Russia

MOSCOW, April 21. /TASS/: Russia has all necessary financial resources, there is no threat of default, Governor of the Bank of Russia Elvira Nabiullina said on Thursday.

"Russia has all necessary financial resources, there is no threat of default," she said.

According to the Russian Ministry of Finance, as of February 1, 2022, Russia's external public debt amounted to $59.5 bln, including debt on external bonded loans - $38.97 bln. In total, Russia has 15 active bonded loans with maturities from 2022 to 2047.

MOSCOW, April 21. /TASS/: A number of people killed in a fire at the Central Research Institute of the Aerospace Defense Forces in the Russian city of Tver climbed to seven, at least 25 sustained injuries, a source in the local emergencies service told TASS on Thursday.

"We confirm a number of seven deaths at the moment," the source said adding that the number of casualties may increase. The source stated earlier that five people were killed in the fire killed and more 25 injured.

MOSCOW, April 21. /TASS/: The State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, voted for appointment of Elvira Nabiullina to the office of the Chairperson of the Bank of Russia for the next tenure.

Russian President Vladimir Putin introduced the candidacy of Nabiullina to the State Duma on March 18. A special resolution was passed on the initiative of State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin for Nabiullina to present a report on Central Bank’s operations in the past year before consideration of her nomination for reappointment.

April 21 (Reuters) - Russia on Thursday expanded an entry ban on U.S. officials to include U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris and 28 other American officials, businesspeople and journalists.

The sanctions list, published by the Russian foreign ministry, included Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Deputy Defence Secretary Kathleen Hicks and Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby, among others.

"These individuals are denied entry into the Russian Federation indefinitely," the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.

MOSCOW, April 20 /TASS/: Attorneys from the Chernyshov, Lukoyanov and Partners (CLP) law firm will sue Apple for shutting down the payment service Apple Pay on devices, the law firm’s senior partner Konstantin Lukoyanov told TASS.

MOSCOW, April 20. /TASS/: Moscow handed over draft settlement agreement to Ukraine on April 15, but still has not received any reaction, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said during a briefing Wednesday.

MOSCOW, April 20. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin has congratulated the military on the successful launch of the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), noting that this unique weapon will force everyone who tries to make threats against Russia to think twice.

Before the Sarmat launch, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu told the president that the preparations to test fire the missile had been completed, and then footage of the launch was aired and watched by the president.

April 20 (Reuters) - Russia's nuclear forces will start taking delivery of the new Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile this year once testing is complete, Tass quoted the head of the Roscosmos space agency as saying on Wednesday.

Dmitry Rogozin said deliveries would start "in the autumn of this year," it reported. Earlier in the day Russia said it had conducted a first test launch of the missile.

20 April 2022; MEMO: Russian President Vladimir Putin has sent a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett requesting that he authorise the transfer of control of the Church of Saint Alexander Nevsky in the Christian Quarter of occupied East Jerusalem to Moscow.

Israeli sources said yesterday that Israel was handling the matter, without elaborating, Haaretz reported.

MOSCOW, April 19. /TASS/: Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky was used by the West against Russia to ignore the implementation of the Minsk Agreements, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday in an exclusive interview with India Today television channel.

"I think the West played Zelensky against Russia. And [the West] did everything to strengthen him in the desire to ignore the Minsk Agreements," Lavrov said. "Had he [Zelensky] cooperated in implementing the Minsk Agreements, the crisis would be over a long [time] ago."