First batch of latest Armata tanks to arrive for Russian troops

The new combat vehicle features fully digitized equipment, an unmanned turret and an isolated armored capsule for the crew.

MOSCOW, August 31. /TASS/. The first batch of the latest T-14 ‘Armata’ tanks will arrive for the Russian troops shortly, CEO of Uralvagonzavod defense manufacturer (part of the state tech corporation Rostec) Alexander Potapov told TASS on Monday.

"The first batch of vehicles will be delivered to the troops shortly," the chief executive said.

The Armata is of great interest both for the Russian Army and for foreign customers, which are inquiring about T-14 possible deliveries or the licensed production of this hardware, the Uralvagonzavod chief said.

Russian Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov earlier said in an interview with the Zvezda TV Channel that the T-14 ‘Armata’ tank would be accepted for service in the Russian Army at the end of this year or at the beginning of next year.

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 31-08-2020

Russia’s upgraded Armata tank may get 152mm gun

The materials suggest that a potential enemy may create new-generation tanks at the turn of the 2030s, which will require an upgrade of T-14 Armata tanks,

MOSCOW, August 26. /TASS/. Russian military specialists propose outfitting the latest T-14 Armata tanks with a new unmanned turret with a 152mm gun, according to the materials of the 38th R&D and Testing Institute of Armored Hardware and Armament obtained by TASS.

The materials suggest that a potential enemy may create new-generation tanks at the turn of the 2030s, which will require an upgrade of T-14 Armata tanks.

The Institute’s specialists believe that the Armata should get as its weapons suite a new unmanned turret with a 152mm cannon (it currently has a 125mm gun), supersonic sub-caliber armor-piercing projectiles, fuel air explosive munitions, missiles based on the ‘fire and forget and fire again’ principle and an onboard reconnaissance and signal relay drone.

Military specialists propose enhancing the Armata’s protection with the system of remotely neutralizing homing anti-tank projectiles, the technology of automatically detecting and striking targets in probable areas of tank approaches at a distance of up to 1 km, the laser equipment of disabling anti-tank guided missile guidance and the system of remotely deactivating anti-tank mines.

Source: ITAR-TASS 26-08-2020

Austria expels Russian diplomat

The Austrian Foreign Ministry refrained from commenting on details of the incident.

VIENNA, August 24. /TASS/. Austria expels a Russian diplomat, the republic’s Foreign Ministry told TASS Monday. The ministry claims that the Russian’s actions violate the Vienna convention on diplomatic relations.

"I can confirm that a Russian diplomat will be expelled. His behavior violates the Vienna convention on diplomatic relations," Austrian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said.

The Foreign Ministry refrained from commenting on details of the incident.

On Monday, the Kronen Zeitung newspaper reported that Austria declared a Russian diplomat persona non grata, and that the diplomat must leave its territory until September 1. According to the newspaper, the diplomat is suspected of industrial espionage.

According to the Kronen Zeitung, the diplomat is suspected of gathering information through an Austrian citizen working at one of Austria’s high-tech enterprises. The citizen reported the espionage activities himself and named the Russian diplomat as his curator. The Russian citizen declined to comment, citing his diplomatic immunity, the report says.

Source: ITAR-TASS 24-08-2020

Passenger plane makes emergency landing at Krasnoyarsk airport due to smoke - source

The Boeing 747-412 owned by Rossiya airline was carrying 421 people.

KRASNOYARSK, August 22. /TASS/. A passenger plane, en route from Khabarovsk to Moscow, made an emergency landing at the airport in Krasnoyarsk after smoke was detected in the baggage compartment, a source in the law enforcement agencies told TASS on Saturday.

"The plane has successfully landed," the source said.

The Boeing 747-412 owned by Rossiya airline was carrying 421 people.

Source: ITAR-TASS 22-08-2020

FSB foils Ukrainian intelligence’s kidnapping plot against Donbass military leader

MOSCOW, August 20. /TASS/. Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has detained seven people for the kidnapping attempt of one of the leaders of the Donbass people’s militia organized by Ukrainian intelligence services, the FSB Public Relations Center informed TASS.

