Certain states’ policies reveal that WWII lessons were not learned — Russian diplomat

"Regretfully, many unpleasant similarities with the events of the 1930s can be found in the modern world," Ivan Soltanovsky said.

PARIS, August 31. /TASS/. Certain states’ military buildup and attempts to divide nations into "first-rate" and "second-rate" ones are reminiscent of developments that took place during the decade that preceded the Second World War, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the Council of Europe Ivan Soltanovsky has told TASS.

"This year [on September 1] we mark the 80th anniversary since the outbreak of World War II. Not only is this date important from the point of view of history, it is also of great political significance," Soltanovsky said. "The anniversary is an important occasion to think about the chain of destructive events, caused by the dogmatism, stubbornness and short-sighted approach of European political elites in 1930s, which led humanity to the six-year-long massacre. This is also a chance to compare those events to present-day political processes and to discover several unpleasant parallels."

"Regretfully, many unpleasant similarities with the events of the 1930s can be found in the modern world. Countries are still divided into ‘first-rate’ and ‘second-rate’ ones, countries from the first group still have more rights than others and are still ready to sustain their economic well-being at the expense of the second group," Soltanovsky said, mentioning the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the role of certain countries in the present-day Syrian crisis.

"Western nations are still seeking to ensure their security at the expense of others. All of Russia’s latest initiatives in creating a common system of security in Europe have been ignored," the Russian diplomat went on.

He also said the majority of EU member states turn a blind eye to discrimination of certain minorities and glorification of Nazis and their collaborationists in Latvia, Estonia and Ukraine. Those states’ attempts to "wipe out the names of soldiers and marshals who liberated them" have also been left largely unnoticed, Soltanovsky said.

"At all international platforms and in the course of bilateral contacts, Russian diplomats have been trying to explain how dead-ended and dangerous those policies might be," Russia’s envoy to the Council of Europe said. "We hope that our efforts would not prove to be futile and the world would not plunge into new madness."

"Facts about WWII and the role of the Red Army in the victory over the Nazi Germany must never be extorted," he added. "This is not the case where ‘varying points of view’ are permissible, as some states want it to be. Free interpretation of historic events may have irreparable consequences.".

Source: ITAR-TASS 31-08-2019

No final date yet for Moscow-Kiev prisoner swap, says Ukraine’s Security Service

The exchange won't take place on August 30, according to the SBU.

KIEV, August 30. /TASS/. The Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) has said that the next prisoner exchange between Kiev and Moscow would not take place on Friday, and its final date was not yet determined.

"Not today," SBU Spokesperson Yelena Gitlyanskaya told Ukraine’s Obozrevatel (Observer) edition.

Commenting on reports that the exchange could take place in Kiev’s Zhuliany airport any moment, she noted: "We do not give any specific dates. I can say, however, that it will not take place today. There is no final date yet."

Gitlyanskaya earlier cautioned reporters from disseminating unverified information, saying that the complicated negotiation process continued.

Later on, the Ukrainian president’s office likewise refuted media reports, which asserted that the exchange of detainees between Kiev and Moscow had come to an end, stressing that the negotiation process was ongoing.

Source: ITAR-TASS 30-08-2019

Ukrainian filmmaker convicted of terrorism in Russia transferred to Moscow

Oleg Sentsov has been transferred in order to be exchanged, a source said.

MOSCOW, August 29. /TASS/. Ukrainian film director Oleg Sentsov, convicted in Russia of plotting terrorist attacks in Crimea, has been transferred to Moscow from a penal colony in Labytnangi, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Region, in order to be exchanged, a source familiar with the situation told TASS.

"Sentsov has been transferred to Moscow from the Labytnangi colony and taken to a pre-trial detention center," the source said without going into detail.

Sentsov’s lawyer Dmitry Dinze, however, told TASS that he was unaware of plans to exchange his client for Russians jailed in Ukraine.

Ukrainian media reported last week that Kiev and Moscow intended to carry out a prisoner swap based on the "33 for 33" formula. Russian Human Rights Ombudsperson Tatyana Moskalkova visited Kiev a few days ago but her agenda remained unclear.

Sentsov case

On August 25, 2015, Russia’s North Caucasus District Military Court sentenced Oleg Sentsov to 20 years in prison on charges of organizing a terrorist group in Crimea. In the spring of 2014, the group’s members carried two terror attacks in the Crimean city of Simferopol, setting fire to the offices of Crimea’s Russian Community organization and the United Russia party’s Crimean branch. According to the investigation, they also plotted other terrorist attacks.

Source: ITAR-TASS 29-08-2019

Russia to start serial deliveries of heavy attack drone to troops in 2025

This became known during the MAKS-2019 international aerospace show on Wednesday.

ZHUKOVSKY /Moscow Region/, August 28. /TASS/. The serial deliveries of the latest heavy attack drone Okhotnik (Hunter) to the troops will begin in 2025, the office of Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov told TASS at the MAKS-2019 international aerospace show on Wednesday.

"On August 3, 2019, a prototype of the heavy reconnaissance and attack drone Okhotnik performed its debut flight. A large volume of trials is required to bring the drone to the level of the serial-produced model. The serial deliveries to units of the Aerospace Force [are planned] beginning from 2025," the vice-premier’s office said.

