs 27-07-2017

Diplomat says US sanctions may destroy prospects for better relations with Russia

Russian deputy foreign minister says retaliation over the US sanctions may follow.

MOSCOW, July 26. /TASS/. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov considers the US actions a move towards destruction of prospects for better relations with Russia, he told TASS, commenting on the vote in the US House of Representatives on the bill that tightens unilateral sanctions against Russia, Iran and North Korea.

"What is happening is beyond common sense," Ryabkov said. "The authors and sponsors of this bill are making a very serious step towards destruction of prospects for normalizing relations with Russia and do not conceal that that’s their target."

"The reverse side of this coin is a strive to restrict in all areas the possibilities for the US executive authorities to bolster relations with Russia and other countries that are ‘targets’ of this bill," Ryabkov added.

The Russian deputy foreign minister called the result of the vote predicted and expressed opinion that the sanctions bill would soon be approved by the US Senate. "Yesterday’s vote in the House of Representatives [of the US Congress] on the draft law notoriously dubbed ‘Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act’ has brought the result we’ve been expecting: the bill has been adopted by majority of votes and is now to be studied by the upper chamber of the Congress - the Senate," he noted. "I believe that the bill will pass the necessary approval procedure quickly enough and will soon be presented to the US president."

The US House of Representatives approved a bill that tightens unilateral US sanctions against Russia, Iran and North Korea on Tuesday. This document is to be studied by the Senate, and the upper house of the Congress is expected to adopt this bill that is widely supported both by the Democratic and the ruling Republican Parties.

Then the document, dubbed "Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act" will be presented to US President Donald Trump. The White House has indicated recently that Trump was ready to sign the bill.

Russia-US dialogue

Moscow, however, "does not give in to emotions" and continues searching for ways for constructive dialogue with the US: 

"We do not give in to emotions," the Russian diplomat noted.

"We will be working to find ways of moving forward and persistently and continuously searching for a compromise in issues that are important to Russia and, I think, to the US as well: fight against terrorism and spread of mass destruction weapons. There are a lot of issues, and we are ready to cooperate."

Source: ITAR-TASS 26-07-2017

Normandy Four leaders call for ceasefire in Donbass

The Normandy Four leaders have discussed the Ukrainian crisis.

KIEV, July 24. /TASS/. Normandy Four leaders (Russia, Germany, France and Ukraine) have marked the importance of a complete ceasefire in Donbass monitored round the clock by the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission’s (SMM) observers, Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko’s press service said on Monday after the telephone talks.

"The parties (Presidents Vladimir Putin, Emmanuel Macron, Pyotr Poroshenko and Chancellor Angela Merkel - TASS) noted the importance of a complete ceasefire, heavy weapons withdrawal and disengagement of forces with a twenty-four-hour monitoring of the situation by the OSCE SMM," the report says.

In addition, the parties agreed "to coordinate final steps on safety and continue working on the road map to implement the Minsk accords." "For this purpose, a meeting of Normandy Four presidential foreign advisers is due to take place in the second half of August," the press service stressed.

The press service informed that the Ukrainian leader had highlighted again "the importance of introduction of a UN peace mission in Donbass" and accused Russia of reluctance "to release all hostages, including those who are being illegally detained in Russia."

It was also noted that Macron and Merkel had pointed to the "inadmissibility of any statements that undermine Ukraine’s territorial integrity, in particular regarding the establishment of the so-called Malorossiya."

Source: ITAR-TASS 25-07-2017

Large-scale combat readiness check kicks off in East Siberia

The check involves around 8,000 troops and over 3,000 items of military and special hardware.

MOSCOW, July 24. /TASS/. Air Force and Air Defense units, and also other formations of Russia’s Eastern Military District have been alerted in this year’s largest combat readiness check in the Trans-Baikal Territory and Buryatia in East Siberia, the district’s press office reported on Monday.

The check involves around 8,000 troops and up to 50 aircraft and helicopters and over 3,000 items of military and special hardware.

