Russia test-fires Topol-M ICBM against target in Kamchatka

The test-launch was aimed at confirming the missile system’s flight characteristics, the Defense Ministry said.

MOSCOW, September 30. /TASS/. Russia has test-fired a Topol-M intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) from the Plesetsk spaceport in the country’s north against a target in Kamchatka in the Russian Far East, the press office of the Defense Ministry reported on Monday.

"A Topol-M stationary (silo-based) solid-propellant intercontinental ballistic missile was test-launched from the Plesetsk state testing cosmodrome on September 30, 2019," the press office said in a statement.

The test-launch was aimed at confirming the missile system’s flight characteristics, the Defense Ministry said.

"The launch’s assigned tasks have been accomplished in full. The warhead equivalent arrived at the designated point [the Kamchatka Peninsula]," the ministry said.

The test-launch has again confirmed the technical fitness of Topol-M ICBMs that are on combat duty in Russia’s Strategic Missile Force, the ministry added.

The Topol-M intercontinental ballistic missile developed by the Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology has a firing range of over 11,000 km. The missile carries a warhead with a yield of up to 1 megatonne. Topol-M ICBMs are operational both in their silo-based and mobile versions in Russia’s Strategic Missile Force.

Source: ITAR-TASS 30-09-2019

Kiev tightens rules of crossing Donbass contact line, Lugansk official says

The LPR official has warned about the risk of crossing the contact line.

LUGANSK, September 29. /TASS/. Ukraine’s authorities have tightened the rules of crossing the contact line in Donbass, a spokesperson for the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic in the Contact Group’s humanitarian subgroup and head of a working group on a prisoner swap Olga Kobtseva said on Sunday.

"Before crossing the contact line, the LPR’s citizens should familiarize themselves with the latest changes in Ukraine’s legislation and take a well-considered decision in order not to put themselves and their relatives in jeopardy," Kobtseva said, according to the LuganskInformCenter.

Starting from October 29, 2019, the citizens of Donbass, who are under 16 years of age, won’t be able to cross the contact line upon their birth certificate. The new rules were introduced by the Ukrainian cabinet in mid-July, she explained.

The LPR official has warned about the risk of crossing the contact line, stressing that the Ukrainian side could use any pretext for detaining Donbass citizens in order to bring far-fetched accusations against them.

According to Kobtseva, the tightened rules of crossing the contact line are part and parcel of the so-called Zelensky formula on resolving the conflict in Donbass. "There is only point of the Zelensky formula is to ensure that everyone around talks about the Zelensky formula. Maximum noise and minimum content," she emphasized.

Source: ITAR-TASS 29-09-2019

Lavrov calls allegations about Russia’s involvement in Trump-Zelensky scandal as paranoia

The allegations Trump had exerted pressure on Zelensky to persuade Kiev to indirectly help him secure re-election for a second term in 2020 triggered a row in Washington.

UNITED NATIONS, September 27. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has slammed allegations about Russia’s involvement in the scandal around the telephone conversation between US and Ukrainian presidents, Donald Trump and Vladimir Zelensky, as manifestations of paranoia.

"When either new sanctions or new accusations of more and more deadly sins appear evey day, if not every hour - today [US Congress House of Representatives Speaker] Nancy Pelosi even said that Russia is behind the incident around the telephone conversation between Presidents Trump and Zelensky, that it was Russia that had played this trick, I think it is paranoia, it is obvious for all," he said on Friday at a news conference after his speech at the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly.

The allegations Trump had exerted pressure on Zelensky to persuade Kiev to indirectly help him secure re-election for a second term in 2020 triggered a row in Washington. Trump’s opponents claimed that the US leader sought to exert pressure on Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky to launch an investigation of Hunter Biden, whose father, former US Vice President Josef Biden, is now Trump’s most probable rival at the upcoming presidential elections. The Democratic Party-controlled House of Representatives on Tuesday used the suspicion to launch impeachment procedures against Trump. Biden is currently regarded as one of Trump’s most likely rivals in the presidential election due next year.