"Russia’s FSB as a result of conducting a special operation has uncovered and intercepted the unlawful act of Ukraine’s special services of kidnapping on Russian territory and forceful transporting to Ukraine one of the leaders of the Donbass people’s militia who took active part in warfare against the Ukrainian armed forces. Immediately during the kidnapping attempt were detained Russian citizens Makarov T.B., Mishchenko M.S., Kapkayeva O.D., Kormich A.M., Pyzin M. Yu., Moroz Ye.A. and Dolgov V.V. The kidnapping was organized and coordinated by Ukrainian citizens Andrey Baydala and Igor Mishchenko." the Center reported.

According to the FSB, the kidnapping organizers were directed by the department head of Ukraine’s security services. "Baydala and Mishchenko were acting on an assignment and under general direction of Ukraine’s security service counterintelligence department head A. Rusnak and director of the 5th directorate of the counterintelligence department of Ukraine’s security service A. Poklad. Thus, Department No. 4 directly dealing with organized criminal groups on Russian territory functions as a part of the aforementioned directorate," the FSB Public Relations Center reported. In order to create an alibi for the perpetrators, the Ukrainian intelligence services have disseminated in advance in the news outlets the reports of "Baydala’s detention for illicit possession of arms." Mishchenko and Baydala have formed two assault groups consisting of members of a Russian criminal structure in order to kidnap forcefully a Russian citizen. They promised Makarov’s group $200,000 and paid an advance of $50,000. "Baydala, allegedly detained in Ukraine, was remotely personally directing both groups in real time. The organizer of the channel for the illegal forceful transport was Russian citizen Moroz Ye. A. A criminal case has been opened on the kidnapping of a person by an organized group," the Center reported.

According to the FSB, Baydala is known to the security structures and the DPR’s competent bodies as the unofficial staff member of Ukrainian security services and of the Chief Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, as well as an authorized representative of the 5th directorate of the counterintelligence department of Ukraine’s security service under an alias of Swede. There is a number of criminal cases in the DPR opened against Baydala as an organizer of implemented and prevented terrorist acts, including the murder of Zakharchenko.

The FSB Public Relations Center noted that Ukrainian intelligence services were preparing several more kidnappings and murders of Russian citizens. "During active search measures it has been established that the group of Makarov and Pyzin was engaged by the Ukrainian intelligence through Baydala and Mishchenko to plot several more crimes, also involving kidnapping and murder of Russian citizens. Following the orders of the Ukrainian intelligence, members of the organized criminal group conducted surveillance of certain addresses in Russian regions and went to the DPR to fulfill a number of tasks," the Center reported.

Source: ITAR-TASS 20-08-2020

Putin tells Merkel foreign interference in Belarus’ affairs is unacceptable

 The German chancellor, in her turn, stressed that the Belarusian authorities must give up the use of force against peaceful demonstrators, the German Cabinet of Ministers’ Spokesman Steffen Seibert informed.

MOSCOW, August 18. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the situation in Belarus with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in a telephone conversation initiated by Berlin, the Kremlin press service said in a statement on Tuesday.

"The parties thoroughly discussed the situation in Belarus following the presidential election," the statement reads. "Russia pointed out that foreign attempts to interfere in the country’s domestic affairs were unacceptable and could further escalate tensions," the Kremlin press service added.

"Hope was expressed that the situation would improve as soon as possible," the statement runs.

The German chancellor, in her turn, stressed that the Belarusian authorities must give up the use of force against peaceful demonstrators, the German Cabinet of Ministers’ Spokesman Steffen Seibert informed. "The chancellor said the Belarusian government must refrain from the use of force against peaceful demonstrators, immediately release political prisoners and enter into a national dialogue with the opposition and society to overcome the crisis."

Belarus has seen mass protests following the announcement of the election returns. During the first days there were clashes with the police. According to the Interior Ministry, more than 6,000 were detained. Several dozen police and demonstrators were injured. According to the Central Election Commission, Alexander Lukashenko emerged the winner with 80.1% of the votes. Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, described as his main rival, received 10.12%.

Source: ITAR-TASS 18-08-2020

Russia, Switzerland resume air travel

The first flight from Moscow to Geneva is scheduled to take off at 15:60 Moscow time on Saturday.

MOSCOW, August 15. /TASS/. Starting from Saturday, Russia and Switzerland will resume air travel, suspended in late March amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.