"The drills involve the district’s units and formations based in the Republic of Buryatia and in the Trans-Baikal Territory and a part of aviation of the Air Force and Air Defense large unit," the press office said.

The practical phase of the drills will be held at the district’s Tsugol practice range in the Trans-Baikal Territory.

"The snap check will assess the ability of the Eastern Military District’s military governance bodies and formations to accomplish designated missions within the established time limits," the press office said.

 

Source: ITAR-TASS 24-07-2017

Three killed in Omsk road accident

A driver of a VAZ-2114 drove into the opposite lane, where the car crashed into a Volvo heavy truck, which in its turn collided with a Ford.

OMSK, July 23. /TASS/. Three people died in a clash of two cars and a truck in the Omsk region, a two-year-old girl was taken to hospital, the local police told TASS on Sunday.

"A driver of a VAZ-2114 drove into the opposite lane, where the car crashed into a Volvo heavy truck, which in its turn collided with a Ford," the police said. "Drivers of VAZ and driver and passenger from the Ford car died on the spot, the two-year-old injured passenger from the Ford car was taken to hospital."

The police received information on the accident on Saturday night. The collision was on the road connecting Tyumen and Omsk. The killed driver and passenger of the Ford car were husband and wife, and the girl taken to hospital - is their daughter.

Source: ITAR-TASS 23-07-2017

Crimean border guards rescue drowning Ukrainian who swam from Ukraine to Turkey

The man explained that he was keen on extreme sports and was making a sea trip from Ukraine to Turkey, but lost direction because of the confused sea.

MOSCOW, July 21. /TASS/. Guards from the Crimean Border Department of the Federal Security Service (FSB) have saved a drowning Ukrainian who was swimming on a trimaran from Ukraine to Turkey.

The FSB Center for Public Relations told TASS that "after receiving a signal that an unidentified vessel was in distress in the Karkinitsky Bay of the Black Sea, the Izumrud border patrol ship was deployed to the wreck site.

Twelve miles to the south-west of the Tarkhankut Cape, an overturned Fortuna X-44 trimaran and a rescue raft carrying a Ukrainian were found.

"During the rescue operation, he person was lifted on board and provided first aid," the FSB Center for Public Relations reported. "The man explained that he was keen on extreme sports and was making a sea trip from Ukraine to Turkey, but lost direction because of the confused sea, so the vessel overturned." After reaching the shore, he returned to Ukraine according to the established procedure.

Source: ITAR-TASS 22-07-2017

Putin personally congratulates human rights champion Alexeyeva on her 90th birthday

The president presented her with a bouquet of flowers and an engraving depicturing Crimea’s Eupatoria, Alexeyeva’s birthplace.

MOSCOW, July 20. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin personally visited human rights defender Lyudmila Alexeyeva in Moscow and congratulated her on her 90th birthday before flying to Yoshkar-Ola. The president presented her with a bouquet of flowers and an engraving depicturing Crimea’s Eupatoria, Alexeyeva’s birthplace.

"Thank you for (dedicating your) life for the sake of people," the head of state said. As Alexeyeva admitted, the president’s visit came as a surprise to her. "I’ve been doing a hell of a lot of things all my life, and now a president comes to congratulate me. It was not usual earlier," she said.

"Earlier were other times," the state leader noted, adding, "You are doing the main thing. Solzhenitsyn talked of ‘saving people.’ He was doing it his way, and you are doing it your way."

The head of state also sent a greeting telegram to human rights activist Lyudmila Alexeyeva in which he stressed the importance of her activity. "Following your heart, you devoted your whole life to serving society and asserting human rights and freedoms in a steadfast and consistent manner.

Thanks to extraordinary moral strength and loyalty to your principles, you’ve achieved substantial results in human rights activities and made an outstanding contribution to improving the institutions of democracy and civil society," the telegram, published on the Kremlin’s web site, says.

