Russia

MOSCOW, May 31 (Reuters) - Drones attacked two oil refineries just 40-50 miles (65-80 km) east of Russia's biggest oil export terminals on Wednesday, sparking a fire at one and causing no damage to the other, according to Russian officials.

Drone attacks deep inside Russia have intensified in recent weeks with strikes on Moscow, oil pipelines and even the Kremlin ahead of a Ukrainian counter-offensive.

At around 0100 GMT a drone struck the Afipsky oil refinery in Russia's Krasnodar region, causing a fire which was later extinguished, Governor Veniamin Kondratyev said.

MOSCOW, May 31 (Reuters) - Russia's most powerful mercenary, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said on Wednesday that he had asked prosecutors to investigate whether senior Russian defence officials had committed any "crime" before or during the war in Ukraine.

Prigozhin's request is his most blatant public challenge to date against President Vladimir Putin's top military brass, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov.

MOSCOW (AP) — A Moscow court on Wednesday set a new date for a hearing paving the way for another trial of imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny that could keep him in prison for decades.

The Moscow City Court initially scheduled for Wednesday a preliminary hearing to discuss technical issues related to the trial of the Kremlin’s arch foe but moved it to June 6 without giving a reason. The court rejected a request by Navalny’s lawyers for more time to examine voluminous case materials.

MOSCOW, May 30. /TASS/: Kiev has chosen the path of intimidating Russian citizens by attacking civilian facilities, which is a clear sign of terrorist activity, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday.

MOSCOW, May 30. /TASS/: A bill has been put forward in Russia banning gender affirmation surgeries for any reason other than to treat congenital abnormalities.

Thus, the law on health protections of Russian nationals is supplemented with a provision banning "medical interventions geared to swap gender," including surgeries to change primary or secondary sex characteristics.

MOSCOW, May 30. /TASS/: The Ukrainian army has lost over 16,000 troops, 16 aircraft and over 400 tanks and other armored vehicles over the past month, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said on Tuesday.

"Russian forces continue to inflict an effective fire impact on the enemy. Its losses this month alone totaled over 16,000 troops, 16 aircraft, 5 helicopters, 466 drones, over 400 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, and 238 field artillery pieces and mortars," Shoigu said during a conference call.

MOSCOW, May 30. /TASS/: The NATO-led international security force in Kosovo known as KFOR has turned into a source of unwarranted violence and escalation in the region, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement on Tuesday.

The statement followed an outbreak of violence against Serbs in Kosovo.

MOSCOW, May 30 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin is working in the Kremlin and has been briefed about drone attacks on Moscow, his spokesman said on Tuesday.

Dmitry Peskov also said Russian air defences and the defence ministry had worked well in dealing with the assault and added that there were currently no plans for Putin to comment on the drone attack, which Moscow has blamed on Ukraine.

Earlier, Russia's defence ministry said air defences had destroyed eight drones.

May 29 (Reuters) - China has declined a request from the United States for a meeting between their defense chiefs at an annual security forum in Singapore this weekend, media reported on Monday, a new sign of strain between the powers.

"Overnight, the PRC informed the U.S. that they have declined our early May invitation for Secretary (Lloyd) Austin to meet with PRC Minister of National Defense Li Shangfu in Singapore," the Pentagon said in a statement to the Wall Street Journal, referring to China by the initials of its official name, the People's Republic of China.

MOSCOW, May 29. /TASS/: Russia’s ministry of justice has put Greenpeace International on its list of undesirable organizations.

"The Russian ministry of justice added Greenpeace International (Stichting Greenpeace Council, the Netherlands), an international non-government non-profit organization, to the list of foreign and international non-government organizations whose activity is recognized as undesirable in Russia," it said on Monday.