Over 40 warships to take part in Russia’s Main Naval Parade

The parade will take place in St. Petersburg and Kronshtadt on July 28.

MOSCOW, July 16. /TASS/. Russia’s Main Naval Parade in St. Petersburg and Kronshtadt on July 28 will involve 43 warships, 41 aircraft and more than 4,000 personnel, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said at the ministry’s conference call on Tuesday.

"It [the parade] will take place in St. Petersburg and Kronshtadt on July 28, on Navy Day, It will involve 43 combat ships and 41 aircraft furnished with the latest armament. More than 4,000 servicemen and Young Army Movement members will be involved," the defense chief said.

Naval parades will also take place at the main naval bases of the Russian Fleets and the Caspian Flotilla in Severomorsk, Baltyisk, Sevastopol, Vladivostok and Astrakhan, and also in the Syrian port of Tartus, Shoigu said.

"Overall, more than 150 combat ships of various classes, about 80 planes and over 15,000 personnel are set to take part [in naval parades]," the defense minister said.

An increasing number of foreign guests attend Russia’s naval parades with each passing year, Shoigu said.

This time, 26 foreign delegations will attend the naval celebrations. China, India, Vietnam and the Philippines will send their combat ships to Russia’s naval parades, the defense chief said.

The military orchestras of Thailand and Vietnam will also take part in Russia’s naval celebrations. They will perform together with the consolidated orchestra of the Russian Navy.

Source: ITAR-TASS 16-07-2019

Less gadgets, higher marks? Russians back ban on mobile phone use in schools, poll reveals

67% of Russians are in favor of prohibiting pupils from using mobile phones at school, according to the poll.

MOSCOW, July 15. /TASS/. About 62% of Russians believe that prohibiting the use of mobile phones in schools would have a positive effect on the academic process. At the same time, the number of those who support the idea of banning mobile phones has dwindled by 6%, a poll conducted by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center has shown.

"The number of Russians in favor of prohibiting pupils from using mobile phones and smartphones at school and who believe that this type of ban would have a positive effect on the academic process has dropped from 73% to 67% and from 69% to 62% respectively over the past year," the pollster said.

The proposed move is backed by 70% of women interviewed by the research organization. Among those who back that idea are also Russians aged between 35 and 44 (70%) and between 45 and 59 (72%) as well as parents whose children have no mobile phones (84%).

Besides, 55% of the respondents do not support a total ban on using gadgets during school time, with the exception of seniors aged 60 and above (53%).

The survey was conducted on July 7, 2019, with 1,600 Russians aged over 18 interviewed over the phone. The margin of error does not exceed 2.5% with a probability of 95%.

Source: ITAR-TASS 15-07-2019

Ukrainian PM admits impossible to sever train connection with Russia

Vladimir Groysman dubbed the issue of traffic to/from Russia as "sensitive"

KIEV, July 13. /TASS/. Ukraine cannot cut off rail connection with Russia due to transit commitments to the European Union, Ukrainian Prime Minister Vladimir Groysman said on Saturday.

"We merely cannot instantaneously sever traffic between Ukraine and Russia, including rail one, when transit goods are moved into the European Union, as we have assumed international commitments to the EU, including the Association Agreement," the prime minister said aired by the Ukrainian television channel Nash.

Groysman dubbed the issue of traffic to/from Russia as "sensitive." However, he added that flights to Russia were not supposed to be resumed, since Russia is an adversary, according to the Ukrainian prime minister.

Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Vladimir Omelyan said in early August 2018 that the country had plans to stop train traffic to/from Russia. Later, Omelyan explained that the Infrastructure Ministry was planning to stop passenger rail traffic from Russia, while freight rail traffic would not be affected.

In 2018, Ukrainian Railways company cancelled direct trains running between Ivano-Frankovsk, Chernovtsy, Kremenchug and Chernigov and Russian cities. The Kiev-Moscow train connection generated the highest revenues for the Ukrainian Railways.

Source: ITAR-TASS 14-07-2019

Scores of residential houses affected by floods in Russia's southern Siberia

The Russian Emergencies Ministry said that torrential rains in the region will continue for three more days.

MOSCOW, July 13. /TASS/. Flash floods have affected around 80 residential houses in a village in Russia's southern Siberian Tuva region, the press service of the Russian Emergencies Ministry told TASS on Saturday.

"Representatives of the Russian Emergencies Ministry's main directorate in Tuva have departed for the Khondergei village in the Dzun-Khemchinsky district, where 80 residential houses were affected by floods," the press service said adding that the group included 37 people, fou pieces of equipment and three floating devices.

The ministry also said that torrential rains in the region will continue for three more days.

Source: ITAR-TASS 13-07-2019

Kremlin describes Putin’s phone call with Ukrainian president as pragmatic

The first conversation between the presidents lasted about 20 minutes.