Lyudmila Alexeyeva was born on July 20, 1927, in Eupatoria, Crimea. In 1952, she became a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, from which she was expelled in 1968 for participation in dissident activities. In 1976, she became one of the founders of the human rights organization "Soviet Public Support Group for Implementation of Helsinki Accords" (later renamed the Moscow’s Helsinki Group).

From November 2004 to June 2012 she was a member of the Russian Presidential Council of Support for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights Institutions (from February 2011, the Russian Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights Development). On June 22, 2012, she stated she would leave the Council because she disagreed with the new procedure for its organization. Following President Vladimir Putin’s order, on May 26, 2015, Alexeyeva rejoined the Council for Civil Society and Human Rights Development.

Source: ITAR-TASS 21-07-2017

Russia at final stage of testing high-altitude interceptor for S-500 air defense system

The S-500 is designed to replace its predecessor S-400

ZHUKOVSKY (Moscow Region), July 20. /TASS/. Russia’s Almaz-Antey defense manufacturer is completing the trials of a high-altitude missile interceptor for the most advanced S-500 air defense system, Almaz-Antey Deputy CEO for Foreign Economic Activity Vyacheslav Dzirkaln said at the MAKS-2017 international airshow on Thursday.

According to the deputy chief executive, "some elements of the new S-500 antiaircraft missile system have now successfully passed the basic part of trials."

"Trials are coming to a close for the surface-to-air anti-missile designed to intercept targets in the upper layers of the atmosphere," Dzirkaln told journalists.

The work is generally proceeding according to the schedule approved by the Russian Defense Ministry and the delivery of the S-500 air defense missile system to the troops is scheduled for 2020, he noted.

Trials for new missiles

Almaz-Antey will shortly complete the trials of three new missiles for the S-350 Vityaz medium-range air defense system with active homing heads:

"In 2017, the system’s state trials are coming to a close. Now the company’s specialists are accumulating statistics for combat launches with the interception of real targets in various conditions.

We are also shortly completing the state trials of three new surface-to-air missiles with active homing heads for the S-350 Vityaz systems and seaborne air defense complexes," the deputy chief executive said.

The naval Poliment-Redut air defense missile system also has three types of missiles of short, medium and intermediate range and they are unified with the S-350 air defense missile complex, he noted.

"These are new-generation missiles with very high maneuverable characteristics to strike the entire range of attack weapons," he added.

The full set of the Poliment-Redut system has been deployed on the Navy’s lead frigate Admiral Gorshkov while some elements of this complex - launchers, radars and control systems - are mounted on several corvettes, he said.

The S-350 Vityaz is a medium-range surface-to-air missile system designed for battlefield air defense. Almaz-Antey Chief Designer Pavel Sozinov earlier said that the system’s trials were scheduled to be completed this year.

The S-500 is designed to replace its predecessor S-400. The new system is being developed with a perspective of its operation in the next 25 years.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said earlier that the delivery of the S-500 air defense missile system to the troops would begin in 2020.

Source: ITAR-TASS 20-07-2017

Malorossiya project is personal initiative of self-proclaimed republic's leader — Kremlin

The presidential spokesman stressed that Russia stays committed to the Minsk agreements.

MOSCOW, July 18. /TASS/. The idea of the establishment of a new state Malorossiya is a personal initiative of Alexander Zakharchenko, Head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), Russian president’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.

"The statement Zakharchenko made this morning about Malorossiya is his personal initiative. Moscow learnt about it from the press. We stay committed to the Minsk agreements," he stressed.

Earlier in the day, a project for the establishment of a new state - Malorossiya - that would be Ukraine’s successor and would include a number of its regions was announced at a public meeting in Donetsk. Two documents - a political declaration and a constitutional act - were adopted by voting. According to the project’s initiators, the initiative is geared "to stop the civil war and avoid further casualties."

The neighboring self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) said however it is not taking part in the project. "The LPR was established as an expression of people’s will and we have no right to make such steps without hearing people’s opinion," the press service of LPR Head Igor Plotnitsky said. "The republic thinks it important to stay committed to the Minsk agreements and will continue to demand Ukraine do the same."

