Railway section of Crimean Bridge to be among Russia’s safest

"Given the unique nature of this facility, extensive measures of technical control to ensure transport security have been envisaged there," the official said.

MOSCOW, July 24. /TASS/. Special security measures will be in place for the railway section of the Crimean Bridge, connecting the peninsula with mainland Russia, the director general of the Russian Transport Ministry’s departmental security service, Alexey Kovyrshin, told TASS on Wednesday.

"At present, works are being carried out to equip the railway segment of the Crimean Bridge with the required engineering and technical equipment for transport security, as envisaged by the project. Given the unique nature of this facility, extensive measures of technical control to ensure transport security have been envisaged there," he said.

"For today, this facility will be among our country’s most protected transport infrastructure facilities," the official added.

According to the official, the car and the railway sections of the Crimean Bridge will be considered two separate objects, and the safety there will be ensured by different agencies - the car section will be guarded by the Transport Ministry’s departmental security service and the rail section - by the rail transport departmental security service. The overall security will be provided by officers of the Russian Guard, who will also patrol waters around the bridge.

The 19-kilometer long Crimean Bridge, the longest one in Russia, links the Taman Peninsula and the Kerch Peninsula. The bridge’s motorway section was inaugurated in May 2018, with President Vladimir Putin taking part in the opening ceremony. The railway section is expected to be unveiled by the end of 2019.

Source: ITAR-TASS 24-07-2019

Russian Defense Ministry denies border violations during flights over Sea of Japan

MOSCOW, July 23. /TASS/. Two Russian Tu-95MS strategic bombers did not violate other countries’ borders during their scheduled flight over neutral waters of the Sea of Japan, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on Tuesday.

"On July 23, 2019, two Tu-95MS strategic bombers of the Russian Aerospace Forces were performing a scheduled flight in the airspace over neutral waters of the Sea of Japan," the ministry noted.

The Defense Ministry stressed that the planes did not violate other counties’ borders. "According to flight data, the Tu-95MS aircraft did not deviate from the planned route in accordance with international regulations, flying more than 25 km away from Dokdo (Takeshima) islands without violating South Korea’s airspace," it said.

The ministry said that two South Korean F-16s approached the Russian bombers near the Liancourt Rocks and "conducted unprofessional maneuvers, crossing the course of the Russian aircraft and jeopardizing their safety."

The Russian defense agency also pointed out that "The South Korean pilots did not establish communications with the crews of Tu-95MS, fired flares and then the F-16s conducted another maneuver, retreating away from the Russian planes."

The Russian Defense Ministry has refuted reports on warning shots fired by South Korea’s F-16 fighter jets at Russia’s Tu-95MS strategic bombers.

"No warning shots were fired by South Korea’s fighter jets," the Defense Minsitry said, adding that, "if the Russian pilots felt a security threat, the response would follow quickly."

The ministry also emphasized that "it is not the first time that South Korean pilots have unsuccessfully tried to disrupt the Russian aviation’s maneuvers over the neutral waters of the Sea of Japan, citing a self-imposed "air defense identification zone"." However, these zones are not envisioned by the international rules and, therefore, are not recognized by Russia, which has been repeatedly communicated to the South Korean side through various channels."

Flights over Sea of Japan

Earlier on Tuesday, the South Korean Yonhap News Agency claimed that a Russian Air Force jet had twice violated the South Korean airspace near the Liancourt Rocks, situated in the Sea of Japan and contested by Seoul and Tokyo.

The South Korean air defense identification zone stretches not only across the country’s airspace, but is also partly applied to the international airspace. In spite of that, the South Korean military demands that the intention to enter the zone and the aims of the flights should be communicated to them ahead of missions. Usually, if it does not happen, they scramble aviation to intercept the ‘intruders’ even if the South Korean airspace has not been violated.

Source: ITAR-TASS 23-07-2019

Russia’s Su-25SM attack aircraft strike targets in Kyrgyz army’s drills

MOSCOW, July 22. /TASS/. Four Russian Su-25SM ground attack aircraft took part in the Kyrgyz army’s Sary-Tash-2019 military exercises, the press office of Russia’s Central Military District reported on Monday.

"The Russian planes delivered a missile strike against targets simulating notional armor and the amassment of illegal armed formations. The pilots also practiced overcoming air defenses by performing anti-missile maneuvering. The flights were conducted at speeds of 700 to 750 km/h and at an altitude of 300 to 3,000 meters," the press office said.

The military exercises dubbed Sary-Tash-2019 kicked off in Kyrgyzstan on July 18. They involve 600 troops and over 100 items of military hardware. The drills practice blocking and destroying militant intruders.

Source: ITAR-TASS 22-07-2019

Donbass republics ready to adhere to new ceasefire agreement

For his part, the head of the LPR militia Mikhail Filiponenko expressed hope that the Ukrainian side will adhere to the agreement as well.