At the moment, flights between the two states will be carried out only by Russia’s flagship air carrier Aeroflot. The first flight from Moscow to Geneva is scheduled to take off at 15:60 Moscow time on Saturday. So far, only one flight a week is scheduled.

SWISS, an air carrier from Switzerland, also plans to resume flights to Moscow but is yet to name the exact date. "It is yet impossible to confirm a date for resumption, because it is yet to be approved by the authorities," a SWISS spokesperson said.

On August 5, the government of Switzerland excluded Russia from the list of countries with increased novel coronavirus infection risks. From August 8, Switzerland no longer requires a compulsory 10-day quarantine for passengers arriving from Russia. However, the country remains closed for tourists from Russia, allowing only holders of a Swiss residence permit to enter its territory.

On March 18, Russia shut down its borders for all foreigners to curb the spread of coronavirus. Furthermore, international passenger air travel was fully suspended on March 27. From August 1, Russia has been gradually lifting restrictions on international flights, resuming air service with Turkey, the United Kingdom and Tanzania.

Passengers of international flights will have to comply with new requirements. All Russians who arrive to the country from abroad are to fill a special form on the portal of state services prior to their registration to the flight. Moreover, within three days after arriving to the country, Russian citizens are to undergo a novel coronavirus test and upload the result to the state services portal.

Source: ITAR-TASS 15-08-2020

No meeting with Lukashenko on Putin’s agenda, Kremlin says

Protests erupted in different Belarusian cities after presidential election.

MOSCOW, August 13. /TASS/. Meeting with Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko is not scheduled on the agenda of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin press service told TASS on Thursday.

"There is no such meeting in his schedule," the press service said.

Belarus held the presidential election on August 9. According to the preliminary data made public by the Central Election Committee on Monday, incumbent president of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko won 80.23% of the vote, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya got 9.90%. The other three candidates got less than 2% of the vote. Putin sent a congratulatory telegram to Lukashenko.

After exit poll results were announced in the evening of August 9, protests erupted in downtown Minsk and other regions of the country, leading to clashes between protesters and law enforcement forces.

Source: ITAR-TASS 13-08-2020

Belarus wraps up operation on forcing protesters out of Minsk streets

The Interior Ministry’s special units have started leaving the central squares in the Belarusian capital.

MINSK, August 11. /TASS/. The Belarusian law enforcement agencies are lifting the cordon in downtown Minsk, a TASS correspondent reported from the spot on Tuesday.

After the seven-hour-long clashes with protesters, police managed to squeeze them from the streets. The Interior Ministry’s special units have started leaving the central squares in the Belarusian capital.

One of the latest hotbeds of clashes was the Kuntsevschina district, where the protesters had set up barricades out of concrete piles and metal mountings, blocking Pritytsky Avenue. One protester was killed there earlier. According to the Interior Ministry’s press service, he "tried to throw an unidentified explosive device at the law enforcement officers, but it exploded in his hand and the man received fatal wounds."

On August 9, Belarus held its sixth presidential election since declaring independence in 1991. According to the country’s Central Election Commission, incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko won 80.08% of votes. His closest rival, housewife Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, scored 10.09% of votes. The other three candidates managed to win less that to percent each.

After the exit poll results were announced on Sunday night, mass protests flared up in downtown Minsk and other Belarusian cities, which spiraled into clashes with police. According to the Interior Ministry, some 3,000 people were detained and dozens of police and protesters were injured.

On Monday evening the protests resumed. The protesters tried to gather in downtown Minsk and after the law enforcement officers dispersed the crowd, the groups of demonstrators started moving to other areas in the city and setting up barricades out of garbage bins.

Source: ITAR-TASS 11-08-2020

Lukashenko gets 80.23% of the vote in Belarusian presidential election

Opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya has come in second with 9.90%.

MINSK, August 10. /TASS/. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has won the Belarusian presidential election with 80.23% of the vote, preliminary results published on Monday by Lidia Yermoshina, head of the Belarusian Election Commission, inform.

Opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya has come in second with 9.90%. The other three candidates received fewer than 2% of the vote: Anna Kanopatskaya got 1.68%, Sergei Cherechen - 1.13%, and Andrei Dmitriev - 1.04%. Meanwhile, 6.02% have voted against all candidates. Yermoshina noted that the preliminary results would be expanded on, however, the final results are unlikely to change significantly.