Commenting on this initiative, Russia’s chief negotiator in the Contact Group for settlement of the crisis in eastern Ukraine Boris Gryzlov said it should not be taken as manifestation of real politics.

"This initiative doesn’t fit into the Minsk process. I take it merely as an invitation for discussion. This statement has no constitutive effects," he said. "This initiative is rather a part of information warfare than a subject of real politics."

Source: ITAR-TASS 19-07-2017

More than 20 Russian warships engage in night drills on Neva before Fleet Day parade

A number of military exercises and rehearsals will be held on the Neva River and in the Gulf of Finland near Kronstadt in the next two weeks.

MOSCOW, July 18. /TASS/. More than 20 warships and boats took part in night exercises on the Neva River, St. Petersburg, ahead of a parade scheduled for July 30, the Fleet Day, representative of the Russian Defense Ministry’s Press Service for Naval Science Igor Dygalo said on Tuesday.

"Minesweepers, missile ships, anti-saboteur ships, patrol boats and landing boats have taken part in the exercises. Operation of systems and mechanisms was checked during the night drill," he said.

According to Dygalo, the Serpukhov fast attack craft, the Alexander Obukhov advanced minesweeper, the Grachonok anti-saboteur boats and the Raptor patrol boats took part in the drill. The exercises were led by Deputy Commander-in-Chief Alexander Fedotenkov.

A number of military exercises and rehearsals will be held on the Neva River and in the Gulf of Finland near Kronstadt in the next two weeks.

Source: ITAR-TASS 18-07-2017

Lavrov slams US seizure of Moscow's diplomatic property as ‘robbery in broad daylight’

"Decent and well brought-up people do not behave in such way," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

MINSK, July 17. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has denounced the ongoing spat over Moscow’s diplomatic property in the US, which was closed to Russian diplomats, as "robbery in broad daylight".

"As for the crux of what you quoted, if it is so, then it is robbery in broad daylight. It turns out that some tough guys are commenting on this situation," he told reporters on Monday, touching upon the statements by high-ranking White House officials that the US was not going to give Russia its diplomatic property back without getting something in return." "Decent and well brought-up people do not behave in such way."

Source: ITAR-TASS 17-07-2017

Putin vows to defend Russia's interests

"We are not going to quarrel or wedge a war", the Russian president has stressed.

GUBKIN (Belgorod region). July 14. /TASS/. Russia will not wedge any war, but will defend its interests in international arena in a civilized manner, President Vladimir Putin said on Friday.

"We are not going to argue, quarrel or wedge a war, but we proceed from the fact that we should not be ignored and our legitimate interests and rights have to be respected," Putin told workers of the Lebedinsky iron-ore mining and processing plant.

Russia is the largest country in the world, with a rather big population, he said.

"We cannot but have our own interests and we will be defending them. However, we will be doing it by all legal means necessary," he said, noting Russia should produce impartial information about itself and its history for this purpose.

Source: ITAR-TASS 16-07-2017

Kiev forces shell Lugansk republic’s territory nine times over past 24 hours

The fire was opened from 120mm and 82mm mortars, infantry combat vehicles, tripod-mounted man-portable antitank guns and automatic grenade launchers.

LUGANSK, July 15. /TASS/. Ukraine’s forces violated ceasefire nine times over the past 24 hours shelling the militia positions in the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic, the LuganskInformCenter said on Saturday citing the republic’s defense authorities.

"The shellings targeted the areas of villages Slavyanoserbsk, Kalinovo and Frunze, Rayevka, Zholtoye and Prishib," the news agency reported.

The fire was opened from 120mm and 82mm mortars, infantry combat vehicles, tripod-mounted man-portable antitank guns and automatic grenade launchers.

On June 21, members of the Contact Group on the settlement in eastern Ukraine agreed on another ceasefire along the line of engagement in the Donbass region, the so-called "harvest ceasefire" for the period of crop harvesting. It came into effect on June 24. However, ceasefire violations persist.