"The basic volume of flight tests [of the Okhotnik drone] is planned to be carried out in 2023-2024, including the attack modification with various air-launched weapons," the office noted.

The Okhotnik will serve as a "universal baseline platform for carrying advanced air-launched weapons, onboard reconnaissance systems and other equipment, which will allow constantly expanding the drone’s functional capabilities during the serial production," it stated.

Okhotnik heavy attack drone

The debut flight by Russia’s Okhotnik heavy attack drone developed by the Sukhoi Design Bureau lasted over 20 minutes. As the Defense Ministry specified, the aircraft "performed several flyovers around the aerodrome at an altitude of about 600m under an operator’s control and landed." The flight took place at one of the Defense Ministry’s testing aerodromes.

The Okhotnik features stealth technology and the flying wing design (it lacks the tail) and has a take-off weight of 20 tonnes. The drone has a jet engine and is capable of developing a speed of around 1,000 km/h.

According to the data of Russia’s Defense Ministry, the drone has anti-radar coating and is outfitted with equipment for electro-optical, radar and other types of reconnaissance.

The remote-controlled Okhotnik model was unveiled at the Army-2019 international defense exhibition outside Moscow in late June.

A source in the domestic defense industry earlier told TASS that the heavy stealth attack drone Okhotnik would perform several more test flights this year.

"The program of the Okhotnik’s flight tests stipulates several more flights with the sequential complication of flight assignments," the source said.

The drone will perform one of its flights in a partially autonomous mode: an operator on the ground will give only a few commands, the source stated. "A possibility is also envisaged for the drone’s completely autonomous flight without the operator’s participation when it takes off, performs its program and lands only under the control of its own guidance system."

As another source in the defense industry told TASS, before that the drone already made several take-offs, jumping several meters above the runway and landing immediately after that. The drone performed a whole series of such tests but they are not viewed as a full-fledged flight, the source pointed out.

The MAKS-2019 international aerospace show runs in the town of Zhukovsky outside Moscow on August 27-September 1. The event’s organizers are Russia’s Industry and Trade Ministry and the state hi-tech corporation Rostec. A total of 827 companies from 33 countries are taking part in the aerospace show, including 184 foreign firms.

Source: ITAR-TASS 28-08-2019

Over 30,000 troops go on high alert in large-scale logistics drills in central Russia

The exercise will last through August 30.

YEKATERINBURG, August 27. /TASS/. Large-scale special logistics drills kicked off in Russia’s Central Military District under the command of Deputy Defense Minister Army General Dmitry Bulgakov, the Defense Ministry’s press office reported on Tuesday.

"The drills involve military command centers, logistics troops’ large units, military formations and organizations, more than 30,000 military and civilian personnel of the Central, Western, Southern and Eastern Military Districts and the Airborne Force," the press office said in a statement.

The troops involved in the drills will be accomplishing practical assignments of providing all types of logistic and maintenance support, the deputy defense minister said.

"The assignments of providing technical support for highways and roads, natural barriers and artificial obstacles, deploying motorway sections for aircraft landing, organizing special types of technical and food supplies for the troops’ military services and military branches," the deputy defense minister explained.

During the drills, each service member will gain hands-on experience in a simulated warfare under the designated scenario, improve or get new knowledge, perfect his skills and competences for the guaranteed fulfilment of assigned missions both in every-day activity and in a combat environment, the army general said.

The special military exercise for the logistics support of the Russian Armed Forces will last through August 30. The exercise will focus on improving the forms and the methods of fulfilling a whole set of missions placed upon the logistics forces.

More than 7,000 weapon systems deployed

Over 7,000 weapon systems are deployed in the special large-scale logistics drills that have kicked off in the Central Military District, the deputy defense minister said.

"The drills involve over 7,000 items of armament, military and special hardware, and also up to 90 aircraft and helicopters of Russia’s Aerospace Force and army aviation," the army general specified.

During the drills, the troops will be employing not only new special hardware and equipment operational in the Armed Forces but also promising technical hardware that is considered for delivery in the future, the Defense Ministry noted.

"Thus, during the drills, the troops will be using automated ammunition loading systems, modular container-type chemical analysis laboratories, a multiple aircraft fueling post, an aviation fuel pumping station based on container-type fuel tanks, a system of ship refueling without mooring, the latest field bakery mounted on an automobile platform and other modern equipment for troops’ logistic support in field conditions," the Defense Ministry explained.

The latest models of technical hardware and equipment, which Russian defense contractors are providing for logistics forces on their own initiative, will undergo tests and operational evaluation in field conditions during the drills, the ministry added.

Source: ITAR-TASS 27-08-2019

Russian Navy to get three battalions of Bastion coastal defense missile systems this year

They will join coastal defense and land troops of the Pacific, Northern and Black Sea Fleets.

MOSCOW, August 26. /TASS/. The Research and Production Association of Machine-Building (the town of Reutov, the Moscow Region) will deliver three battalion sets of Bastion mobile coastal defense missile systems this year, Company Chief Designer and CEO Alexander Leonov said on Monday on the eve of the MAKS international aerospace exhibition.

"At a meeting at the Defense Ministry of Russia in April this year, which discussed the fulfilment of the defense procurement plan in 2019, I reported to Defense Minister Army General Sergei Shoigu that work was underway to manufacture and deliver three sets of Bastion coastal defense missile systems," the chief executive said.