Yermoshina also informed that the publication of the preliminary results had been postponed, as the employees of the Belarusian Election Commission were evacuated from the government building at about 01:00 am due to mass protests in Minsk.

The voter turnout at the presidential election is reported at 84.23%.

Source: ITAR-TASS 10-08-2020

Diplomat says detention of 33 Russians in Minsk was third country’s provocation

Maria Zakharova noted that this story was presented "as almost an operation of Russia’s to deploy some specially trained people to destabilize the neighboring country".

SOLNECHNOGORSK /outside Moscow/, August 8. /TASS/. The detention of 33 Russian nationals was a carefully designed provocation of a third state, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Saturday.

"The story about 33 Russian citizens detained in Belarus has been rocking the information space for a week minimum. It was presented as almost a Russian operation to deploy some specially trained people to destabilize our neighboring country. And what has turned out? It happened to be a third country’s provocation as is now being established based on the facts," she said.

"People have lived on that for a week. Over a week, it was a talking point, articles were written, conclusions made, an outlook on the future shaped," she said. "How difficult it will be to give up the assertion that has been shaped in those recent days, as it is hard to admit being wrong."

Zakharova also noted that It is unacceptable to use the situation with Russian nationals detained in Belarus for electoral purposes.

"Those people’s guilt has not been proved. It is inadmissible to use these people for certain electoral purposes or interests," the diplomat said.

"The main thing is that it is inadmissible to use this situation, to promote - as it has already been reiterated at all levels - that performance with participation of Russian citizens for electoral goals."

Citing a source with the Russian intelligence agencies, the Russian daily Komsomolskaya Pravda reported on Friday that the Russian nationals, who were detained in Belarus in late July, fell victim to a provocation orchestrated by the Ukrainian intelligence agencies. The article depicts how the Russians were recruited. The so-called ‘employers’ called from virtual numbers. In the phone calls, they used false identities and fake positons in the Russian major oil company Rosneft.

Belarus reported about the detention of 33 Russian nationals in the early hours of July 29. Minsk claimed they are employees of a foreign private military company. According to latest reports, they are suspected of plotting mass unrest.

Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov earlier pointed out that Moscow did not yet have compete information about the incident. Nor did Russia know about any illegal activities that could have prompted their detention. He said that statements that these developments were linked with the upcoming presidential elections in Belarus were mere speculations.

Source: ITAR-TASS 09-08-2020

South Ossetian residents light candles in memory of 2008 war victims

On August 7 and 8, South Ossetia marks 12th anniversary of Georgia’s assault.

TSKHINVAL, August 8. /TASS/. More than 2,000 residents of South Ossetia participated in a memorial event to remember victims of Georgia’s attack on South Ossetia in 2008, a TASS correspondent reported.

On August 7 and 8, South Ossetia marks 12th anniversary of Georgia’s assault.

"Twelve years are not a short period of time. During this time, we have been living a peaceful life, when our children do not hear blasts and parents don’t have to hide them in basements. By this time, South Ossetia has walked a long road, fighting for decades for the right to self-determination and the right to live on our historical land," President Anatoly Bibilov said during the memorial ceremony.

During the event, about 600 photographs of Georgian aggression’s victims - civilians, Russian and South Ossetian soldiers - were installed at the ‘Wall of Memory’ erected at the main square of the country’s capital Tskhinval. Residents brought candles to stone pedestals in the form of bloodstained rocks, installed near the wall.

"Today’s event is devoted to two tragic dates - the 12th anniversary of Georgia’s August aggression and the 100th anniversary of genocide of Ossetians," Bibilov said.

On August 8, 2008 Georgia mounted an overnight armed attack against South Ossetia. Russia intervened to protect civilians and its peacekeepers. In the five-day armed clash, more than one thousand people, including 72 Russian peacekeepers, lost their lives. On August 26, 2008 Russia recognized the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

Source: ITAR-TASS 08-08-2020

Russia’s Su-27 fighter scrambled to intercept US spy planes over Black Sea

The crew of the Russian fighter identified the targets as a US Air Force strategic reconnaissance aircraft and a US Navy P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol plane.