The White House on Wednesday released a transcript of last July’s conversation between the two leaders. It turned out that Trump by no means urged Zelensky to order an investigation of Hunter Biden in exchange for Washington’s financial and military assistance to Kiev. The US Department of Justice has found that last July’s Trump-Zelensky conversation contained nothing that might constitute a violation of the national legislation or any reasons for further investigation or other action.

Source: ITAR-TASS 28-09-2019

Russia’s latest attack drone performs 1st joint flight with Su-57 fifth-generation plane

The joint flight of the latest drone and the fifth-generation fighter jet lasted more than 30 minutes, the ministry specified.

MOSCOW, September 27. /TASS/. Russia’s latest Okhotnik (Hunter) heavy attack drone has performed its first flight with the most advanced Su-57 fighter jet, the Defense Ministry announced on Friday.

"The Okhotnik unmanned aerial vehicle has performed its first joint flight with a fifth-generation Su-57 plane," the ministry said.

The flight was conducted in the automated mode. "As part of the ongoing test program, the Okhotnik drone performed a flight in the automated mode in its full configuration, entering the airborne alert area," the ministry said. During the flight, the drone and the Su-57 fighter practiced interaction "to broaden the fighter’s radar coverage and to provide target acquisition for employing air-launched weapons," the ministry added.

The joint flight of the latest drone and the fifth-generation fighter jet lasted more than 30 minutes. The drone’s tests are being held at a testing aerodrome of the Defense Ministry, the ministry specified.

The office of Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov told TASS at the MAKS-2019 international aerospace show in August that the serial deliveries of the latest heavy attack drone Okhotnik to the troops would begin in 2025. The tests of the Okhotnik drone in its attack modification with various armament would be held in 2023-2024, it reported.

As the vice premier’s office pointed out, 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."

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 600 m under an operator’s control and made a successful landing." 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 specified.

The drone will perform one of its flights in a partially autonomous mode: an operator on the ground will give only several commands, the source said. "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 said.

Source: ITAR-TASS 27-09-2019

Su-24 bombers and Su-25SM attack aircraft strike enemy force in Crimea drills

The drills involve over 200 items of military and special hardware.

SIMFEROPOL, September 26. /TASS/. The crews of aircraft of the Southern Military District’s Air Force and Air Defense aviation based at aerodromes of the Crimean peninsula delivered bombing and missile strikes against ground targets at the Opuk practice range in Crimea, the press office of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet reported on Thursday.

"As part of the planned fulfillment of flight assignments, the crews of Su-24 bombers and Su-25SM attack aircraft of the Southern Military District based at the aerodromes of the Crimean peninsula delivered bombing and missile strikes against targeted positions," the press office said in a statement.

During their training exercise, about 10 crews dropped bombs, launched rockets and fired aviation guns against the targets that simulated a notional enemy’s command posts, military hardware and weapon emplacements," the statement says.

In addition, artillery troops of the Black Sea Fleet’s army corps are holding drills at the Opuk training range.

Source: ITAR-TASS 26-09-2019

Zelensky and Lavrov held brief talks in New York — source

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held brief talks on the sidelines of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly.

NEW YORK, September 25. /TASS/. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held brief talks at the reception organized by US President Donald Trump for countries participating in the 74th session of the UN General Assembly, a diplomatic source in New York told TASS.

"At the reception organized by US President Donald Trump for countries participating in the 74th session of the UN General Assembly, brief talks between Ukrainian President Zelensky and the Russian foreign minister took place," the source said. "They discussed the situation around Russian-Ukrainian relations," the source added.

Lavrov has arrived in New York to take part in the UN General Assembly session. He will make speech at the session on September 27.

Source: ITAR-TASS 25-09-2019

Russian military to conduct inspections in Latvia, Denmark – newspaper

The Russian inspectors will visit training ranges and attend briefings about military bases located in these areas and military activities taking place there.

MOSCOW, September 23. /TASS/. The Russian military will carry out inspections in Latvia on September 23-26 and in Denmark on September 24-27, Russia’s Krasnaya Zvezda (or Red Star) newspaper reported on Monday, adding that the mission would be conducted in accordance with the 2011 Vienna Document on Confidence-and Security-Building Measures.