Source: ITAR-TASS 15-07-2017

Defense Ministry: Peacemaking operation in South Ossetia is one of world’s most successful

The successful experience of this operation was effectively used in settling other conflicts, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

MOSCOW, July 14. /TASS/. Russia’s peacemaking operation in the Georgian-Ossetian conflict zone was one of the most successful in the world, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Friday.

Today is the 25th anniversary of the launch of the first Russian peacemaking operation in the Georgian-Ossetian conflict zone.

"By its effectiveness, this operation is considered one of the most successful peacemaking missions in the world, which helped dozens of thousands of families return to peaceful life," the Defense Ministry noted.

The successful experience of this operation which was led by the current Russian Defense Minister, General of the Army Sergey Shoiogu, was effectively used in settling other conflicts.

"Russian peacemakers stopped the bloodshed by preventing the development of the humanitarian disaster and deaths among the civilian population," the Defense Ministry said.

On July 14, 1992, Russian peacemakers entered the conflict zone on the basis of the Agreement on the General Principles of the Georgian-Ossetian Conflict Settlement signed by the leaders of Russia, Georgia and North and South Ossetias. Two national battalions - the Ossetian and the Georgian - were also included in the Joint Peacekeeping Forces on a parity basis.

Source: ITAR-TASS 14-07-2017

Russian diplomat calls to quash NATO’s attempts to falsify history

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman reminded that among the Forest Brothers were SS soldiers and thousands of civilians were killed in the acts of sabotage they staged.

MOSCOW, July 13. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has called to quash NATO’s attempts to falsify history.

On Wednesday, NATO posted a video about the so-called Forest Brothers, or Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian guerrillas fighting against Soviet rule in the three Baltic republics in the 1940-1950s and called them fighters against ‘Soviet invaders.’

"Don’t stay indifferent, it is falsification of history deliberately propagated by NATO in order to revise the results of the Nuremberg Trials. And it must be quashed! If today they say that Bandera is a hero and the Forest Brothers are partisans saving the Baltic republics, what will we have tomorrow?" Zakharova wrote on her Facebook account.

She reminded that among the Forest Brothers were SS soldiers and thousands of civilians were killed in the acts of sabotage they staged. According to Zakharova, this organization was backed by Western security services up till the mid-1950s and NATO is well aware of that. "There are declassified, although slightly edited, CIA files on that matter," she added.

Source: ITAR-TASS 13-07-2017

Belarusian president says Moscow will remain Minsk’s strategic ally

According to Alexander Lukashenko, Russia is the main trade and economic partner of Belarus.

MINSK, July 11. /TASS/. Russia has been and will remain the chief strategic and economic partner of Belarus, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said at a meeting on foreign policy priorities on Tuesday.

"Russia has always been and will remain our country’s strategic ally. We pursue an agreed foreign and security policy and are successfully developing an array of social and humanitarian issues," he said.

According to Lukashenko, Russia is the main trade and economic partner of Belarus. "We are developing common approaches towards the key economic issues together," the president said. He added that Russia accounts for half of the $2 bln exports increase in Belarus. "We see that, despite all the obstacles emerging for us in that market, including artificial ones, our goods are highly sought after," he noted.

Lukashenko emphasized that in the current situation, "It is necessary to continue working calmly, confidently and persistently with the Russian side to resolve specific economic issues."

"If the Russians say today that embargoes and sanctions are a chance for their economy, you must understand that this is an equal chance for our economy too, because our economic ties are intertwined and cooperation is really deep," the Belarusian president noted. "When they talk about import substitution, this is a chance for our import substitution."

Source: ITAR-TASS 12-07-2017

Four in serious condition after fire rips through Moscow shopping mall

Fourteen people remain in hospitals.

