Russia

MOSCOW, March 12. /TASS/: Two Ukrainian Mi-8 helicopters, seven HIMARS and Uragan rockets and one drone were downed by Russian air defense systems in the course of the special military operation during the past day, Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Igor Konashenkov said on Sunday.

MOSSCOW, March 12. /TASS/: Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has slammed her Ukrainian counterpart Dmitry Kuleba’s statement that Moscow is reluctant to negotiate the crisis settlement with Kiev as a "colossal lie".

ST. PETERSBURG, March 11 (Xinhua) -- Foreign tourists may have a chance to apply for an electronic visa to enter Russia and receive a payment card in 2023, Tatyana Sharshavitskaya, head of the Russian Department of Tourism Development of the Ministry of Economic Development, said on Saturday.

MOSCOW, March 10. /TASS/: Russia currently sees no opportunity to engage with Ukraine because of Kiev’s position, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday.

MOSCOW, March 10. /TASS/: Russia’s move to expose the United States’ military and biological activities made many countries wonder about the real reasons for the presence of US research facilities on their territories, Chief of Russia’s Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Troops Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov said on Friday.

MOSCOW, March 10. /TASS/: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called the latest reports in the Western media about the alleged involvement of a "Ukrainian oligarch" in the explosions on the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines "incoherent babble."

9 Mar 2023; MEMO: Russia said, on Thursday, that a landmark deal to ensure the safe export of grain from Ukraine's Black Sea ports was only being "half-implemented", raising doubts about whether it would allow an extension of the deal that is due to expire next week, Reuters reports.

MOSCOW, March 9. /TASS/: Russia sees no desire on behalf of the Kiev authorities to launch substantial negotiations on the Ukrainian conflict’s settlement, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday.

"So far, we see no desire on the part of our Ukrainian neighbors to begin serious talks," Lavrov said at a news conference following talks with his Saudi Arabian counterpart Faisal Bin Farhan Al Saud.

MOSCOW, March 9. /TASS/: Russia has no connection to the Georgian foreign agent bill that has caused protests in the country, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday.

"The Kremlin did not inspire anything and has absolutely nothing to do with this," he stressed.

MOSCOW, March 9. /TASS/: The Kremlin does not believe that some pro-Ukrainian individuals could have been behind the Nord Stream explosions, as only a handful of intelligence services are capable of committing such a terrorist attack, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday.