Russia

MOSCOW, February 27. /TASS/: MOSCOW, February 27. /TASS/. Denis Pushilin, the interim head of the Donetsk People’s Republic, on Monday said Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s statement that Kiev was preparing military efforts to capture Crimea is nothing but a publicity stunt.

"It’s more like a PR stunt. It’s more like an effort to <...> raise the morale of Ukraine’s armed formations. Maybe, [the statement is meant] for the radical portion of society. It’s unlikely to result in any real actions," he said on Rossiya-24 television.

MOSCOW, February 27. /TASS/: Russia’s COVID-19 case tally rose by 9,580 over the past day to 22,262,717, the anti-coronavirus crisis center reported on Monday.

As many as 786 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 in Russia over the past day, 10.7% fewer than in the previous day. The number of hospitalized patients declined in 45 regions, while in 28 other regions the figure increased. A day earlier, 880 people were rushed to hospitals.

MOSCOW, February 27. /TASS/: Crimea is an integral part of Russia and its return to Ukraine is impossible, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday.

When asked if Moscow could imagine a situation where Crimea would become part of Ukraine again, he answered in the negative. "It is an integral part of the Russian Federation," the presidential spokesman stressed.

US President Joe Biden assumed earlier that potential agreements on the Ukraine issue could include a provision on Kiev taking control of Crimea and some other territories in the future.

MOSCOW, February 27. /TASS/: Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev arrived in Algeria on a visit on Monday.

He is set to "hold a number of meetings on the issues of Russia-Algerian security cooperation," the Security Council said.

The Russian Security Council secretary maintains regular communication with counterparts from other countries regarding security issues. That includes regular talks with the representatives of Algeria.

Feb 27 (Reuters) - Russia's former president and an ally of President Vladimir Putin said in remarks published on Monday that the West's continued supply of arms to Kyiv risked a global nuclear catastrophe, reiterating his threat of nuclear war over Ukraine.

Dmitry Medvedev's apocalyptic rhetoric has been seen as an attempt to deter the U.S-led NATO military alliance and Kyiv's Western allies from getting even more involved in the year-old war that has dealt Moscow setbacks on the battlefield.

Feb 27 (Reuters) - Belarusian anti-government activists have claimed responsibility for what they said was a drone attack on a Russian A-50 surveillance aircraft at an airfield near the Belarus capital of Minsk on Sunday.

"Those were drones. The participants of the operation are Belarusian," Aliaksandr Azarov, leader of Belarusian anti-government organization BYPOL, was quoted as saying on the organisation's Telegram messaging app and on the Poland-based Belsat news channel.

"They are now safe, outside the country."

MOSCOW, February 26. /TASS/: Russian Human Rights Commissioner Tatiana Moskalkova has said EU sanctions undercut rights diplomacy that helped people.

She made the remark in comments on her being sanctioned by the EU.

MOSCOW, February 26. /TASS/:  The West could only admit Russia to the so-called "family of civilized peoples" through breaking the country into separate parts, Russian President Vladimir Putin told the "Moscow. Kremlin. Putin" program on Rossiya-1 TV channel on Sunday.

"And later, [after liquidating Russia] they will probably admit us to the so-called family of civilized peoples, but only by parts, each part separately. What for? For ordering those parts around and putting under their control," he said when asked questions by journalist Pavel Zarubin.

MOSCOW, February 26. /TASS/: The decision on suspension of Russia’s participation in the New START treaty was unexpected for the West, though it is an absolutely reasoned and correct step, Foreign Intelligence Service Director Sergey Naryshkin said in a commentary for the "Moscow. Kremlin. Putin" program on Rossiya-1 TV channel aired on Sunday.

MOSCOW, February 26. /TASS/: Russia will have to push the threat off its borders to a distance depending on weapons the West will supply to Ukraine, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said on Sunday.

"It will depend on weapons it will receive," he said in an interview with the Moscow.Kremlin.Putin program on the Rossiya-1 television channel.

In his state of the nation address, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia will be forced to push the threat further off its border in case the Kiev regime is supplied with long-range systems by the West.