Russian Pantsir-S air defense takes down some 100 drones around the world

Pantsir-S system is designed for close-range air protection of civilian and military objects.

MOSCOW, January 29. /TASS/. The Russian Pantsir-S air defense missile system took down some 100 drones around the world over the course of its service, says Valery Slugin - the chief air defense designer KBP JSC, a division of Rostec’s High Precision Weapons JSC.

"About one hundred, maybe more," Slugin said in interview for TASS. "That includes Syria and other regions."

Slugin reminded that there are two Pantsir divisions deployed in Syria: the Russian one, located at Hmeimim airbase, and a Syrian one.

He admitted that jury-rigged terrorist drones repeatedly used to attack the Hmeimim base gave the system some trouble.

"Initially, the terrorists tied up to 10 bombs to their drones, which made them perfectly visible on a radar. Later, they reduced the ordnance number to just two, and significantly reduced the drone’s speed. We had to apply some effort to teach the systems how to take down such targets," the designer said.

According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the last attempt to attack Hmeimim base with drones happened on January 19. All aerial targets were destroyed at a safe distance from the Russian base.

Pantsir-S system is designed for close-range air protection of civilian and military objects, around the clock, in any weather and radio-electronic environment. The system is armed with 12 guided missiles and two 30mm autocannons.

Source: ITAR-TASS 29-02-2020

Russia’s Northern Fleet continues tests of hypersonic weapons

The ministry’s board meeting discussed, in particular, the fulfillment of the Northern Fleet’s plan of activity for 2019-2025.

MOSCOW, February 28. /TASS/. The Northern Fleet continues trials of Russia’s latest hypersonic weapons, Defense Minister Army General Sergei Shoigu said on Friday.

"The trials of new armament, including hypersonic weapons, continue. All this will make it possible to qualitatively boost the combat potential of the Russian Navy’s Northern and other fleets," Shoigu told the ministry’s board meeting.

The ministry’s board meeting discussed, in particular, the fulfillment of the Northern Fleet’s plan of activity for 2019-2025.

Russia test-launches Tsirkon hypersonic missile from ship for first time

Russia test-launched its Tsirkon hypersonic missile from a ship for the first time when the Project 22350 frigate Admiral Gorshkov fired the weapon from the Barents Sea against a ground target in January, two sources in defense circles of Russia’s North-Western Federal District told TASS on Thursday.

"In accordance with the program of the Tsirkon’s state trials, the Admiral Gorshkov test-launched this missile from the Barents Sea against a ground target at one of military testing ranges of the Northern Urals in early January," one of the sources said.

The other source confirmed this information, noting that "the range of the Tsirkon’s flight exceeded 500 km."

The source added that the test-launches of the Tsirkon hypersonic missile from seaborne delivery vehicles would be continued in 2020. "After the program of test-launches from the board of the Admiral Gorshkov is over, these missiles will be test-fired from nuclear-powered submarines," the source commented.

Source:  ITAR-TASS 28-02-2020

Russian Baltic Fleet ships hold anti-piracy drills in Indian Ocean

The guard ship Yaroslav Mudry, the tanker Yelnya and the sea tug Viktor Konetsky took part in the drills.

KALININGRAD, February 26. /TASS/. The Baltic Fleet’s naval task force comprising the guard ship Yaroslav Mudry, the tanker Yelnya and the sea tug Viktor Konetsky practiced repelling a terrorist attack during its deployment to the Indian Ocean, the Fleet’s press office reported on Wednesday.

"The anti-terror squad participating in the long-distance deployment has held a training exercise to repel a notional terrorist group’s attack on the naval group," the press office said in a statement.

The guard ship and the sea tanker are carrying specially trained groups from the Baltic Fleet’s marine infantry.

The crew of the guard ship Yaroslav Mudry also replenished fresh water and fuel supplies from the sea tanker Yelnya. The warship’s crew also held ship damage control drills.

The ships embarked on their long-distance deployment from the Baltic Fleet’s main naval base of Baltiysk in the westernmost Kaliningrad Region on October 1 and set off for the Indian Ocean. In December, the warships took part for the first time in the naval phase of the Indra-2019 Russian-Indian drills, in the Maritime Security Belt Russia-China-Iran naval maneuvers and in the Russian-Japanese anti-piracy exercise.