"On September 23-26, a group of Russian inspectors will carry out a mission in Latvia, in an area covering about 16,000 square kilometers. In addition, on September 24-27, a group of Russian experts plans to inspect an area in Denmark, which would cover about 16,000 square kilometers," the statement reads.

The Russian inspectors will visit training ranges and attend briefings about military bases located in these areas and military activities taking place there, including the Silver Arrow military exercise involving Latvia, Albania, Canada, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Spain, Italy, Slovakia, Slovenia, Montenegro and Estonia.

According to the 2011 Vienna Document, every member state of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has the right to conduct inspections in other member states. The inspecting country can also invite other states to participate in this activity.

Source: ITAR-TASS 23-09-2019

West stages cyber attacks every day against Russia’s defense communications – Shoigu

The minister also stressed that fake news about Russia’s defense ministry and the armed forces were thriving in media space.

MOSCOW, September 22. /TASS/. Western intelligence services carry out hundreds of attempts every day to penetrate Russia’s defense communications systems, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said in an interview with Moskovsky Komsomolets published on Sunday.

"The West is meddling in the army affairs - they are doing this in an absolutely imprudent and brazen manner," Shoigu stressed. "The attempts of penetrating our communications networks amount to several hundred every day," the minister said.

The minister also cited another example when some individuals acting "upon the instructions from abroad" try to obtain data on the families of special ops forces, who died when fulfilling their duties as well as about the buried military.

Shoigu stressed that fake news about Russia’s defense ministry and the armed forces were thriving in media space. "This is that we allegedly carried out a strike on a hospital or that we are allegedly preparing to capture a country, or that dozens of coffins have arrived somewhere or some senior officials at the defense ministry have done something bad," he explained.

According to Shoigu, Russia has restored its Main Military-Political Directorate in order to counter this infowar.

Source: ITAR-TASS 22-09-2019

Kaliningrad Region is well protected from US air attacks — top brass

The Russian Defense Ministry also said that the Pentagon had reasons to be concerned that the delivery of the Russian-made S-400 systems to Turkey might tarnish the image of the F-35 stealth aircraft.

MOSCOW, September 20. /TASS/. The air defenses of Russia’s Kaliningrad Region are capable of repelling air attacks from the United States, including those involving fifth generation fighter jets, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on Friday.

"Russia’s Kaliningrad Region is well protected from any aggressive plans that American generals who visit Europe may have," the statement reads.

The ministry pointed out that "all NATO pilots who happened to conduct flights near Russia’s airspace in the Baltic region are well aware" of the technological capacity of Kaliningrad’s air defenses, including the ability to detect and, if necessary, destroy air targets. "It fully applies to the United States’ fifth generation fighter jets, which are ‘invisible’ only to US taxpayers and foreign buyers," the statement adds.

The Russian Defense Ministry also said that the Pentagon had reasons to be concerned that the delivery of the Russian-made S-400 systems to Turkey might tarnish the image of the F-35 stealth aircraft.

"Commander of US Air Forces in Europe General Jeff Harrigan’s thoughtlessness and naive belief in plans to conquer Kaliningrad should cause concern, first and foremost, to his immediate subordinates who, unlike him, seem to be familiar with one of the most important principles of military commanders: all plans look good until a battle begins," the statement said.

‘Mock missile attack’ on Kaliningrad

The National Interest reported earlier, citing independent analyst Steffan Watkins, that a "non-nuclear-capable B-52… flew a mock cruise-missile attack on Kaliningrad on March 14, 2019." According to Watkins, the aircraft took off from Louisiana’s Barksdale Air Force Base in the US and "conducted a mock nuclear cruise missile strike on the Russian Federation, only turning around 60 nautical miles from Russian airspace" and landing at Royal Air Force Fairford in the United Kingdom.

"The Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, which lies between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea and is geographically separate from the rest of Russia, practically bristles with S-300 and S-400 air-defense missiles, Oniks anti-ship missiles and Iskander surface-to-surface missiles," the article said, adding that "US forces believe they know how to crack Kaliningrad," according to Commander of US Air Forces in Europe General Jeff Harrigan.

