Russia

April 23 (Reuters) - Russia's defence ministry on Sunday said its forces had captured more territory in Bakhmut as they pursue their bid to seize full control of the city.

The battle for Bakhmut has turned into one of the bloodiest of the 14-month war, with the Eastern Ukrainian city almost completely destroyed by artillery shelling and urban combat.

Russia says capturing Bakhmut will allow it to mount further offensives into eastern Ukraine. If they succeed, Moscow's forces are likely to face even larger urban battles for the nearby towns of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.

MOSCOW, April 22 (Xinhua) -- The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday that it decided to "mirror" Germany's "hostile" actions and expel German diplomats from Russia.

"The German authorities have decided on another mass expulsion of employees of Russian diplomatic missions in Germany. We strongly condemn these actions of Berlin, which continues to defiantly destroy the entire array of Russian-German relations," the ministry said in a statement.

22 Apr 2023; MEMO: Ukraine's prospects of unblocking grain shipments to Eastern Europe improved on Friday as Romania opted against a unilateral ban on food imports, but there was no progress on extending a deal on Black Sea exports, Reuters reports.

22 Apr 2023; MEMO: In a Friday phone call, Russian President, Vladimir Putin, and Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, discussed efforts to resolve crises in the Middle East, Anadolu News Agency reports.

The phone call came just days after Saudi Foreign Minister, Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud visited Syria for the first time in more than a decade.

MOSCOW, April 22. /TASS/: Russia’s COVID-19 case tally rose by 7,030 over the past day to 22,803,875, the anti-coronavirus crisis center reported on Saturday.

A day earlier, 7,116 daily cases were recorded.

As many as 958 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 in Russia over the past day, down 13.5% from a day earlier. The number of hospitalized patients increased in 25 regions, while in 46 regions the figure decreased. The situation remained unchanged in 14 regions. A day earlier, 1,108 people were rushed to hospitals.

MOSCOW, April 22. /TASS/: The German authorities have decided to massively expel Russian diplomats, thus Berlin is pursuing a course to destroy the entire range of Russia-Germany relations, the Russian Foreign Ministry told TASS on Saturday.

MOSCOW, April 22. /TASS/: Rebellions have begun among Ukrainian servicemen in Chasov Yar and Konstantinovka, as they are dropping their arms and walking out, Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the PMC Wagner, said on Saturday.

"Revolts have begun among the servicemen of the Ukrainian armed forces in Chasov Yar and Konstantinovka. They are dropping their arms, rising and leaving," said Prigozhin, cited on his press service’s Telegram channel.

MOSCOW, April 22. /TASS/: Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky imposed sanctions on Russia’s political parties and Central Election Commission on Saturday, according to the decree published on his website.

The sanctions list includes the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF), the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), the A Just Russia - Patriots - For Truth party, the New People party, as well as the Russian Central Election Commission (CEC).

MOSCOW, April 22 (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Saturday that Moscow was expelling more than 20 German diplomats, the RIA Novosti news agency said, as Berlin said some Russian diplomats had left Germany.

A German Foreign Ministry official said Berlin and Moscow had been in contact about their respective representations in the last few weeks with the aim of reducing Russia's intelligence presence in Germany.

Russia (AP) —Seventeen apartment buildings were evacuated Saturday in a Russian city near the Ukrainian border after an explosive device was found at the site where a bomb accidentally dropped by a Russian warplane caused a powerful blast this week, authorities said.

The bomb blast late Thursday rocked part of Belgorod, leaving a large crater and three people injured. The Russian Defense Ministry quickly acknowledged that a weapon accidentally released by one of its own Su-34 bombers caused the explosion.