The Russian defense industry earlier told TASS that new Bastion coastal defense systems would join coastal defense and land troops of the Pacific, Northern and Black Sea Fleets.

The Bastion coastal defense system with standardized Yakhont (Oniks) supersonic homing anti-ship cruise missiles went into service in the Russian troops in 2010. The Bastion is designated to strike various types of surface ships operating as part of amphibious assault formations, convoys, surface action and carrier strike groups, and also sole ships and radar-contrast land targets under enemy intensive fire and electronic counter-measures.

According to the data of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the Russian Navy currently operates over 40 Bastion coastal defense systems. Specifically, they are deployed in Crimea, on the Kotelny Island (the Novosibirsk Archipelago), in the Kaliningrad Region, in Syria and on Kamchatka.

A Bastion battalion is capable of defending a coastline stretching over 600km. The Bastion can fire Oniks missiles to a range of 500km. The firing positions can be moved away from the coastline by 200km.

Source: ITAR-TASS 26-08-2019

Trump says Putin may attend next G7 summit in US

The US president also confirmed, that the G7 leaders had discussed Russia’s possible return to the club of the world’s leading industrialized nations.

BIARRITZ /France/, August 25. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump said that Russian President Vladimir Putin might attend the next G7 summit in the United States in 2020, the news agency Bloomberg reported on Sunday.

The US president made this statement ahead of his meeting with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on the sidelines of the G7 summit that is running in the French resort city of Biarritz, the news agency said.

According to Bloomberg, Trump said it is "certainly possible" that Putin is invited to the next G7 summit.

Meanwhile, the news agency Reuters reported that the US president confirmed the media reports that the G7 leaders had discussed Russia’s possible return to the club of the world’s leading industrialized nations. Trump noted, however, he did not know whether Russia would finally return to the Group of Seven nations.

Returning to G8 format?

US President Trump told reporters on Tuesday that "it’s much more appropriate to have Russia in" [the G8]. According to a senior US administration official cited by CNN, Trump and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron held a telephone conversation on Tuesday and agreed that the Russian president should be invited to the G7 summit in 2020. According to CNN, Trump planned to broach the topic at the G7 summit in Biarritz, France, on August 24-26.

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov earlier told journalists that the return to the G8 format was not a goal in itself for Russia since it was more efficient to deal with issues within the G20 format of the world’s leading industrialized and emerging economies. As Peskov noted, Russian President Putin has said on many occasions that Russia is not refusing to communicate with other countries in any formats.

The G7 is a group of industrialized nations that includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. The group was renamed the G8 in 1997 when Russia joined the club. However, following the 2014 events in Ukraine that created a crisis in relations between Russia and the West, the group’s western members decided to get back to the G7 format.

Source: ITAR-TASS 25-08-2019

Two Russian submarines fired ballistic missiles in Arctic Ocean, Barents Sea – Ministry

The Defense Ministry said that rockets were fired in the Arctic Ocean and the Barents Sea.

MOSCOW, August 24. /TASS/. Russian nuclear-powered submarines of the 667BDRM Tula project and 955 Yuri Dolgoruky project fired ballistic missiles at the Kura range in Kamchatka and Chizha range in the Arkhangelsk region as part of combat training, the Defense Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

"On August 24, in accordance with the combat training plan, the Sineva sea-based ballistic missile and the Bulava missile were successfully launched from the Tula and Yuri Dolgoruky strategic submarines," the ministry said.

The ministry said that rockets were fired in the Arctic Ocean and the Barents Sea.

"The large-sized mock-ups of missile warheads completed the full cycle of the flight program and successfully hit training targets at the Chizha range in the Arkhangelsk region and the Kura range on the Kamchatka Peninsula," the ministry said.

The ministry noted that these firing confirmed the technical properties of ballistic missiles, as well as the performance of all missile systems on submarines.

Source: ITAR-TASS 24-08-2019

Russian Navy to get six submarines in 2020 for first time over past 28 years

Last time, the Russian Navy received the same number of submarines in 1992.

MOSCOW, August 23. /TASS/. The Russian Navy will receive six submarines, including four nuclear-powered subs in 2020 for the first time over the past 28 years, a source in the domestic defense industry told TASS on Friday.

Last time, the Russian Navy received the same number of submarines in 1992. After that, domestic shipbuilders delivered two-three subs to the Russian Navy a year while in 1997-2012, Russia’s subsurface force could get one submarine a year at best or no sub at all. Since 2013, new submarines have been regularly arriving for the Russian Navy. Specifically, four submarines joined the Russian Navy in 2014.

"Under the contracts, the Sevmash [Shipyard] is due to deliver the first Project 955A serial-produced submarine Knyaz Oleg [Prince Oleg] and the first Project 885M serial-produced sub Novosibirsk to the Navy in 2020. Also, the Sevmash will deliver the Project 885M lead submarine Kazan and the Project 09852 special-purpose nuclear-powered submarine Belgorod to the Navy," the source said.

The submarine Belgorod will enter service with the Defense Ministry’s Deep-Water Research Department without Poseidon underwater drones since their trials are still underway, the source specified.

In turn, the Admiralty Shipyard in St. Petersburg in northwest Russia will deliver two diesel-electric submarines to the Navy: the Project 636.3 submarine Volkhov and the first Project 677 serial-produced sub Kronshtadt, although with a standard rather than an air-independent propulsion power plant, the source said.