Kaliningrad Governor Anton Alikhanov said, commenting on the National Interest article, that the United States should refrain from plotting to attack the exclave because the technological prowess and morale of the troops deployed there empowered it to fight off any adversary.

Source:  ITAR-TASS 21-09-2019

Massive drills involving pilots of Eastern Military District start in Far East

The exercise includes two regions in the Far East.

VLADIVOSTOK, September 18. /TASS/. Massive tactical flight drills of a composite air force of the Eastern Military District have started in two regions of the Far East. They involve 30 planes. The scenario is based on the pilots' actions to destroy militants in Syria, the Eastern Military District’s press service reported on Wednesday.

"The crews of the planes Su-35S, Su-34, Su-24M2, MiG-31, Su-30SM and Su-25SM of the aviation regiments of the district stationed in the Khabarovsky and Primorsky regions will carry out tactical flight tasks. <...> Up to 30 planes are involved in carrying out the tactical flight exercise," the press service reported.

During the active phase of the drills, the plane crews will improve their skills in performing combat training missions as part of an aviation group. A live firing exercise will take place at the end of the drills. Special attention is paid to the implementation of new tactical methods relying on the experience gained through modern conflicts. The pilots will launch unguided airborne rockets and drop bombs on targets that simulate groups of manpower, equipment, fortification structures and various "enemy" facilities.

Source: ITAR-TASS 18-09-2019

Four children are among eight people killed in house fire in Russia’s Krasnoyarsk

The fire was localized.

MOSCOW, September 16. /TASS/. Eight people, including four children, were killed in a fire at a residential apartment building in the Russian Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk late on Sunday night, the press office of the Russian Emergencies Ministry reported.

"A fire broke out at 22:26 Moscow time in a residential apartment building on the Gusarova Street in Krasnoyarsk," the press office stated. "The first fire emergency response unit, which arrived at the scene eight minutes after the call about the fire, discovered an open flame coming from a window on the third floor of the building."

"After the fire was put out, bodies of eight people, including four children, were discovered at the scene of the incident," the Emergencies Ministry’s press office added.

The fire, which engulfed an area of 40 square meters, was localized at 23:04 Moscow time and was put out half an hour later. Investigators work at the scene to establish the cause of the fire.

A source in the local law enforcement bodies told TASS that Vasily Fedortsov, a prosecutor from the nearby town of Lesosibirsk, and his family died in the fire.

"A prosecutor from Lesosibirsk, his family and the family of his sister died in the fire," the source said.

The Russian Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case on counts of infliction of death by negligence.

Source: ITAR-TASS 16-09-2019

Russian Fleet monitors US Yuma vessel that entered Black Sea - defense ministry

The US fast transport USNS Yuma entered the Black Sea’s waters at nearly 17:30 on September 14, the National Defense Management Center said.

MOSCOW, September 15. /TASS/. Russia’s Black Sea Fleet is monitoring the US Spearhead-class expeditionary fast transport USNS Yuma (T-EPF-8) that entered the Black Sea on Saturday, the National Defense Management Center (part of the Russian Defense Ministry) said on Sunday.

"The Black Sea Fleet is escorting the US fast transport USNS Yuma that entered the Black Sea’s waters at nearly 17:30 on September 14," the center said.

The Russian military notes that the Black Sea Fleet’s forces on duty "are continuously monitoring the US vessel."

Earlier reports said that the Russian Black Sea Fleet monitored the US Navy’s destroyer Porter and the USS Carney guided missile destroyer on August 8 and June 30, respectively.

Under the Montreux international convention, which regulates the transit of Turkish Straits for warships not belonging to Black Sea states, the US destroyer’s stay in the Black Sea must not exceed 21 days, the Defense Ministry noted.

Source: ITAR-TASS 15-09-2019

Seven killed in a bus accident in Yaroslavl region, 19 injured – source

Traffic police officers and rescuers are working at the scene of the accident.