MOSCOW, August 7. /TASS/. A Sukhoi Su-27 fighter jet was scrambled to intercept a US Air Force RC-135 reconnaissance plane and a US Navy P-8A Poseidon patrol aircraft over the Black Sea, Russia’s National Defense Control Center reported on Friday.

On August 7, the Russian airspace control systems detected two air targets over the neutral waters of the Black Sea approaching Russia’s state border. A Su-27 fighter from the Southern Military District’s air defense quick reaction alert forces was scrambled to intercept the targets, the Center said.

"The crew of the Russian fighter consistently approached the air targets at a safe distance and identified them as a US Air Force strategic reconnaissance aircraft and a US Navy P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol plane," it said.

No violations of the Russian state border by the US spy planes were allowed, the National Defense Control Center stressed.

"After the US reconnaissance planes moved away from Russia’s state border, the Russian fighter safely returned to its home airfield," the Center said.

The entire flight of the Russian Su-27 fighter proceeded in strict compliance with the international rules of using the airspace, it stressed.

This is the eighth such incident over the past 16 days. The previous incidents took place on July 23, 24, 27, 30 and 31 and August 4 and 5. In particular, a Russian Su-27 fighter plane was scrambled on August 5 to intercept a US Air Force RC-135 reconnaissance plane and a US Navy P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol plane over the Black Sea.

Source:  ITAR-TASS 07-08-2020

Around 1.5 mln tourists visited Crimea in July

Hotels and health resorts of the peninsula began to accommodate visitors from other regions of the country as late as on July 1 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

SIMFEROPOL, August 4. /TASS/. Crimea received about 1.5 mln tourists in July, Head of the republic Sergey Aksenov said on Tuesday.

"From July 1 to July 31, 1.432 mln tourists vacationed in Crimea. Of these, 31.9% arrived by air, 62.7% - via Crimean Bridge by cars and buses, 5% - by rail, and less than 1% - through the state border of Russia at Armyansk, Dzhankoy, Perekop sites," Aksenov wrote on his Vkontakte social network page.

He added that the average occupancy of accommodation facilities in July was 80%, which reached 95% for a number of properties.

Crimea set records in terms of tourist flow in 2018 and 2019. Thus, in 2018, 6.8 mln people visited the peninsula, and in 2019, 7.4 mln tourists arrived in the region. In 2020, the holiday season in Crimea began with a delay due to the coronavirus pandemic. The republic, according to various estimates, has lost 1 - 2 mln tourists. Hotels and health resorts of the peninsula began to accommodate visitors from other regions of the country from July 1. Prior to that, they had worked only for residents of the region for two weeks.

Source: ITAR-TASS 04-08-2020

Russian embassy in Belarus cleared to visit detained Russians

Russian diplomats are expected to speak to the apprehended as soon as today, according to official data.

MINSK, July 31. /TASS/. The Russian embassy in Belarus has received an official permission from the Belarusian authorities to visit the Russians detained recently.

"The Russian embassy was informed by the Main Consular Department of the Belarusian Foreign Ministry about the reception of official documents from the Belarusian Investigative Committee, which say that the head of the [Russian] embassy’s consular department is allowed to visit the detained Russian citizens," the diplomatic mission told TASS.

Russian diplomats are expected to speak to the apprehended as soon as today.

Earlier, Belarus reported that 33 Russian citizens were detained in the early hours of July 29. Minsk described most of them as employees of a foreign private military company.

The Belarusian Foreign Ministry demanded explanations from Russian Ambassador Dmitry Mezentsev regarding the aims for the apprehended Russians' arrival in the country. The ministry also invited acting head of the Ukrainian embassy in Minsk Pyotr Vrublevsky "considering the confirmed information that some detainees were fighting in Ukraine’s Donetsk and Lugansk regions." Following the meeting, the sides agreed to boost monitoring over the border section between the two states.

Meanwhile, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted that Moscow was yet to receive full information about the events, including any illegal actions that prompted the detentions. According to him, Moscow does not recognize Ukrainian citizenships of some of these people. Additionally, Peskov slammed claims of any links between these events and the upcoming presidential election in Belarus as "theories."

Source: ITAR-TASS 01-08-2020