MOSCOW, July 12. /TASS/. The first telephone conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Vladimir Zelensky lasted about 20 minutes on Thursday, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, adding that the conversation had been pragmatic.

"As for the atmosphere of the phone call, it was the first introductory conversation between the two presidents, it was the first time they held a phone call as they hadn’t contacted each other before," Peskov said. According to him, "the conversation was rather pragmatic." Peskov added that the phone call had lasted "about 20 minutes."

The first conversation between Putin and Zelensky is important in itself, according to the Kremlin spokesman.

"It is hardly necessary to discuss tones and emotions, this is not what the conversation was for," he said when asked if Putin was satisfied with his phone call with Zelensky. "The first conversation between the Russian and Ukrainian presidents is very important in itself," Peskov pointed out.

When asked if there were plans to arrange another telephone conversation between the two presidents, Peskov said that "there is no clear understanding at the moment."

When asked if Putin and Zelensky had discussed the possibility of releasing Ukrainian sailors arrested in Russia and Russian journalist Kirill Vyshinsky charged with high treason and arms trafficking in Ukraine, the Kremlin spokesman said the two presidents had agreed that "the work will continue at the expert level."

Peskov added that Putin and Zelensky had touched upon "the future of the Normandy talks."

The Russian and Ukrainian presidents held their first telephone conversation on Thursday. The call was initiated by Kiev. According to Zelensky’s team, the phone call marks "the first step towards resuming the Normandy talks."

Source: ITAR-TASS 12-07-2019

Fire at gas pipeline near power plant in Moscow Region extinguished

One person was killed and 13 injured in the disaster.

MYTISHCHI /Moscow Region/, July 11. /TASS/. Firefighters have extinguished a blaze that broke out at a gas pipeline on the premises of a thermal power plant in Mytishchi, near Moscow, Russian Deputy Emergencies Minister Ilya Denisov told reporters on Thursday.

"The fire at a high-pressure gas pipeline has been put out. The firefighting operation is underway at a transformer station and at certain hotbeds of fire, and a foam attack is being prepared. There is no threat to the residents of the Moscow Region and the environment," the official said.

By latest reports, fire in the administrative building has also been contained. "The fire has been contained," the source said.

Outside fire was extinguished as well, head of the Emergencies Ministry's Main Directorate for the Moscow Region Sergei Poletykin reported on Thursday.

"The outside fire was put out at 15:43 Moscow time," he told journalists.

Poletykin noted that the fire started as a result of gas leakage from the gas pipeline. Russian Deputy Emergencies Minister Ilya Denisov earlier said that the high-pressure pipeline broke, which led to a jet fire.

"There was a threat to a dormitory located nearby, but it was saved, just two square meters of the area were damaged, and in the near future the residents will be able to return to their rooms," Poletykin said.

The fire covered an area of over 1,000 square meters, the fire-fighting headquarters told TASS. "The building’s roof is on fire on an area of more than 1,000 square meters," the source said.

One person was killed and 13 were injured in the fire that sparked in the pipeline near the thermal power station in Mytishchi, Moscow Region, the Center for Emergency Medicine told TASS. "One person was killed, 12 people received outpatient treatment, and one more person was hospitalized," the source said.

The Emergencies Ministry specified that the body of the deceased person was found during the fire fighting operations.

The firefighting effort involved 157 personnel, two helicopters and two fire engines.

A high-pressure gas station, a gas pipeline, technical facilities and an administration building caught fire on the premises of the Severnaya thermal power plant in Chelobityevo, Mytishchi, on Thursday.

The gas-powered Severnaya thermal plant in Mytishchi, with the capacity of 1,060 MWt, was put into service in 1992.

Source: ITAR-TASS 11-07-2019

Three IS militants sentenced for plotting terrorist attacks in Moscow

The men will spend from 10 to 15 years in jail.

MOSCOW, July 9. /TASS/. The Moscow District Military Court has sentenced three members of the Islamic State (terrorist group, outlawed in Russia) to between 10 and 15 years in jail over plotting terrorist attacks in Moscow, a TASS correspondent reported from the courtroom on Tuesday.

"The court has found the defendants guilty and sentenced Anzor Tlupov, Bakhtovar Tuychiyev and Manuchekhr Tuychiyev to 13, 15 and 10 years, respectively," the judge said, noting that the three men would be serving their sentences in a maximum security colony.

The defendants were charged with illegal production of explosives, setting up a terrorist group, engagement in the group's activities, plotting a terrorist attack and contributing to terrorism.

The court found that three IS militants had been plotting a series of terrorist attacks in Moscow and the Moscow Region. At the moment of detention in summer 2018, they were trying to destroy explosive substances.

Source: ITAR-TASS 09-07-2019