MOSCOW, September 14. /TASS/. Seven people were killed and 19 injured in a road accident when a PAZ passenger bus collided with a truck in the Yaroslavl region, a source with emergency services told TASS.

"As a result of the collision of the PAZ bus with the truck, seven people were killed and 19 were injured, including one child," the source said.

Traffic police officers and rescuers are working at the scene of the accident. The causes of the accident are being established.

The regional department of the Emergencies Ministry confirmed information about the accident involving a bus and a truck in the Yaroslavl region.

"There is an accident: a PAZ bus collided with a truck in the Gavrilov-Yamsky district. There is information about the victims, it is being specified," a spokesman with the department told TASS.

Source: ITAR-TASS 14-09-2019

Anti-ship missile Oniks to undergo upgrade

At the moment the missile has a maximum range of 300 kilometers and maximum speed of up to Mach 2.5 at high altitudes.

MOSCOW, September 13. /TASS/. The joint stock company NPO Mashinostroyeniya (an affiliate of the corporation Tactical Missile Corporation) plans to upgrade its supersonic anti-ship cruise missile Oniks.

"It is true that we have been asked to improve the Oniks missile’s flight parameters for increasing the effectiveness of this anti-ship complex," a spokesman for NPO Mashinostroyeniya told TASS without specifying what parameters were in question.

At the moment the missile has a maximum range of 300 kilometers and maximum speed of up to Mach 2.5 at high altitudes. The warhead’s mass is up to 250 kilograms. The missile can be launched from both surface ships and submarines.

The anti-ship system P-800 armed with the Oniks missile began to be developed in 1982. The missile was authorized for service twenty years later, in 2002.

Source: ITAR-TASS 13-09-2019

Diplomat: Unknown perpetrator broke into Russia’s trade mission in London

According to the diplomat, the response by the London police was discouraging.

MOSCOW, September 12. /TASS/. An unknown perpetrator trespassed on the territory of the Russian Trade Delegation in London, causing property damage, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated during Thursday’s briefing.

"Several days ago, an unknown perpetrator has trespassed on the territory of our trade delegation in London, causing damage both to the property and the vehicles belonging to our trade delegation," she said.

According to the diplomat, the response by the London police was discouraging. "We were told that the case does not have any prospects and is likely to be closed," Zakharova stated, noting that the British law enforcement was provided with video surveillance tapes and detailed information shedding light on the incident.

"We hope to receive a qualified and responsible response of the British side on this matter," Zakharova stressed.

Source: ITAR-TASS 12-09-2019

Russia’s first two helicopter carriers to be laid down in Crimea in spring 2020 — sources

The first helicopter carrier will be delivered to the Russian Navy by the end of 2027.

MOSCOW, September 11. /TASS/. Russia’s first two amphibious assault ships will be laid down at the Zaliv shipyard in Crimea in May 2020, two sources in Russia’s shipbuilding industry told TASS on Wednesday.

"Two amphibious assault ships with water displacement of up to 15,000 tonnes will for the first time in the Russian history be laid down at the Zaliv shipyard in Kerch in 2020," the source said.

He added that the first helicopter carrier will be delivered to the Russian Navy before the current state armament program expires at the end of 2027.

The other source specified that "both ships will be laid down in May 2020."

According to him, the ships will be able to carry over 10 helicopters of various types and will be equipped with a dock-type chamber for landing craft utilities (LTU).

"The development of technical specifications of the new ships has entered the final stage. Once they are ready, in coming months, an agreement will be signed to build the helicopter carriers," he said.

TASS has been unable to officially confirm the information, provided by the sources, at the time of the publication.

The Zaliv shipyard in Kerch has facilities to build vessels up to 300 meters in length and up to 50 meters in width and, therefore, can build ships with a displacement exceeding 150,000 tonnes.

Earlier, a source in Russia’s shipbuilding industry told TASS that no later than by the end of the year, the Defense Ministry will complete developing technical specifications for a universal amphibious assault ship. There are plans to build the lead universal amphibious assault ship and deliver it to the customer under the state armament program through 2027 while the work on the first serial-produced vessel will be completed before the early 2030s, the source said.