Responding to a TASS request to comment on the information provided by the source, Russia’s United Shipbuilding Corporation noted that "the corporation delivers all the vessels to the state customer in compliance with the agreed schedules."

Plans for 2019

Russian shipbuilders are set to deliver two submarines to the Navy by the end of this year. Sevmash CEO Mikhail Budnichenko said in June that the Navy would get the Project 955A lead submarine Knyaz Vladimir (Prince Vladimir) by the end of 2019. In March this year, Admiralty Shipyard Head Alexander Buzakov said that the shipbuilders would deliver the first Project 636.3 submarine Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky to the Pacific Fleet this year.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu earlier stated that one diesel-electric sub and two nuclear-powered submarines would arrive for the Navy by the end of this year. As another source told TASS, "the sub Kazan was expected to be one of such nuclear-powered submarines but its delivery was re-scheduled for 2020."

During the Soviet period, shipbuilders delivered more than 10 submarines to the Navy in some years. Specifically, in 1971, the Soviet Navy received 12 various nuclear-powered submarines alone from the defense industry.

Source: ITAR-TASS 23-08-2019

Russia’s Northern Fleet warships enter Mediterranean in long-distance deployment

The drills will involve other Fleets within the Russian Navy.

MOSCOW, August 22. /TASS/. A naval group of Russia’s Northern Fleet has crossed the Strait of Gibraltar and entered the Mediterranean Sea as part of its deployment in distant waters, the Fleet’s press office reported on Thursday.

"A group of the Northern Fleet’s ships and support vessels led by the missile cruiser Marshal Ustinov has entered the Mediterranean Sea through the Strait of Gibraltar," the press office said in a statement.

The Russian sailors will make business calls at foreign ports and conduct various drills, including naval exercises for inter-operability with the warships of other Fleets within the Russian Navy.

The missile cruiser Marshal Ustinov will soon replenish fuel supplies from the medium oceanic tanker Vyazma. The sailors will also hold anti-submarine warfare and anti-subversion drills for the defense of a group of warships during anchorage in an unsafe roadstead.

The missile cruiser Marshal Ustinov left the home base of Severomorsk on July 3. Over this period, the warship’s crew took part in Russia’s Main Naval Parade in St. Petersburg on July 28 and in the Russian Navy’s Ocean Shield 2019 large-scale drills.

Source: ITAR-TASS 22-08-2019

Russia vows to beef up western border amid rising tensions with NATO

Defense chief Sergei Shoigu pointed to NATO ongoing military buildup in Eastern Europe, the deployment of US missile defenses to Poland and Romania, as well as growing cooperation with Finland, Sweden.

MOSCOW, August 21. /TASS/. Russia’s Defense Ministry will take wide-ranging measures in light of the mounting tensions along the country’s western borders, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said, opening the ministry’s board meeting on Wednesday.

When talking about the current military and political climate, he pointed to NATO’s ongoing military build-up in Eastern Europe, the deployment of US missile defenses to Poland and Romania, along with NATO’s growing cooperation with Finland and Sweden.

"We will take comprehensive measures to thwart the emerging threats," Shoigu pointed out.

The Russian defense chief said that a discussion on the meeting’s agenda would be held on carrying out the 2019-2025 plans set before the country’s Western and Eastern Military Districts in accordance with President Putin’s May Decrees of 2012 and 2018 and instructions handed down following the Sochi meetings.

Source: ITAR-TASS 21-08-2019

Troops in east Russia get first images from military satellite

The data from the military satellite considerably boosted the accuracy of weather reports, the military district's press office stated.

MOSCOW, August 20. /TASS/. Troops in Russia’s Eastern Military District have received the first weather data from the Meteor-M No. 2-2 remote sensing satellite, the District’s press office reported on Tuesday.

"The data were received using Syuzhet-MB mobile systems deployed in eight regions of the Russian Far East, including in field conditions," the press office said in a statement.

As part of special drills with specialists of hydrometeorological units of the Eastern Military District, military meteorologists deployed mobile weather stations and obtained weather data using mobile satellite information receiving systems.

The data from the Meteor-M military satellite have considerably boosted the accuracy of weather reports, including for aircraft, the statement reads.

Overall, the drills involve 600 special units and more than 400 items of special equipment, including more than 40 mobile weather stations.

A Russian Soyuz-2 carrier rocket with the Meteor-M No. 2-2 satellite was launched from the Vostochny cosmodrome in the Far East on July 5. On July 7, the satellite was delivered into the target orbit. The satellite is designated to control the ozone layer and the radiation situation in the near-Earth space and to monitor the sea surface, including the ice situation.

Source: ITAR-TASS 20-08-2019

Northern Fleet seeks to confirm discovery of new Arctic islands

The surveyors will land on Pakhtusov Island to search for traces of the first expeditions and historic artefacts.

MOSCOW, August 19. /TASS/. The Northern Fleet sailors plan to confirm the discovery of new islands and other geographic objects that emerged from ice caps near the Novaya Zemlya archipelago, the Northern Fleet’s press service reported on Monday.

"The Northern Fleet’s surveyors who carry out missions onboard the Altai rescue tugboat and the Gorizont survey vessel will confirm and detail the geographic discoveries made based on space monitoring data," the report says.

