Russia

MOSCOW, April 3 (NNN-XINHUA) — US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday called Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov over Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been detained in Russia on espionage charges.

During the phone conversation, Lavrov underscored the need to respect the decision of Russian authorities made under Russia’s law and international obligations, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Russia’s top counterterrorism body on Monday blamed Ukrainian intelligence agencies for the bombing attack that killed a well-known Russian military blogger who fervently supported Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

Russian officials said Vladlen Tatarsky, 40, was killed Sunday as he was leading a discussion at a cafe on the banks of the Neva River in the historic heart of St. Petersburg. Over 30 people were wounded by the blast, and 10 of them remain in grave condition, according to the authorities.

MOSCOW, April 2. /TASS/: Russia recorded 9,591 coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, the anti-coronavirus crisis center said on Sunday.

The country’s total cases have reached 22,656,126.

As many as 589 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, down from 1,164 the day before. Number of hospital admissions increased in 9 regions, decreased in 66 regions and in 10 regions the situation has not changed.

Moscow’s COVID-19 cases surged by 1,358 to 3,480,273 in the past day and St. Petersburg’s cases increased by 1,002 to 1,919,705.

MOSCOW, April 2. /TASS/: The Russian budget at the end of March received additional revenues in the amount of 2.5 trillion rubles, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said in the ‘Moscow. Kremlin. Putin’ program on the Rossiya-1 TV channel. Journalist Pavel Zarubin posted the fragment of the program on his Telegram channel.

MOSCOW, April 2. /TASS/: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that it is up to court to decide about the future of The Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich who was detained on espionage charges in Russia, the Russian foreign ministry said on Sunday after their telephone conversation.

"In light of the established evidence of the US national’s illegal activities, his future will be determined by court. The American embassy in Moscow was duly notified about his detention," the ministry said.

April 2 (Reuters) - Well-known Russian military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky was killed in a bomb blast in a cafe in St Petersburg on Sunday, Russian news agencies reported.

They quoted the interior ministry as confirming the death of Tatarsky and saying that 16 people had been wounded.

Tatarsky, whose real name was Maxim Fomin, had more than 560,000 followers on Telegram and was one of the most prominent of the influential military bloggers who have provided an often critical running commentary on Russia's war in Ukraine.

MOSCOW, April 2 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday called Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov over Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been detained in Russia on espionage charges.

During the phone conversation, Lavrov underscored the need to respect the decision of Russian authorities made under Russia's law and international obligations, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

MOSCOW, March 31. /TASS/: It will be absurd and wrong to expel all bona fide Russian journalists from the United States following the arrest of The Wall Street Journal correspondent Evan Gershkovich in Russia, Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the media, while commenting on WSJ calls for such a measure.

MOSCOW, March 31. /TASS/: President Vladimir Putin has approved a new version of Russia’s Concept of Foreign Policy. He announced the signing of the relevant decree at a meeting with permanent members of the Security Council of the Russian Federation on Friday.

This document defines the priority areas, goals and objectives of the country's international activities, it will be a road map for the Russian Foreign Ministry and other ministries and departments.

March 31 (Reuters) - Russia said on Friday that a ceasefire in Ukraine would not enable it to achieve the goals of its "special military operation" at the moment.

The Kremlin was reacting after Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko - Russia's closest ally - called for an immediate ceasefire, without preconditions, and for both Moscow and Kyiv to start negotiations on a lasting peace settlement.