Russia

MOSCOW, December 30. /TASS/: Ukraine’s armed forces have lost up to 350 personnel in the Donetsk area over 24 hours, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

According to its statement, the Ukrainian losses amounted to 350 troops killed and wounded, two armored vehicles and six pick-up trucks. Counterbattery work has wiped out a M777 artillery system and a US-made Paladin self-propelled howitzer.

MOSCOW (AP) —Thirty-two Ukrainian drones were shot down over Russia on Saturday, Moscow officials reported, a day after an 18-hour aerial barrage across Ukraine killed at least 39 civilians.

Drones were seen in the skies over Russia’s Moscow, Bryansk, Oryol, and Kursk regions, the country’s defense ministry said in a statement. It said that all of the drones had been destroyed by air defenses.

MOSCOW, December 28. /TASS/: Growing traffic jams at crossings on the Russian-Lithuanian border, caused by Vilnius’ obstruction, ultimately stem from the inability of Lithuania and the EU to comply with existing agreements on the transit of goods, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a commentary.

MOSCOW, Dec 28 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Russia has redirected its oil exports from Europe to China and India, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said, almost two years after Moscow was hit by Western sanctions over the Ukraine conflict.

After President Vladimir Putin sent troops to Ukraine in February 2022, Western countries hit Russia with a slew of sanctions including a European Union embargo on its seaborne oil deliveries.

“We previously supplied a total of 40 to 45 percent of oil and oil products to Europe,” said Novak, who is in charge of energy policy.

MOSCOW, Dec 28 (Reuters) - A Soviet-era Antonov-24 aircraft carrying 30 passengers landed on a frozen river near an airport in Russia's far east on Thursday because of pilot error, transport prosecutors said.

The Polar Airlines An-24 landed safely on the Kolyma river near Zyryanka in the Yakutia region, the prosecutors said.

"According to preliminary information, the cause of the aviation incident was an error by the crew in piloting the aircraft," a spokesperson for the Eastern Siberian transport prosecutor said in a statement.

MOSCOW, Dec 27 (Reuters) - Russia and India have made tangible progress in talks on plans to jointly produce military equipment, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday, after talks with his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in Moscow.

Speaking at a news conference, Lavrov said such cooperation was of a strategic nature and was in both countries' interests and would help ensure security on the Eurasian continent.

MOSCOW, Dec 27 (Reuters) - Russia's Supreme Court has upheld a decision to bar a former TV journalist who opposes the war in Ukraine from taking part in a presidential election in March, Yekaterina Duntsova, the would-be candidate, said on Wednesday.

Members of the central electoral commission voted unanimously to reject the candidacy of Duntsova, citing "numerous violations" in the papers she had submitted in support of her bid.

Duntsova, in a post on her Telegram channel, confirmed that her appeal against the decision had been rejected by the Supreme Court.

MOSCOW, Dec 27 (Reuters) - Russia told South Korea on Wednesday not to be surprised if Moscow retaliates against Seoul for expanding the list of goods which cannot be exported from the East Asian nation to Russia without special permission.

Seoul said this week it would add over 600 types of goods which could potentially be used for military purposes to its export control list for Russia.

The list includes heavy construction equipment, rechargeable batteries, aeronautical components, and some cars.

MOSCOW, Dec 27 (Reuters) - A move by Japan to provide Patriot air defence systems to Ukraine will have "grave consequences" for Russia-Japan ties, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday.

Relations between Moscow and Tokyo, already difficult, have deteriorated sharply since Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in Feb. 2022. Japan has joined its Western allies in imposing sweeping economic sanctions on Russia.

MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian politician calling for peace in Ukraine on Wednesday lost her appeal against election officials’ refusal to accept her nomination for the country’s presidential race that President Vladimir Putin is all but certain to win.

Former regional legislator Yekaterina Duntsova has promoted her vision of a “humane” Russia “that’s peaceful, friendly and ready to cooperate with everyone on the principle of respect.”