The press service reported that both vessels are currently found in the Kara Sea. The Gorizont’s crew is carrying out hydrographic research in the Bely Island area. The vessel entered the Kara Sea several days ago through the Kara Strait.

The integrated expedition to study Franz Josef Land onboard the Altai vessel passed through the Matochkin Shar Strait that separates the Yuzhny and Severny islands of the Franz Josef Land archipelago. On Monday, the explorers will land on Pakhtusov Island to search for traces of the first expeditions and historic artefacts.

The Northern Fleet's combined expedition to Franz Josef Land set off from the fleet’s main base, Severomorsk, on August 15 to operate until late September. Its members will carry out geographic and archaeological studies of the Arctic archipelago and will partially follow the routes of the pioneering explorers. The Northern Fleet seamen will travel along the expedition routes of Julius von Payer (1874) and Frederick Jackson (1897), as well as the rescue expedition led by navigator Valerian Albanov and carry out some historical experiments.

During the mission, the hydrographers will determine the state of the shoreline in areas where ice melting made it possible to study parts of the shore that had previously been hidden and explore a number of "blank spots" on the maps.

The combined expedition is being carried out on the 90th anniversary of the first hoisting of the Soviet flag (August 30, 1929) and the 105th anniversary of Russia’s flag being raised over Franz Josef Land (during the expedition led by Captain 1st rank Iskhak Islyamov). The Northern Fleet will carry out a number of historical and patriotic activities on the archipelago as dedicated to these events.

Source: ITAR-TASS 19-08-2019

Tourist bus accident in Moscow leaves 29 injured

According to earlier reports, the bus, which was carrying Chinese tourists, collided with a lamp-post after the driver had lost control of the vehicle on a wet road.

MOSCOW, August 18. /TASS/. Nineteen people have been taken to the hospital following a tourist bus accident in eastern Moscow, a spokesperson for the city’s Health Department told TASS on Sunday.

"The accident left 29 injured. As many as 19 people, including two children, have been taken to the hospital," he said.

According to earlier reports, the bus, which was carrying Chinese tourists, collided with a lamp-post after the driver had lost control of the vehicle on a wet road.

Police have launched a probe into the accident, a law enforcement source told TASS.

Source: ITAR-TASS 18-08-2019

FAC continues to decrypt black boxes of A321 plane

 On Thursday, an Ural Airlines Airbus A321, headed from Moscow to Crimea’s Simferopol, performed an emergency landing in the countryside near Zhukovsky International Airport.

MOSCOW, August 17. / TASS /. The Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) continues to analyze the data from the flight recorders of the A321 aircraft, which crashed on August 15 in the Moscow Region, a source in the department told TASS on Saturday.

"The work with black boxes in the laboratory continues, information is being analyzed," the source said. He noted, "it is premature to talk about the end of the decoding of the recorders."

On Thursday, an Ural Airlines Airbus A321, headed from Moscow to Crimea’s Simferopol, performed an emergency landing in the countryside near Zhukovsky International Airport. According to the Federal Air Transport Agency, the plane suffered a bird strike shortly after takeoff. The crew managed to land the plane in a cornfield and evacuate all the passengers. There were over 230 people, including 41 children, aboard the aircraft.

A criminal investigation has been launched into the circumstances of the emergency landing.

Source: ITAR-TASS 17-08-2019

Russia’s top brass mulls arming military pilots with PP-2000 submachine gun

A more compact PP-2000 submachine gun is meant to replace the Kalashnikov AKS-74U assault rifle.

MOSCOW, August 16. /TASS/. Russia’s Defense Ministry is considering including a more compact PP-2000 submachine gun into the military pilots’ survival kit instead of the Kalashnikov AKS-74U assault rifle, a source in the domestic defense industry told TASS on Friday.

"A proposal has been put forward to study the possibility of arming military pilots with a very compact PP-2000 instead of the AKS-74U. The defense agency has responded with interest to this proposal," the source said.

TASS has no official confirmation of this information yet.

A pilot’s survival deployment kit, which the ground personnel place into the ejection seat bucket before a combat sortie, includes the Kalashnikov AKS-74U assault rifle, the ammunition load and grenades in addition to food and water supplies, a first-aid set and communications gear. Also, when a pilot goes on a combat sortie, for example, in Syria, he takes a Makarov or a Stechkin pistol with him as additional arms and places it together with the magazines into the ammunition vest.

The PP-2000 has been developed by the Tula Design Bureau of Instrument-Making for the 9x19mm Parabellum cartridge. The submachine gun is among the world’s lightest firearms: it weighs 1.4kg without the magazine and the buttstock. As its specific feature, the PP-2000 offers the possibility to use a spare magazine as a shoulder support. The breechblock lever and the magazine’s latch button can be re-installed on any side, which makes it possible for both a right-hand and a left-hand serviceman to use the gun.

The serial-produced PP-2000 submachine guns have been equipped with a removable side-folding metallic butt since 2006. The PP-2000’s length is 582 mm with the unfolded butt and 350 mm without the butt. For the sake of comparison, the AKS-74U is 730 mm long with the unfolded butt and 490m long with the folded butt.

Source: ITAR-TASS 16-08-2019

Ukraine’s water blockade did not hamper Crimea’s development — regional head

The peninsula has adapted to the lack of water supply through the North Crimean Canal.