The Yaroslav Mudry is a Project 11540 ‘Yastreb’ guard ship (frigate) built at the Yantar Shipyard on the Baltic coast in Kaliningrad. It is designated to search for, detect and track enemy submarines, provide anti-ship and anti-submarine warfare defense for warships and support vessels, deliver strikes against surface targets at sea and at bases, support land troops’ combat operations and provide for the landing of amphibious assault forces and accomplish other tasks. The Yaroslav Mudry has been operational in Russia’s Baltic Fleet since July 2009.

Source: ITAR-TASS 26-02-2020

Russian journalist barred from entering Latvia

Latvia’s customs officers refused to explain the reasons for the move.

MOSCOW, February 24. /TASS/. A Russian reporter working for Izvestia Andrei Zakharov has been barred from entering Latvia, Channel Five reported on Monday.

"A correspondent of Izvestia multimedia information center Andrei Zakharov has not been allowed to enter Latvia and his Schengen visa has been canceled for three years at Estonia’s request," the report said.

The film crew arrived in Riga in the morning of February 24. The journalist was told that he could not enter the country. Latvia’s customs officers refused to explain the reasons for the move.

Izvestia confirmed the report, noting that it had asked the authorities of Estonia and Latvia to provide explanations.

According to the TV channel, the film crew planned to report about the 200-fold expansion of a military base in Latvia’s Daugavpils.

Last year, Zakharov published several reports about Estonia, including about the local authorities’ refusal to hold events on occasion of the 75th anniversary of liberating Tallinn from German and Nazi invaders.

Source: ITAR-TASS 24-02-2020

Russian Pantsyr-S1 systems arrive in Serbia - defense minister

According to the Serbian mass media, two out of six Pantsyr-S1 systems reached Serbia via Bulgaria’s airspace.

BELGRADE, February 22. /TASS/. The first batch of the Russian Pantsyr-S1 surface-to-air missile/gun systems has arrived in Serbia, Serbian Defense Minister Aleksandar Vulin said on Saturday.

"The first batch of the Pantsyr-S1 system has arrived at the Batajnica airfield," the ministry’s press service quoted him as saying. "Purchasing this defensive weapons, one-of-its-kind in the region, Serbia continues to strengthen its defense might and deterrence potential. This way we enhance our capability to remain a military neutral state, which is the fundamental security position of the Serbian Army Supreme Commander-in-Chief Aleksandar Vucic, as well as of our government and parliament."

According to the Serbian mass media, two out of six Pantsyr-S1 systems Serbia had bought from Russia reached Serbia via Bulgaria’s airspace on Saturday. The final agreements on the supplies of these systems were reached during Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu’s visit to Belgrade on February 17.

Serbian soldiers have already undergone corresponding training and are not prepared to wor with the new weapons.

The Pantsyr-S1 (NATO reporting name: SA-22 Greyhound) is a ground-based self-propelled surface-to-air missile/gun system designated to shield military and civilian facilities, including long-range air defense systems, from all modern and future air attack weapons.

The Pantsyr mounted on the truck chassis for greater mobility is armed with two 30mm guns, each of which is capable of firing up to 40 rounds per second, as well as 12 anti-aircraft missiles.

Source: ITAR-TASS 23-02-2020

US embarks on dangerous game simulating nuclear strike on Russia - Russian diplomat

Sergei Ryabkov said that such actions "clearly show that Washington is determined to pursue the path of confrontation and keep lowering the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons".

MOSCOW, February 22. /TASS/. Moscow condemns Washington’s attempts to simulate a limited nuclear strike on Russia, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told TASS on Saturday.

"The United States continues a series of command-staff exercises and other drills involving the simulation of limited nuclear strikes, particularly - as it became known recently - on targets in Russia," he said, commenting on a recent military drill in the US. "We condemn such actions because they clearly show that Washington is determined to pursue the path of confrontation and keep lowering the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons," Ryabkov added.

"The US is embarking on a highly dangerous game instead of focusing on efforts to strengthen the arms control system that would also cover nuclear weapons," the senior Russia diplomat pointed out. "As we have stressed on numerous occasions, we would use nuclear weapons only in two exceptional cases - if Russia faces an attack with weapons of mass destruction or an aggression involving the large-scale use of conventional arms that puts the country’s existence at risk," he emphasized.