MOSCOW, July 11. /TASS/. Fourteen people remain in hospitals, with four of them in serious condition, after a massive fire broke out at a shopping mall in the northeast of Moscow on Monday, a source in the city’s emergencies services told TASS.

"According to updated information, a total of 15 people had been hospitalized and one child was discharged. Fourteen people remain in hospitals and four of them are in serious condition, while ten are in moderate condition," the source said.

A total of 18 people were hurt in the blaze and three of them received outpatient treatment.

The fire started in a textile shop on the underground floor at the Rio shopping mall on Dmitrovskoe Highway on Monday afternoon. The blaze was extinguished some six hours later.

Source: ITAR-TASS 11-07-2017

Normandy Four telephone conversation due in July - Ukraine's president

The telephone conversation, the president continued, may be followed by a summit.

KIEV, July 9. /TASS/. The Normandy Four leaders (Russia, Germany, France, Ukraine) are expected to have a telephone conversation within the current month, Ukraine's President Pyotr Poroshenko said after a meeting with the US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Sunday.

"Most likely, in July would be a Normandy Four telephone conversation at the level of leaders," Poroshenko said.

The telephone conversation, the president continued, may be followed by a summit.

"As yet, unclear where," he said. "We are for having it this summer."

"Ukraine is not for having it postponed," he added.

Source: ITAR-TASS 10-07-2017

Leaders of Russia, Germany, France confirm stalling of Minsk-2

Putin "like always, concisely and fully presented to the counterparts the Russian position" on the topic, the press secretary added.

HAMBURG, July 8. /TASS/. Leaders of Russia, Germany and France - Vladimir Putin, Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron - at a meeting in Hamburg confirmed stalling of the Minsk peace agreements on Ukraine, though confirmed the work on their implementation should continue.

"The parties exchanged views on where we are now in the Ukrainian settlement," press secretary Dmitry Peskov said after the leaders’ working breakfast on Saturday. "They confirmed stalling in implementation of the Minsk agreements, but at the same time, they have the understanding the work should continue."

The leaders "share the understanding of necessary preparations for another telephone conversation in the Normandy Format, as well as of necessary measures, which could result in realistic ceasefire and weapons’ withdrawal in Donbass," he continued.

Putin "like always, concisely and fully presented to the counterparts the Russian position" on the topic, the press secretary added.

Source: ITAR-TASS 09-07-2017

Ukrainian military open fire on 16 areas in Donetsk Republic

"Over the past 24 hours, the Ukrainian Armed Forces 44 times violated ceasefire", the Donetsk People’s Republic's command said.

DONETSK, July 8. /TASS/. Ukraine’s Armed Forces over the past 24 hours 44 times violated ceasefire as they shelled the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), the republic’s command told the Donetsk News Agency on Saturday.

"Over the past 24 hours, the Ukrainian Armed Forces 44 times violated ceasefire as they used mortars, tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, armored vehicles, grenade launchers and small arms against the republic’s 16 settlements," the command said.

On June 21, Martin Sajdik, the special envoy of the OSCE chairman-in-office said ‘peace and quiet order’ would cover the entire harvesting season from June 24 through to August 31 and therefore the parties to the Minsk talks decided to call it a ‘bread ceasefire’.

Ceasefires have been declared many a time in Donbass since the spring of 2014, when the armed civil conflict broke out in eastern Ukraine. The conflicting sides agreed them at beginning of school year, before Christmas, before Easter, on the eve of the Children’s Day and so on. Officials voiced hopes the ceasefires would grow into indefinite ones but none of the declared periods of truce would last long - the shelling resumed after a couple of weeks, in a few days or even hours.

The head of the OSCE’s Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) in Ukraine, Alexander Hug, in his recent report pointed to the failure to comply with the ceasefire provisions and to pull back the weaponry.

SMM reported a total of 45 civilians died because of armed actions in Donbass from January 1 through mid-June and another 216 were wounded. This is a double growth year-on-year, Hug said. In 2016, 23 people died and another 84 were wounded.

Source: ITAR-TASS 08-07-2017