SIMFEROPOL, August 14. /TASS/. The water blockade was imposed on Crimea by Ukraine five years ago but failed to achieve its goals, the peninsula has adapted to the lack of water supply through the North Crimean Canal and is now developing successfully, head of Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov wrote on his Facebook page on Wednesday.

"The water blockade failed to produce the results Kiev was expecting. There is no water deficit for agricultural and drinking needs, the peninsula’s economy is developing, tourist flow is increasing, while agriculture has adapted to the new environment. But it does not change the fact that the attempt to deprive more than two million people of freshwater is in itself state terrorism," he underscored.

According to Aksyonov, a few statements were made by Kiev in the past few days regarding the water blockade of Crimea.

"Essentially, they are signaling that the new Ukrainian leadership believes that shutting off water supply through the North Crimean Canal is a right and lawful strategy. <…> Presidents, politicians and party banners change, while approaches remain. This is a clear testament to the fact that the alternation of power in itself does not guarantee that it’s quality improves. <…> The water blockade of Crimea is a part of the anti-Russian strategy of the West," he added.

Crimea first faced water shortage in April 2014, when Ukraine stopped supplying Dnieper water through the North Crimean Canal, which used to meet 90% of the peninsula’s necessities. The eastern and northern parts of Crimea were the hardest hit by water shortage back then.

The Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol, a city with a special status on the Crimean Peninsula, where most residents are Russians, refused to recognize the legitimacy of the authorities in Kiev who seized power amid riots that sparked a coup in Ukraine in February 2014.

Crimea and Sevastopol adopted declarations of independence on March 11, 2014. They held a referendum on March 16, 2014, in which 96.77% of Crimeans and 95.6% of Sevastopol voters chose to secede from Ukraine and join Russia. On March 18, 2014, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the reunification treaties. Despite the convincing results of the referendum, Kiev refused to recognize Crimea as a part of Russia.

Source: ITAR-TASS 14-08-2019

Su-24M bombers launch 100 missiles and bombs against enemy targets in south Russia drills

The drills involve more than 20 aircraft.

MOSCOW, August 13. /TASS/. The crews of Sukhoi Su-24M bombers launched about 100 missiles and bombs to destroy a notional enemy during drills in the Astrakhan Region, Russia’s Southern Military District reported on Tuesday.

"During the battle, about 100 air-launched weapons were employed, including missiles and bombs," the press office said in a statement.

Overall, the large-scale force-on-force drills of the Southern Military District’s air unit stationed in the Volgograd Region and air groupings of the District’s air defense troops involve more than 20 aircraft, the press office specified for TASS.

The drills consisted of two stages. During the first phase, the crews practiced warding off an enemy attack against the airfield and redeploying to aerodromes in the Astrakhan Region. During the 2nd stage, "the pilots repelled a missile air attack and delivered a strike at the Kapustin Yar and Ashuluk training ranges," the District’s press office said.

The Su-24M bombers delivered strikes against the notional enemy after receiving coordinates transmitted by Su-24MR reconnaissance planes.

Air operations with the offensive and defensive goals will be held during ten days on the territory spanning from Crimea to the Caspian Sea and from Abkhazia to the Astrakhan Region. The exercises will involve "units and formations of the 4th Air Force and Air Defense Army of the Southern Military District, and also air defense units of the Black Sea Fleet’s all-arms formations and coastal defense troops.

Source: ITAR-TASS 13-08-2019

Accident near Severodvinsk occurs when testing missile on sea-based platform – Rosatom

А spokesman of Rosatom said, that "the concourse of factors was present, which often takes place when testing new technologies".

MOSCOW, August 11. /TASS/. The fire outbreak and subsequent explosion near the city of Severodvinsk occurred when testing a missile on a sea-based platform, Communications Department of the Russian state corporation Rosatom told TASS.

"Missile tests were held on the sea-based platform. Missile fuel inflammation with further detonation occurred after completion of tests. Several staff members were thrown away to the sea and there was a hope to find them alive. The search continued until the hope to find survivors was present. The death of five Rosatom employees dealing with work related to a radio isotope power source being part of the missile was announced only after that," the department said.

"The concourse of factors was present, which often takes place when testing new technologies," a spokesman of Rosatom said.

The accident occurred at a military testing range near Severodvinsk in the Arkhangelsk region on August 8. The Russian Defense Ministry initially said that two people died in the accident involving a liquid-fuel jet engine. Later regional authorities said that six more people have been hospitalized after the accident. On August 10, Rosatom said that five employees were killed in the accident and three more were hospitalized.

Source: ITAR-TASS 11-08-2019

Donetsk ready for tit-for-tat response to ceasefire violations by Kiev

DPR head Denis Pushilin called on observers working in the conflict zone to intervene without delay to ensure Ukraine honors its obligations.

DONETSK, August 9. /TASS/. The self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) is prepared to provide tit-for-tat response to the Ukrainian armed forces' aggression if ceasefire violations in the Donbass region persist, DPR head Denis Pushilin said on Friday.

"Despite the agreements reached with the participation of Kiev’s envoys, 120mm shells were fired at the settlement of Kominternovo. [The Ukrainian army] used grenade launchers and small arms and shelled the center of the settlement with infantry fighting vehicles. If the Kiev authorities continue to break its promises, a tit-for-tat response will be provided to their actions," the Donetsk News Agency quotes Pushilin as saying.