Ryabkov pointed out that "allegations saying that we could act based on the ‘escalation for the sake of de-escalation’ principle are just idle talk that has nothing to do with reality." "This is why we would like to once again draw the attention of our American colleagues to the need to dot all the i’s in their defense planning and once again confirm the well-known formula that has been there since the Soviet era, which says that that there can be no winners in a nuclear war and it should never be unleashed."

"The United States’ reluctance to confirm the formula gives us more reason to believe that Washington continues drawing up scenarios involving the use of nuclear weapons," the Russian deputy foreign minister stressed.

A senior Pentagon official told reporters earlier that the US had conducted a classified military drill, the scenario of which "included a European contingency where you’re conducting a war with Russia and Russia decides to use a low-yield, limited nuclear weapon against a site on NATO territory," the official said, adding: "During the course of the exercise, we simulated responding with a nuclear weapon".

Source: ITAR-TASS 22-02-2020

Russian, Belarusian paratroopers seize and retain advantageous terrain in drills

Paratroopers from Russia and Belarus are holding joint drills on the territory of the Pskov Region on February 18-21.

PSKOV, February 21. /TASS/. Russian paratroopers and Special Operations forces from Belarus practiced seizing and retaining advantageous terrain during joint tactical drills in the Pskov Region in Russia’s northwest, the Defense Ministry of Russia reported on Friday.

"A joint formation of Russia’s Airborne Force and the Special Operations Forces of the Republic of Belarus practiced seizing and retaining advantageous terrain to assist deploying and committing the regiment’s main forces to the battle as part of the third stage of joint tactical drills in the Pskov Region," the ministry said in a statement.

The third stage of the drills ran at three sections of the Strugi Krasniye training range. At one section, the Belarusian paratroopers live-fired small arms and hand-held grenade launchers, designating the enemy’s elimination at their captured positions.

In turn, the main forces of the Guards airborne assault regiment live-fired the guns of BMD-2 airborne infantry fighting vehicles at another section of the practice range.

"About 30 combat vehicles deployed in battle formations and delivered massive fire to strike all the targets that designated the enemy," the statement says.

"As the enemy’s main forces were seizing advantageous terrain, a tank company of a separate tank battalion was waiting for a command in its deployed battle formation as the chief officer’s reserve. After receiving the command, the tanks switched to an offensive, firing 100mm cannons and coaxial machine-guns, striking all the targets and completing the rout of illegal armed formations," the press office said.

Paratroopers from Russia and Belarus are holding joint drills on the territory of the Pskov Region on February 18-21. The exercise involves military hardware, including two Mi-24 helicopters and eight Mi-8 gunships of Russia’s Western Military District and also four Il-76MD military transport planes of the Russian Aerospace Force.

The drills are running under the direction of Commander of the Pskov Guards Air Assault Division Guards Major-General Igor Kapliy at the Zavelichye practice range in Pskov and at the Strugi Krasniye training ground outside the city.

Source: ITAR-TASS 21-02-2020

Russia’s top brass to sign contract for several dozen upgraded Su-34 bombers — source

The aircraft will integrate the latest avionics suite developed under the Sych experimental design work.

MOSCOW, February 19. /TASS/. Russia’s Defense Ministry plans to sign a new contract in the summer for the delivery of several dozen Sukhoi Su-34 frontline bombers to the Aerospace Force with their combat capabilities expanded under the Sych experimental design work, a source in the defense industry told TASS on Wednesday.

"The Defense Ministry plans to sign a contract with the Sukhoi Company this summer for the delivery of several dozen Su-34 planes to the troops with expanded combat capabilities. The aircraft will integrate the latest avionics suite developed under the Sych experimental design work," the source said.

The Sych experimental design work was completed in 2019 and, in particular, "it envisages installing underslung reconnaissance containers on Su-34s," the source specified.

"Also, the range of air-launched weapons, which the Su-34 will be able to employ, increases significantly in the process of this work," the source said.

Eventually, there are plans to upgrade operational Su-34 planes," the source said.

TASS has no official confirmation of this information provided by the source.

Su-34 fighter-bomber

The Su-34 multirole supersonic fighter-bomber is designated to strike both ground-based and air targets day and night in any weather conditions. As its basic armament, the plane carries air-to-surface and air-to-air missiles. The Su-34 has an operating range of 4,000 km, can develop a maximum speed of up to 1,900 km/h and carry a combat payload of up to 8 tonnes.

