Russia

MOSCOW, March 9. /TASS/: The United States of America is de facto waging an economic war against Russia, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday, commenting on the statement by US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland that from the point of view of the US "this Ukraine gambit is a strategic failure for Putin."

"The US, undoubtedly, declared an economic war against Russia and they are waging this war. Yes, de facto this is exactly what it is," the Kremlin official said.

MOSCOW, March 8. /TASS/: Russia’s COVID-19 case tally rose by 66,576 over the past day to 17,081,394, a new low since January 24, the anti-coronavirus crisis center reported on Tuesday.

In relative terms, it reached 0.39%. As many as 3,847 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 in Russia over the past day, 1.13% more than in the previous day. The number of hospitalized patients declined in 46 regions, while in 39 other regions the figure increased. A day earlier, 3,804 people were rushed to hospitals.

MOSCOW, March 8. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin said conscripts and reservists aren’t taking part in Russia’s military operation in Ukraine and won’t do so.

"I would like to emphasize that conscripts aren’t and won’t be taking part in hostilities, and there will be no additional call-up of reservists from the reserve," he said in a video address to women on the occasion of the International Women’s Day celebrated on March 8, which was posted on the Kremlin website. "Missions are carried out only by professional troops."

MOSCOW, March 8. /TASS/: Ukraine has a possible solution to the issue of recognizing the territories of Crimea and the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR), Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky told ABC on Tuesday.

MOSCOW/MINSK, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Russian and Ukrainian negotiators failed to achieve significant results during their third round of peace talks in Belarus on Monday.

"The discussions continued on political and military aspects. However, it remains difficult. It is too early to talk about something positive," Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, also the head of the Russian delegation, said following the talks.

MOSCOW, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Russian armed forces have declared a "silence regime" and the opening of humanitarian corridors for the safe evacuation of civilians in Ukraine starting 10 a.m. Moscow time (0700 GMT) on Tuesday.

"Humanitarian corridors from Kiev, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkov and Mariupol are being opened," local media reported, citing Russian Defense Ministry spokesperson Igor Konashenkov.

MOSCOW, March 7. /TASS/: The larger part of the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) has been placed under control and the republic’s forces are encircling remaining communities, LPR Head Leonid Pasechnik said in a live broadcast on the Rossiya-1 TV Channel on Monday.

"Practically the entire territory of the LPR, its larger part has been liberated. We have not yet liberated quite a serious stronghold - Severodonetsk and the Lisichansk frontier. They have actually been encircled," the LPR head said.

MOSCOW, March 7. /TASS/: Confirmed coronavirus cases in Russia grew by 73,162 in the past 24 hours to 17,014,818, the federal anti-coronavirus crisis center reported on Monday.

The growth was the slowest since January 25 and amounted to 0.43%, the crisis center reported.

As many as 3,804 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 in Russia in the past day, which is 53.8% fewer than in the previous day. The number of hospitalized patients declined in 78 Russian regions and increased in seven other regions, the data show.

MOSCOW, March 6. /TASS/: TikTok suspends live streaming and new content adding to its video service, the social network said on Sunday in the statement posted on its website.

"In light of Russia’s new ‘fake news’ law, we have no choice but to suspend livestreaming and new content to our video service while we review the safety implications of this law," TikTok said. "Our in-app messaging service will not be affected," it noted.

MOSCOW, March 7. /TASS/: The Government of the Russian Federation has approved on Monday a list of foreign states and territories that commit unfriendly actions against Russia, its companies, and citizens.