He also called on observers working in the conflict zone to intervene without delay to ensure Ukraine honors its obligations.

"We do not give in to provocations. The Kiev authorities have shown once again their inability to negotiate and their lack of desire to maintain a peaceful dialogue," Pushilin said in a statement on the situation in the Donbass region.

On July 17, members of the Contact Group on the settlement in eastern Ukraine declared an indefinite ceasefire in Donbass starting on July 21. The agreement, in particular, includes the parties’ obligations to take additional measures to ensure the truce, and that is what the Donbass republics had called for. However, the Ukrainian army violated the new ceasefire on the very first day, shelling the Novaya Tavriya inhabited community located in the south of the DPR.

Source: ITAR-TASS 10-08-2019

Moscow police warn against calls for unauthorized rallies

A sanctioned rally will take place on Sakharov Square on August 10.

MOSCOW, August 9. /TASS/. Moscow police have issued a warning pointing out that calls for unauthorized rallies in the city are unacceptable, a spokesperson for the Interior Ministry’s Main Moscow Department told TASS.

"Despite repeated warnings, some Internet users continue to call on people to join in unauthorized rallies in the city center. We would like to make an official warning that such calls and participation in this sort of activities are punishable under the law," the spokesperson said.

According to him, an authorized rally will take place on Sakharov Square on August 10.

"Attempts to conduct an unsanctioned public activity, as well as any provocations, will be considered as a threat to public order and will be immediately suppressed. In this situation, threats to people’s safety are emerging," the spokesperson added.

He also noted that police requested demonstrators to obey traffic rules and avoid walking into traffic.

Moscow’s authorities have approved a bid to hold a rally in support of candidates barred from running for the Moscow City Council on Sakharov Square on August 10. However, the candidates called on their supporters and those willing to participate, to carry out a march through the streets of Moscow after the rally.

Two unauthorized rallies in support of the banned candidates have already taken place in Moscow, which resulted in clashes with police. Many were detained and a criminal case into mass unrest was opened, which involves over ten defendants.

Source: ITAR-TASS 09-08-2019

Three killed, 44 injured in bus accident near Novorossiysk

41 passengers are hospitalized, five are in serious condition.

MOSCOW, August 8. / TASS /. Three people, including a child were killed in an accident near Novorossiysk as a result of a head-on collision that sent a bus and passenger vehicle off a cliff, the Russian Emergencies Ministry told TASS on Thursday. "Of the 45 people who were in the bus and car, 28 were hospitalized, 3 were killed, 14 people were treated on the scene," the agency’s source said.

According to the press service of the Krasnodar Region's Ministry of Internal Affairs, the woman and two children who died as a result of the accident were passengers of the car that collided with the bus. "All those killed were car passengers — a woman, and two minors. The driver of a Volkswagen Touareg born in 1974 was hospitalized in a mildly serious condition," the press service stated.

The number of people hospitalized is up to 41, five are in serious condition, the Novorossiysk Deputy Mayor Natalia Mayorova told TASS on Thursday. Previously, the number was reported at 27. "There are 31 people in our hospital, among them children. Five are in serious condition," Mayorova stated.

The bus driver survived. Following examination, he was found to be sober, the press service of the Krasnodar Region's Ministry of Internal Affairs told TASS.

"The bus driver survived, he underwent medical examination, as a result of which no alcohol was found in his blood," the agency’s source said. The driver of the passenger car also survived the accident. "Both drivers are alive: both of the car and the bus. The accident happened right near the traffic police post at the bend to Anapa near Verkhnebakansky," Novorossiysk Mayor Igor Dyachenko told TASS.

Russia’s Investigative Committee has launched a criminal case. "The Novorossiysk Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case into the traffic accident involving a Volkswagen-Touareg car and a Hyundai passenger bus on the Novorossiysk-Kerch highway on the grounds of the violation of Article 264, paragraph 5 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (Violation of the traffic rules and operation of vehicles, resulting in the negligent death of one or more people).

On Wednesday, around 22:20 Moscow time, on the 16th kilometer of the Novorossiysk-Kerch Strait highway, a head-on collision occurred between a Volkswagen Touareg and a Hyundai bus, which sent both vehicles tumbling down the cliff, approximately 30 meters.

Source: ITAR-TASS 08-08-2019

Zelensky says he called Putin to discuss situation in Donbass

Four Ukrainian military were killed in the Donbass operation zone, which Kiev blames on militias of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic.

KIEV, August 7. /TASS/. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has told reporters that he held a phone conversation with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Wednesday to discuss the situation in Donbass. Russia's Kremlin confirmed that the conversation between the two leaders took place.

"This morning I spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin," Zelensky told a briefing following an urgent meeting with security forces, convened after four Ukrainian military were killed in the Donbass operation zone. "I called him on short notice. I said that this is not bringing us closer to peace."

Kiev claims the servicemen in Donbass came under fire launched by militias.

The Ukrainian president noted that he had asked the Russian leader to exert influence on the other party to "stop the killings."

After Wednesday’s telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Ukrainian president plans to discuss the situation in Donbass with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

"I will make another phone call from Turkey to President Macron," Zelensky told a news briefing following an emergency meeting with key military and law enforcement officials after the death of four Ukrainian servicemen in the area of the military operation in Donbass. "Also, I plan to contact Chancellor Merkel in the near future to agree on an urgent meeting."