Universal amphibious assault ships, also called helicopter carriers, are distinguished by their large displacement (20,000 tonnes and more) and can carry a large group of heavy helicopters of various designation (up to 16 helicopters aboard Mistral ships and more than 30 aboard US Wasp-class vessels), and also vertical take-off rotorcraft.

Universal amphibious assault ships can carry from several hundred to over one thousand marine infantry personnel, boats and other craft for landing the assault force and transport the armor. Universal amphibious assault ships normally feature a powerful combat control system and can act as a command and control vessel for a grouping of forces.

Source: ITAR-TASS 11-09-2019

Alleged ‘CIA spy’ Smolenkov never worked at Russian President’s Administrative Directorate

On Monday, CNN reported that the US had "successfully extracted from Russia one of its highest-level covert sources inside the Russian government".

MOSCOW, September 10. /TASS/. Oleg Smolenkov, a Russian national, whom media reports refer to as a possible CIA agent, has never worked for the Administrative Directorate of the President of the Russian Federation.

"He has never worked for the Administrative Directorate of the President of the Russian Federation," Elena Krylova, Spokesperson for the head of the Russian Presidential Administrative Directorate, told TASS, commenting on reports alleging that Smolenkov was its employee prior to 2017.

On Monday, CNN reported that the United States had "successfully extracted from Russia one of its highest-level covert sources inside the Russian government." For its part, the New York Times noted that the "longtime source landed an influential position that came with access to the highest level of the Kremlin."

Some Russian media outlets reported citing anonymous sources that the individual in question could be someone named Oleg Smolenkov, who supposedly worked for the government. Some of them mentioned Smolenkov’s other places of employment.

Source: ITAR-TASS 10-09-2019

Putin votes at Moscow City Duma election

Russian President traditionally votes at this polling station number 2151.

MOSCOW, September 8. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday morning came to a polling station in the Russian Academy of Sciences to cast his vote at the election to the Moscow City Duma.

Putin traditionally votes at this polling station number 2151. Previously, Putin cast his vote there at the presidential election in 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2018.

On September 8 - a single voting day, Russian citizens elect heads of federal subjects and members of legislatures, city mayors and members of city councils, as well as representative bodies, municipalities. Besides, by-elections to the State Duma (lower house of parliament) are held.

Moscow citizens will cast their votes for members of the Moscow City Duma. The elections to the city parliament are held in 45 single-seat constituencies, and three of them will have online voting. Some 7.3 mln voters are eligible to vote in Moscow. The polling stations opened at 8 a.m. and will close at 8 p.m.

Source: ITAR-TASS 08-09-2019

Russian-Ukrainian exchange procedure has started, says lawyer

Ukrainian sailors have been delivered from the Lefortovo pre-trial detention center to Vnukovo Airport.

MOSCOW, September 7. /TASS/. The exchange procedure for citizens arrested and convicted in Russia and Ukraine has started, the lawyer of one of the Ukrainian sailors Nikolai Polozov told TASS.

"Ukrainian sailors have been delivered from the Lefortovo pre-trial detention center to Vnukovo Airport, which is why it is safe to say that the exchange has started," he said.

Preparations for exchange of detainees between Moscow and Kiev intensified after Vladimir Zelensky was elected Ukrainian President. The active stage of negotiations and formalization of legal procedures regarding the citizens of the two countries to be put on the list started a couple of weeks ago. On September 5, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the exchange would be large-scale and can serve as a step towards improving the bilateral relationship.

On November 25, 2018, three Ukrainian naval ships violated the rules of passage from the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov. The intruding Ukrainian vessels illegally crossed the Russian state border, trespassed into Russian territorial waters and conducted dangerous maneuvers. In defiance of repeated warnings and demands to halt, the Ukrainian ships carried on violating the law, which drove Russian forces to fire on them in order to get them to stop. As a result, all three ships were detained. A criminal case was opened over the violation of the Russian state border, with 24 sailors arrested.

Source: ITAR-TASS 07-09-2019

Putin urges Interior Ministry to tackle cyber drug crime

The president was asked whether it was possible to create a cyber police force in Russia that would fight online drug trafficking.