The first contract for the delivery of 32 Su-34 planes to the Defense Ministry was signed in 2008. Currently, the Novosibirsk Aviation Enterprise (a branch of the Sukhoi Aircraft Company) is completing the production of Su-34 bombers under the contract signed with the Defense Ministry in 2012 for the delivery of 92 planes to the troops.

Today Russia’s Aerospace Force operates from 110 to 130 Su-34 frontline bombers, according to various estimates.’

Source: ITAR-TASS 19-02-2020

Kremlin says new data on MH17 crash in Ukraine demonstrates that Russia was right

Dmitry Peskov has commented on the leaked document of the Dutch Military Intelligence and Security Service.

MOSCOW, February 18. /TASS/. New revelations about the MH17 crash in Ukraine in 2014 just go to prove that the Russian side was right, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday, commenting on the leaked document of the Dutch Military Intelligence and Security Service saying that the incident took place in the region where no Buk missile systems were deployed at the time of the tragedy.

"It once again demonstrates that there are still a lot of questions and these questions call into serious doubt the biased position [on what caused the crash] that has been repeatedly voiced," he said. "Regrettably, Russia has been denied the right to be a member of the international investigative team. That is why we have always been skeptical and distrustful of these hasty and ungrounded conclusions and this information [about the absence of Buk systems] is just more proof that the Russian side was right."

He said he could not anticipate possible impacts of the new information on public opinion on the global arena. "I don’t know, we cannot say anything. Let us wait and see," he said.

When asked why Russia demanded it be included into the Joint Investigation Team, Peskov recalled that immediately after the probe had been launched Russia was accused of "what it did not do, and we categorically disagree with that."

"It was back then that Russia did not hesitate to offer its services as a full-fledged member of the international investigation team," he said, adding that the probe results had been made public before the trial started.

A Boeing-777 passenger plane operated by Malaysian Airlines crashed on July 17, 2014, when it was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, in the east of the Donetsk region. As many as 283 passengers and 15 crew members - citizens of 10 countries, were killed in the crash. Most of the air tragedy's victims - 196 people -were Dutch nationals. The Joint Investigation Team (JIT) including representatives of the Netherlands, Australia, Belgium, Malaysia and Ukraine was set up. In June 2019, the JIT said it had identified four persons suspected of being behind the MH17 crash. The trial is scheduled to begin on March 9, 2020.

Russian officials have repeatedly expressed distrust to the JIT’s conclusions, saying it was reluctant to use Russia’s data.

Bonanza Media, a platform for independent journalist, on Monday made public a number of documents about the MH17 crash. Thus, as follows from one of the documents that was sent to Dutch prosecutors MH17 was flying beyond the range of all identified and operational Ukrainian and Russian locations where 9K37M1 Buk M1 systems were deployed.

Source: ITAR-TASS 18-02-2020

Man stabs two persons with knife in Moscow church

The suspect has been detained.

MOSCOW, February 16. /TASS/. A man attacked worshippers with a knife in a church in downtown Moscow on Sunday, wounding two persons, Russian Interior Ministry Spokeswoman Irina Volk told TASS.

The suspect has been detained. "Police detained in hot pursuit a 26-year-old resident of the Lipetsk Region, who entered a church on Bakuninskaya Street in the morning of February 16 and injured two persons with a knife. The victims have been sent to hospitals to receive medical assistance," Volk said.

Police are investigating the causes and circumstances of the attack, she noted.

A source in the law enforcement agencies said the incident occurred at St. Nicholas Church.

The man, who is suspected of attacking the worshippers, was in an "inadequate condition," according to preliminary data.

Source: ITAR-TASS 16-02-2020

Russian large amphibious assault ship puts military hardware afloat during trials

The trials will continue as soon as the weather improves.

MOSCOW, February 14. /TASS/. The Project 11711 large amphibious assault ship Pyotr Morgunov built by the Yantar Shipyard on the Baltic coast has successfully fulfilled a part of the program of its trials, including putting military hardware afloat, Shipyard spokesman Sergei Mikhailov told TASS on Friday.

"Over two days, hardware has been put afloat and physical fields have been measured. After that, the large amphibious assault ship returned to the base due to bad weather," the spokesman said.

