Europe

January 15./TASS/:  Russian President Vladimir Putin positively assessed the dynamics of the special military operation. In an interview with the Rossiya-1 TV channel for the program ‘Moscow. Kremlin. Putin’, the head of state expressed the hope that Russian fighters would once again please everyone with the results of their work.

KIEV, January 15. /TASS/: Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has decreed to enforce the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council’s resolution on imposing sanctions on 198 individuals, including Russian film director Andrei Konchalovsky, TV host Angelina Vovk, former ambassador of the Lugansk People’s Republic to Russia Rodion Miroshnik, and a number of Russian journalists.

MOSCOW, January 15. /TASS/: Three soldiers were killed and 15 more were hurt in a munitions explosion in the village of Tonenkoye in Russia’s southern Belgorod region, the local emergencies service told TASS on Sunday.

"According to verified data, three soldiers were killed and 15 more were wounded," a spokesman said, adding that the blast was preliminarily caused by mishandling of munitions.

PRAGUE, Jan 15 (NNN-Xinhua) — Retired general Petr Pavel and former Prime Minister Andrej Babis will advance to a second round in the Czech presidential race in a fortnight’s time, according to official results published on Saturday.

Both Pavel and Babis were predicted to win considerable votes in relevant polls. They were almost neck-and-neck with 35.36 percent and 35.02 percent of the vote respectively, according to official results when ballots from over 99.7 percent of precincts were counted.

NOVI SAD (Serbia), Jan 15 (NNN-Xinhua) — The Serbia section of the Chinese-built Belgrade-Budapest railway, once completed, will prove to be of immense importance for the country’s economy and local development, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said.

Vucic, accompanied by Serbian Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Goran Vesic and Chinese Ambassador to Serbia Chen Bo, on Saturday visited the village of Stepanovicevo, where the railway section connecting Novi Sad and Subotica is under construction.

YAKUTSK, Russia, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Temperatures have plunged to minus 50 degrees Celsius (-58 Fahrenheit) this week in Yakutsk during an abnormally long cold snap in the Siberian city known as the coldest on earth.

Located 5,000 km (3,100 miles) east of Moscow on the permafrost of the Russian Far East, residents of the mining city often see the thermometer regularly drop well below minus 40.

"You can't fight it. You either adjust and dress accordingly or you suffer," said Anastasia Gruzdeva, outside in two scarves, two pairs of gloves and multiple hats and hoods.

MOSCOW, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the military operation in Ukraine had gained positive momentum and that he hoped his soldiers would deliver more wins after Russia claimed control of the eastern Ukrainian salt-mining town of Soledar.

Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine has triggered one of the deadliest European conflicts since World War Two and the biggest confrontation between Moscow and the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.

BERLIN, Jan 15 (Reuters) - German armsmaker Rheinmetall (RHMG.DE) could deliver repaired Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine in 2024 at the earliest and would need a confirmed order to begin repairs, its chief executive was quoted as saying by Bild newspaper on Sunday.

Germany announced earlier this month that it would provide Ukraine with 40 Marder infantry fighting vehicles to help repel Russian forces.

BUCHAREST, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Romanian authorities said they have seized goods and money worth 18 million lei ($3.95 million) as a part of a criminal inquiry into alleged human trafficking that led to the arrest of divisive internet personality Andrew Tate.

In the past week, the National Agency for the Management of Seized Assets has taken into administration 29 movable assets, including luxury vehicles and watches, and various amounts of cash in different currencies, it said in a statement late on Saturday.

KIEV, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from a Russian missile attack on the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro has risen to 20, the regional governor said Sunday.

At least 73 people were injured, with four in intensive care, Valentyn Reznichenko, head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional military administration, said on Telegram.

About 40 people are still missing following the strike on Saturday that destroyed 72 apartments and damaged 230 others, Reznichenko said, noting the rescue operation at the site is still underway.