DONETSK, July 20. /TASS/. The people’s militias of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR) are ready to adhere to the new ceasefire agreement signed during the talks in Minsk, heads of the DPR and LPR militias Denis Sinenkov and Mikhail Filiponenko stated on Saturday.

"In relation to the agreement reached on introducing an indefinite ceasefire starting 00:01 on July 21, 2019, the head of the Donetsk People’s Republic ruled the People’s Militia to issue the corresponding order to all units and every serviceman," the Donetsk News Agency quotes Sinenkov as saying.

For his part, the LPR official expressed hope that the Ukrainian side will adhere to the agreement as well. "The People’s Militia of the Lugansk People’s Republic has always strived for peaceful regulation of the conflict, considering it one of its priority goals. We are ready to adhere to the conditions of another ceasefire and, as earlier, we are ready to implement a ceasefire regime," the Luganskinformcenter news agency quotes Filiponenko as saying.

The so-called spring ceasefire formally came into effect in Donbass on March 8, however, on the same night it was violated by the Kiev forces. At the meeting of the Contact Group in Minsk on July 17, the sides agreed to establish a new ceasefire starting July 21.

Source: ITAR-TASS 20-07-2019

Russian fighter jets scrambled 6 times over week to intercept foreign aircraft

According to the Defense Ministry’s newspaper, 28 foreign aircraft conducted air reconnaissance near the Russian borders.

MOSCOW, July 19. /TASS/. Russian fighter jets were scrambled six times over the past week to intercept and shadow foreign aircraft near Russia’s borders, the Defense Ministry’s newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda reported on Friday.

According to the infographics published in the newspaper, 28 foreign aircraft conducted air reconnaissance near the Russian borders. The Russian fighter jets "prevented the violation of the country’s airspace," the paper said.

Over the week, the Russian pilots performed 320 flight shifts at 76 aerodromes, the paper said.

Source: ITAR-TASS 19-07-2019

Kremlin responds to Theresa May’s criticism of Putin’s ideas about liberalism

May said she did not share Putin’s point of view that the "liberal idea has become obsolete".

ST. PETERSBURG, July 18. /TASS/. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov insists that Russian President Vladimir Putin was right when he said that the liberal idea has become obsolete.

"I would not agree with [UK Prime Minister Theresa] May: we can and should compare life in Russia and in Europe or in other countries of the world. All have their pluses and minuses. But it is impossible to counterpose one system of values to another. Moreover, it would be wrong to do that. Other than that, we are guided by the assertions that were voiced by President Putin in his interview with the Financial Times," Peskov told journalists on Thursday.

In an interview with the Financial Time in June, President Putin said he believed liberalism had "outlived its purposes" and "become obsolete." In his words, the modern liberal idea had come into contradiction with the interests of the overwhelming majority of the population. He noted that Russia’s Western partners also admitted that some of its elements, such as multiculturalism or denial of traditional values were simply unrealistic. But, he stressed he was confident that liberal ideas could not be done away with and should go on existing.

In her speech at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, or Chatham House, a thinktank, on Wednesday, British Prime Minister Theresa May said she did not share Putin’s point of view that the "liberal idea has become obsolete." "This is a cynical falsehood. No one comparing the quality of life or economic success of liberal democracies like the UK, France and Germany to that of the Russian Federation would conclude that our system is obsolete. But the fact that he feels emboldened to utter it today indicates the challenge we face as we seek to defend our values," she said.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin spokesman said with regret he did not have a possibility to "follow Mrs. May’s speech" on Wednesday as he had been accompanying the Russian president on his trip to holy site on Valaam. "These discussions [on the liberal idea] look not that acute from there," he noted.

Source: ITAR-TASS 18-07-2019

Criminal cases launched after massive children’s poisoning in Crimean camp

49 children and five youth leaders were taken to the hospital.

SIMFEROPOL, July 17. /TASS/. Investigators of the Main Investigative Directorate for Crimea of the Russian Investigative Committee launched criminal cases on the poisoning of children and youth leaders in the Luchisty camp in Yevpatoria, the directorate’s press service told journalists on Wednesday.

"The investigative bodies of the Russian Investigative committee for the Republic of Crimea launched criminal cases for crimes under Part 1 Section 238 (‘Providing services that fail to comply with consumers’ life and health safety requirements’) and Part 1 Section 236 (‘Violation of sanitation and epidemiological rules’) of the Russian Criminal Code," the report says.

The incident in the children’s camp

The press service of Crimea’s Ministry of Health earlier reported that by 8:00 Moscow time 54 people were taken to the Yevpatoriya State Hospital after poisoning: 49 children and five youth leaders. They are in moderate condition.

The Luchisty children’s camp is located on the western Crimean shore 8 km off Yevpatoria, in the village of Zaozernoye.

Source: ITAR-TASS 17-07-2019