The trials will continue as soon as the weather improves, he added.

The Pyotr Morgunov made its previous deployment to the sea in December 2019. It was earlier reported that the final stage of shipbuilders’ sea trials aboard the Pyotr Morgunov would be combined with state trials. Shipyard spokesman Mikhailov said in December last year that the shipbuilders planned to deliver the warship to the Russian Navy in the first quarter of 2020.

The baseline Project 11711 lead large amphibious assault ship Ivan Gren was delivered to the Russian Navy in June 2018.

On April 23, 2019, the Yantar Shipyard (part of the United Shipbuilding Corporation) laid down two warships of the modified Project 11711 that will differ from their predecessors by larger displacement, an altered superstructure and the ability to carry two Ka-52K ‘Katran’ attack helicopters.

Head of the United Shipbuilding Corporation Alexei Rakhmanov told TASS at the Army-2019 international arms show that new large amphibious assault ships would be slightly wider and slightly longer while their displacement might reach 8,000 tonnes.

Source: ITAR-TASS 15-02-2020

New T-90M Proryv tank might be displayed at Army 2020 forum

The Proryv tank features a completely new turret and a more powerful engine.

TOMSK, February 13. /TASS/. The upgraded T-90M Proryv tank, developed by UralVagonZavod (UVZ), might be displayed to the public during the Army 2020 forum, UVZ CEO Alexander Potapov said.

"I think we will see them [T-90M] soon. This year, we have 75th anniversary of the Victory [over Nazism during the Great Patriotic War], the 100th anniversary of tank building industry, and the Army forum," Potapov said.

In early February, UVZ press service said that the company already commenced shipping the upgraded T-90M tanks to the military, in accordance with the contract.

The Proryv tank features a completely new turret and a more powerful engine. The tank is equipped with multi-channel sights that allow firing at any time of the day, and one of the tank’s main features is its ability to share data with other vehicles in real time. The armor is covered with a special anti-slip compound, also used on the T-14 Armata tank.

Source: ITAR-TASS 13-02-2020

Bargaining impossible over Crimea, Kremlin says

According to the Kremlin spokesman, the situation in Donbass was Ukraine’s domestic affair.

MOSCOW, February 12. /TASS/. There can be no bargaining over Crimea, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, when asked if Moscow could return control over the Russian-Ukrainian border in Donbass to Kiev to make sure that Ukraine resumed water supplies to Crimea.

Peskov pointed out that Crimea was a Russian region where water was supplied in accordance with development programs. "If there are any initiatives concerning additional water supplies, perhaps commercial ones, they could be considered," the Kremlin spokesman added.

According to Peskov, the situation in Donbass was Ukraine’s domestic affair. "We are doing our best to facilitate efforts to resolve [the conflict]," he noted, adding that Kiev needed to discuss the border issue with the self-proclaimed Donbass republics. "As of now, one can assume with a high degree of certainty that they will not agree to change the essence of the Minsk Agreements signed by their leaders," Peskov emphasized.

Ukrainian lawmaker David Arakhamiya, a member of the presidential faction, suggested on Tuesday that Ukraine should establish water supplies to Crimea in return for control over the border with Russia in Donbass. However, Ukraine’s new Presidential Chief of Staff Andrei Yermak said later that he had "never discussed water supplies to Crimea with Russian officials during talks on Donbass." He added that Arakhamiya had only expressed his personal opinion.

Crimean reunification

After Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich was ousted in a coup in February 2014, mass protests erupted in Crimea and eastern Ukraine. On March 11, 2014, Crimea’s Supreme Council and Sevastopol City Council adopted a declaration of independence.

On March 16, 2014, Crimean authorities held a referendum on reuniting with Russia. Over 80% of voters participated in the plebiscite, most of them supporting the idea (96.7% in Crimea and 95.6% in the city of Sevastopol).

On March 18, President Vladimir Putin signed the treaty on Crimea’s reunification with Russia and the Federal Assembly (parliament) approved the document on March 21. However, Kiev has so far refused to acknowledge Crimea as part of Russia.

In May 2018, Ukraine stopped supplying water to Crimea through the North Crimean Canal built in 1961-71.

Source: ITAR-TASS 12-02-2020

Passenger plane makes emergency landing in northwestern Russia – source

No one has been injured.

