Russia

MOSCOW, August 13. /TASS/: The allied forces of the Donbass republics and the Russian army completely liberated the settlement of Peski in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov reported on Saturday.

"As a result of offensive operations by the allied forces, the settlement of Peski in the Donetsk People’s Republic has been completely liberated," the spokesman said.

MOSCOW, August 13. /TASS/: Moscow views the expulsion of a Russian diplomat from Montenegro as a new episode of the hybrid campaign unleashed by the West against Russia, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Saturday.

Aug 13 (Reuters) - The two primary road bridges giving access to the pocket of Russian occupied territory on the west bank of the Dnipro in Kherson Oblast are now probably out of use for the purposes of substantial military resupply, British military intelligence said on Saturday.

Even if Russia manages to make significant repairs to the bridges, they will remain a key vulnerability, the UK's Ministry of Defence said.

MOSCOW, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Any possible seizure of Russian assets by the United States will completely destroy Moscow's bilateral relations with Washington, TASS quoted the head of the North American Department at the Russian foreign ministry as saying on Saturday.

Russia's relations with the West have deteriorated sharply since Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24, calling it a "special military operation".

SIMFEROPOL, August 12. /TASS/: Deputy Premier and Minister of Finance of the Republic of Crimea Irina Kiviko, who is also the chairperson of the regional organization of the Russian Society of Friendship with Cuba, proposed on Friday to invite a delegation of Cuban representatives to the peninsula in order to strengthen bilateral relations.

MOSCOW, August 12. /TASS/: New daily coronavirus cases in Russia went up by 27,810 in the past 24 hours from 25,815 the day before, the anti-coronavirus crisis center said on Friday. That’s the most since March 21, when 28,709 coronavirus patients were identified. The total number of cases has reached 18,824.282 since the start of the pandemic.

As many as 2,619 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, 3.7% up from the day before. Hospitalizations rose in 41 regions of the country and decreased in 39 regions.

MOSCOW, August 12. /TASS/: Russia will retaliate for the expulsion of another Russian diplomat by Montenegro, the Russian Foreign Ministry told TASS on Friday.

"Russia will issue an appropriate response," the ministry said.

Earlier on Friday, Montenegro declared a Russian diplomat persona non grata. On April 7, the Montenegrin Foreign Ministry declared personae non gratae four Russian diplomats who were ordered to leave the country within seven days. On May 31, Russia retaliated by declaring an employee of the Montenegrin Embassy in Moscow persona non grata.

MOSCOW, August 12. /TASS/: Russia could unblock Instagram (banned in Russia as it’s owned by Meta Corporation, which is designated as extremist in Russia) if the social network changes its policy and will make an official apology to Russian citizens, a Russian lawmaker said on Friday.

MOSCOW, August 12. /TASS/: Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has no choice other than to face a tribunal or play secondary roles in comedy shows, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said in an interview with journalist Nadan Fridrikhson, which was posted on his Telegram channel on Friday.

Medvedev’s secretariat has confirmed to TASS the authenticity of the interview.

Thus, when asked what he thinks about Zelensky’s future, Medvedev said, "Either a tribunal or secondary roles in comedy shows again."

MOSCOW, August 11. /TASS/: The United Aircraft Corporation (UAC, part of the state tech corporation Rostec) will demonstrate the Russian Su-57 fifth-generation multirole fighter at the Army 2022 international military-technical forum, the UAC announced on Thursday.

The cutting-edge aircraft will be on display at the entry to the Congress and Exhibition Center in the Patriot Park outside Moscow, it said.