Russia

MOSCOW, January 4. /TASS/: First upgraded Ka-52M strike and reconnaissance helicopters were delivered to the Russian army and supplies would continue this year, a source in the defense industry told TASS.

"The first Ka-52M [helicopters] have already been turned over to Russian troops. Deliveries of upgraded helicopters will also continue in 2023," the source said. About ten helicopters were supplied for the Russian army aviation, he noted.

The Arsenyevsky aviation plant is fully loaded with production of such helicopters, the source added.

MOSCOW, January 4. /TASS/: Russian frigate Admiral Gorshkov armed with Tsirkon hypersonic missiles will go on a trip across the Atlantic and Indian oceans, as well as the Mediterranean Sea, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu announced on Wednesday during the ceremony of the frigate entering combat service, which was held via video conference. The event was attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

MOSCOW, January 4. /TASS/: Russian Deputy Prime Minister, Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov has flown as a passenger aboard Russia’s brand-new plane MC-21, the cabinet of ministers said on its website on Wednesday after his visit to the Zhukovsky Central Aerohydrodynamics Institute (TsAGI) near Moscow and the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) enterprise in Ulyanovsk.

"Denis Manturov flew to Ulyanovsk on the latest MC-21 aircraft, accompanied by UAC CEO Yury Slyusar and Rossiya Airlines CEO Yan Burg," the statement said.

MOSCOW, January 4. /TASS/: Russia cannot view Italy as a guarantor of the potential peace process around Ukraine due to Rome’s biased stance against Moscow, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday.

The diplomat was asked to comment on the reports that Rome was poised to act as a guarantor of peace settlement in Ukraine. In particular, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced that at a press conference on December 29, 2022.

MOSCOW, Jan 4 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin sent a frigate to the Atlantic Ocean armed with new generation hypersonic cruise missiles on Wednesday, a signal to the West that Russia will not back down over the war in Ukraine.

Russia, China and the United States are in a race to develop hypersonic weapons which are seen as a way to gain an edge over any adversary because of their speeds - above five times the speed of sound - and manoeuvrability.

MOSCOW, Jan 3 (Reuters) - A little known patriotic group which supports the widows of Russian soldiers has called on President Vladimir Putin to order a large-scale mobilisation of millions of men and to close the borders to ensure victory in Ukraine.

Putin, Russia's 70-year-old paramount leader, is under intense pressure to deliver victory in Ukraine more than 10 months since he sent troops as part of an operation he says was intended to defend Russians in eastern Ukraine.

Jan 3 (Reuters) - Russian nationalists and some lawmakers have demanded punishment for commanders they accused of ignoring dangers as anger grew over the killing of dozens of Russian soldiers in one of the Ukraine war's deadliest strikes.

DIPLOMACY

* Some protesters in Germany, online and on the streets, are calling on Berlin to reconsider its support for Ukraine, tapping into deep connections between Germany and Russia, with a legacy of Soviet ties to Communist east Germany and decades of German dependency on Russian gas.

MOSCOW, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Kazakh counterpart, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, underlined the high level of relations between the two countries during a phone conversation on Tuesday.

They exchanged New Year greetings and discussed issues of practical cooperation in a number of areas, including the fuel and energy sector, the Kremlin said in a statement.

Putin and Tokayev agreed to continue coordination between governments and relevant bodies of the two countries.

MOSCOW, January 2. /TASS/: A Ukrainian drone attacked a power installation in the Klimovsky District, Governor of the Bryansk Region Alexander Bogomaz wrote in his Telegram account.

"A Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicle attacked the Klimovsky District this morning," the Governor wrote. "Nobody was injured. <...> A power installation was damaged as a result of the delivered strike; there is no electricity in a settlement," the official said.

Rescue services are working at the incident scene.

MOSCOW, January 2. /TASS/: Russia recorded 3,884 coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, the anti-coronavirus crisis center said on Monday.

The number of new daily cases was the lowest since July 12. Total cases have reached 21,807,431.

As many as 379 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, down from 470 the day before. Hospitalizations declined in 41 regions of the country and rose in 17 regions.

Moscow’s COVID-19 cases surged by 751 to 3,302,315 in the past day and St. Petersburg’s cases increased by 615 to 1,828,928.