TASS, February 9. A Boeing-737 passenger plane has made an emergency landing at the airport of Usinsk, northwestern Russia’s Komi Republic, a source in local emergencies services told TASS.

"During the landing the aircraft’s tail hit the runway. According to preliminary data, no one has been injured," the source said.

The plane was flying from Moscow’s Vnukovo airport and is owned by Utair airline.

"Boeing-737 of Utair airline, en route from Vnukovo to Usinsk (flight 595), made an emergency landing at the airport of Usinsk. There are no injuries. There were 94 passengers and six crew members. People have been evacuated," a source at the airport said.

According to the Russian Emergencies Ministry, there were 94 people onboard the plane.

Source: ITAR-TASS 09-02-2020

Russia, Belarus agreed on gas supplies in this year – Kremlin

Deputy head of the Russian presidential administration Dmitry Kozak said it on Friday after bilateral talks.

SOCHI, February 7. /TASS/. Russia and Belarus negotiated gas supplies in this year to be implemented on last-year terms, deputy head of the Russian presidential administration Dmitry Kozak said on Friday after bilateral talks.

"We agreed to keep conditions of gas supplies on terms of the year of 2019," the official said.

Source: ITAR-TASS 08-02-2020

Russian Central Bank lowers key rate to 6%

The regulator has decided to cut the key rate for the sixth consecutive time.

MOSCOW, February 7. /TASS/. Russia’s Central Bank decided to cut the key rate for the sixth consecutive time at the first board meeting this year by 0.25 bp to 6% per annum and holds open the prospect of further key rate reduction at its upcoming meetings, the regulator said in a press release on Friday.

"On 7 February 2020, the Bank of Russia Board of Directors decided to cut the key rate by 25 bp to 6.00% per annum. Inflation slowdown is overshooting the forecast. Households’ inflation expectations and price expectations of businesses remain stable overall. In 2019 H2, the growth rate of the Russian economy picked up," the Central Bank said. "If the situation develops in line with the baseline forecast, the Bank of Russia holds open the prospect of further key rate reduction at its upcoming meetings," the regulator added.

Source: ITAR-TASS 07-02-2020

Russian Foreign Ministry releases collection of documents on 1945 Yalta Conference

According to Russia’s diplomatic office, its archives contain one-of-a-kind documents related to the Soviet Union’s foreign policy and diplomacy during World War II and the Great Patriotic War.

MOSCOW, February 4. /TASS/. Russia’s Foreign Ministry has released a collection of documents on the 1945 Yalta Conference of the Big Three, the first one in a series of such collections compiled for the 75th anniversary of the Victory in World War II.

"To mark the 75th anniversary of the Victory, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s archive service has compiled a series of subject-related collections of documents, which, we hope, will be of great interest to scholars and the general public," the ministry said on Tuesday. "The first such collection presents documents from the Yalta (Crimean) Conference of February 4-11, 1945, a milestone event during World War II’s final stage that outlined key areas of cooperation between the allies on major military strategic and political issues of the post-war world order."

"The process of declassifying and digitizing the ministry’s archives continues to make these documents accessible to scholars and the general public," the ministry said.

According to Russia’s diplomatic office, its archives contain one-of-a-kind documents related to the Soviet Union’s foreign policy and diplomacy during World War II and the Great Patriotic War (the Eastern Front during WWII where Russia fought Nazi Germany - TASS). "Many of them have already been made public, even on the Internet," Russia’s foreign affairs department said, adding that thousands of these documents are available at agk.mid.ru and idd.mid.ru.

Tuesday marks 75 years since the beginning of the Yalta Conference of the Big Three. As World War II in Europe was drawing to a close, precisely 70 years ago, the leaders of the Soviet Union, the United States and Great Britain - Joseph Stalin, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill - gathered at the seaside resort of Yalta, in Crimea, which the Red Army had retaken from the Nazi occupiers several months earlier. Despite the divergence in ideology, they forged a historical compromise that would keep the peace in Europe up until the end of the 20th century.

Source: ITAR-TASS 04-02-2020

Defense manufacturer to start deliveries of latest Armata tanks to troops in 2020

Now the company is completing the main stages of the preparatory work.

MOSCOW, February 3. /TASS/. The deliveries of the armor based on the Armata combat platform to the troops for operational evaluation will begin this year, CEO of the Uralvagonzavod defense manufacturer Alexander Potapov said in an interview with Vedomosti newspaper published on Monday.

"In 2020, we will begin the deliveries for the operational evaluation of this armor. During the factory tests, all the vehicle’s stated characteristics were confirmed," the chief executive said.

The defense manufacturer is completing the main stages of the preparatory work, which allows launching serial production, he said.

"No country in the world has such a tank and our rivals won’t have anything even close to that in coming years. Those who say that difficulties arise in the process forget that the T-72 tank was developed for quite a longer period while we talk about a principally new product," the chief executive said.

Replying to a question about when the export deliveries of the Armata tank may begin, he specified that all the foreign customers preferred making purchases, as a rule, when the product was bought by Russia’s Defense Ministry. "We will shortly develop an export configuration certificate while the deliveries may become real already in the foreseeable future, given an official decision," he said.

Head of Russia’s state hi-tech corporation Rostec Sergei Chemezov told TASS in mid-January that the deliveries of the armor based on the Armata combat platform to the troops had not started yet.

The Armata is a heavy tracked standardized platform serving as the basis to develop a main battle tank, an infantry fighting vehicle, an armored personnel carrier and some other armored vehicles. The T-14 tank based on the Armata platform was shown to the public for the first time at Red Square’s Victory Day parade on May 9, 2015. The new combat vehicle features fully digitized equipment, an unmanned turret and an isolated armored capsule for the crew.

Source: ITAR-TASS 03-02-2020

Roof collapses at cafe in Novosibirsk

One person killed, five people injured have been hospitalized.

MOSCOW, February 2. /TASS/. A roof has collapsed at a cafe in Russia’s Novosibirsk, with up to 10 people possibly trapped beneath the debris, the Russian Emergencies Ministry’s press service informed TASS. A body of a woman has been pulled out from the rubble, a source in the emergency services informed TASS.

"A body of a woman has been pulled out from the rubble, she was killed," the source said. "In total, five people have been pulled out from the debris, including the woman without signs of life," the source informed. One of the people rescued is in serious condition.

"The roof has collapsed in the changing room of a cafe at Molodezhi Boulevard over an area of 240 square meters. According to eyewitnesses, up to 10 people may be trapped beneath the debris," the ministry’s press service informed, adding that about 200 people have been evacuated from the surrounding area.

There are no more people under the collapsed roof of a cafe in Novosibirsk, a source in the emergency services informed TASS on Sunday. Search and rescue works on site are over, the Russian Emergency Ministry’s press service told TASS.

"In total, five people were trapped under the rubble. There are no more people there," the source said.

"Search and rescue works are over, the rubble has been removed," the ministry’s press service stated. One person was killed and five people have been taken to hospital. "Five people injured have been hospitalized," the source stated.

Source: ITAR-TASS 02-02-2020

Two Russian Tu-160 strategic bombers complete 16-hour flight above Arctic

Russian long-range aircraft perform regular flights over neutral waters of the Arctic, North Atlantic, Black and Baltic Seas, and the Pacific Ocean.

MOSCOW, February 1. /TASS/. Two Russian Tu-160 strategic bombers have performed a 16-hour flight above the neutral waters of the Barents Sea, the Norwegian Sea and the Arctic Ocean, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

"The flight assignment lasted more than 16 hours. During the flight, planes of the long-range aviation performed aerial refueling," the ministry said in a statement.

Russian long-range aircraft perform regular flights over neutral waters of the Arctic, North Atlantic, Black and Baltic Seas, and the Pacific Ocean. All the flights are carried out in strict compliance with the international rules on the use of airspace, without violations of other states’ borders.

Earlier in the day, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said earlier on Saturday that it had "identified two Tu-160 Blackjack Russian Bombers entering the Canadian Air Defense Identification Zone on Friday, Jan. 31, 2020."

"The Russian aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter United States or Canadian sovereign airspace," NORAD said in a Twitter post.

NORAD Commander Gen. Terrence O’Shaughnessy, said the country’s adversaries "continue to flex their long-range weapons systems and engage in increasingly aggressive efforts," but assured that North American Aerospace Defense was ready to defend the US and Canada from any attack.

Source: ITAR-TASS 01-02-2020