VLADIVOSTOK, September 6. /TASS/. Russia’s Interior Ministry must combat online drug-related crime, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with members of the Russian Far East community.

"This problem is overwhelmingly important, it’s a burning issue for the entire world and for us too," Putin said when asked whether it was possible to create a cyber police force in Russia that would fight online drug trafficking. "I don’t know whether we need cyber police or not, but the Interior Ministry certainly must keep in mind the fact that criminals use sophisticated, modern ways to traffic [narcotics]. Maybe, we should do that within the framework of the existing agencies combating the distribution of narcotics, and I’ll be sure to tell [Interior Minister Vladimir] Kolokoltsev about that."

One of the participants in the meeting suggested beefing up the number of law enforcement agents in those regions with high drug crime rates. "As for increasing the number, we will think it over. All our efforts on this front are aimed at personnel reduction. That does not mean, however, that we should apply brushstrokes broadly. We need to decide on our priorities," Putin said.

Source: ITAR-TASS 06-09-2019

Both of Sukhoi-25UB’s pilots died in air crash on September 3

The pilots failed to eject themselves.

MOSCOW, September 4. /TASS/. Both pilots of the Sukhoi-25UB fighter-bomber lost in the Stavropol Region on Tuesday died in the air crash, the Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.

"The Defense Ministry’s probe on the site of the Sukhoi-25UB crash in the Stavropol Territory has confirmed the death of both pilots. They failed to eject themselves," the Defense Ministry said.

The Sukhoi-25UB jet of Russia’s Aerospace Force crashed in the Stavropol Region on Tuesday. A source in the region’s law enforcement agencies said the crash occurred while the plane was performing a training flight. The crew failed to complete an aerobatics figure called dead loop and flew into the ground.

The plane carried no ammunition and crashed in an unpopulated area causing no destruction on the ground.

Source: ITAR-TASS 04-09-2019

Putin signs indefinite Treaty on Friendship with Mongolia

According to the Russian president, the new deal would bring bilateral ties to an absolutely new level.

ULAN BATOR, September 3. /TASS/. The Russian and Mongolian Presidents, Vladimir Putin and Khaltmaagiin Battulga, have signed a new Treaty on Friendship and Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between Russia and Mongolia.

The ceremony was held after talks between the two leaders at the Government Palace in Ulan Bator, where the Russian president arrived for an official visit.

Putin said earlier in an interview with Mongolia’s Udriin Sonin newspaper ahead of his visit to the capital Ulan Bator that this document, drafted on the basis of the 1993 Treaty on Friendship and Cooperation, would be indefinite. According to the president, the new deal would bring bilateral ties to an absolutely new level.

After talks, Russia and Mongolia signed 10 agreements on developing cooperation in different areas. The governments of the two countries inked deals on cooperation in the war on terror and assistance in trans-regional and border cooperation. Besides, protocols were signed between the two cabinets of ministers on restoring a 2004 deal on cooperation between the Russian and Mongolian governments on providing free-of-charge military and technical assistance to Mongolia.

Source: ITAR-TASS 03-09-2019

No progress on Russia-Ukraine prisoner exchange so far, attorney says

Earlier, the Ukrainian media reported that the exchange of prisoners between Russia and Ukraine would take place on August 30.

KIEV, September 2. /TASS/. There is no progress on the prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine so far, attorney of several detained Russians in Ukraine Valentin Rybin informed TASS.

"All detained persons in Ukraine remain where they are. There has been no movement," he said.

According to the attorney, the decree of the Ukrainian president on pardoning the detained under the exchange deal has not been signed yet. Rybin was also unable to confirm the earlier media reports claiming that the exchange would take place on September 3.

Earlier, the Ukrainian media reported that the exchange of prisoners between Russia and Ukraine would take place on August 30. However, the administration of the Ukrainian president stated that the mutual exchange process between Kiev and Moscow is not over yet. Later, the Ukrainian Security Service informed that the exchange would not take place on August 30, and that its final date has not been determined yet.

Source: ITAR-TASS 02-09-2019