Zelensky believes that the Normandy quartet leaders should meet urgently "to look each other in the eye and bring this war to an end."

On Tuesday, Zelensky called on the Normandy Four leaders — Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron — to convene a meeting as soon as possible to discuss the death of four Ukrainian servicemen, which Kiev blames on militias of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic.

Donetsk has rejected the claims, stressing that the incident had occurred way beyond the contact line and not within the militias’ striking range.

On August 7-8, Zelensky is to pay a visit to Turkey, where he will hold talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and meet with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and representatives of the Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar communities.

Source: ITAR-TASS 07-08-2019

Ammo depot fire in Krasnoyarsk Region extinguished

Powder charges stopped detonating after 05:00 Moscow time, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.

MOSCOW, August 6. /TASS/. The fire at an ammunition depot in the Krasnoyark Region’s Achinsky District has been extinguished, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on Tuesday.

"The fire at an ammunition depot of the Central Military District in the Krasnoyarsk Region’s Achinsky District has been fully extinguished. Powder charges stopped detonating after 05:00 Moscow time," the ministry said.

According to the Defense Ministry, Ilyushin Il-76 military transport aircraft and Mil Mi-8 helicopters began dropping water to prevent the spread of fire.

Earlier on Tuesday, the ministry reported that an Il-76 aircraft had conducted reconnaissance in the Achinsk area to evaluate the possibility of using aircraft to drop water in the area where the fire had occurred.

On Monday afternoon, a storage facility containing powder charges for artillery ammunition ignited at a military unit of the Central Military District in the Krasnoyarsk Region’s Achinsky District. Evacuation of locals from settlements within a 20-kilometer zone from the accident’s epicenter started.

The number of people wounded in the explosions at an ammunition depot in the Krasnoyark Region’s Achinsky District has climbed to 13. A woman who sustained light wounds sought medical attention, a source in the Achinsk Central District Hospital informed TASS.

"A woman sought medical attention an hour ago. [She] refused to be hospitalized," the source said.

A source in the emergency services earlier reported one fatality, but the Defense Ministry denied that.

Source: ITAR-TASS 06-08-2019

Explosions and fire hit ammunition depot in Siberia

One person was killed, seven others were injured, according to sources.

TASS, August 5. Explosions have been reported on Monday at ammunition depot located at the military base in the Achinsk District of the Krasnoyarsk Region.

"The explosion went off in an ammunition depot, evacuation is being carried out," a source in the region’s emergency services told TASS on Monday.

A fire broke out in the artillery propellant powder charge storage on the territory of an equipment supply depot, according to the Russian Central Military District.

Local emergency units took steps to restrict the spread of fire and ensure security at the fire site. "Currently, the epicenter of the fire is being localized," the district added.

A source in a local emergencies service told TASS that one serviceman died as a result of the blasts.

However, a source in the Russian Defense Ministry has dismissed this information.

Seven people have been injured, including two military officers, the local hospital informed TASS.

"There are five outpatients, and two military officers have been hospitalized," the hospital said, adding that the officers have received shrapnel wounds.

The personnel has been evacuated. An effort is underway to evacuate residents of settlements located within a 20 km zone from the accident’s epicenter.

The authorities of the city of Achinsk in Russia’s Krasnoyarsk Region, which has a population of 100,000, are evacuating about 11,000 people after explosions.

"Districts with a total population of about 11,000 people are within the impact zone. These areas are being evacuated,"  the press service of the municipal administration informed TASS.

A source in the region’s emergency services told TASS that residential buildings have been damaged in the wake of the explosions.

"Residential buildings have been damaged. The windows have been shattered by the blast wave. The territory [of the military base] has been cordoned off," the agency’s source stated.

Source: ITAR-TASS 05-08-2019

Moscow unauthorized rallies’ organizers sought to drag citizens into riots – mayor

The Moscow authorities had warned the rally’s participants about their responsibility and that they must not violate the law.

MOSCOW, August 4. /TASS/. Organizers of unauthorized rallies in the Russian capital sought to involve their participants in riots, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said in his interview with TVC, shown by Rossiya-1 TV channel on Sunday.

"Obviously, not all who attended the rally had expected this scenario. But the organizers, apparently, sought to drag them into riots," Sobyanin said. According to the mayor, many of those who participated in the rally had no relation to the upcoming elections to the Moscow City Duma (parliament).

"Many participants of riots had no relation to Moscow and moreover, the elections to the Moscow City Duma. I’m sure that Muscovites understand this very well," the mayor said, stressing that the riots were aimed at pursuing someone’s political and selfish goals.

The Moscow authorities had warned the rally’s participants about their responsibility and that they must not violate the law. The police had warned about the risks of various provocations at the unauthorized rally on August 3 and called on citizens and guests of the capital to avoid participation in it.

According to the Interior Ministry’s department in Moscow, some 600 people were detained for taking part in the unauthorized rally in Moscow on Saturday, which drew nearly 1,500 people.

A criminal case was opened into using violence against representatives of authorities and participation in mass riots. According to the Investigative Committee, more than 10 citizens took an active part in staging mass riots in downtown Moscow. Six of them have been arrested under the court’s ruling. A total of 1,000 participants of the rally have been detained and 88 of them have been placed under administrative arrest.

Source: ITAR-TASS 04-08-2019