Russia

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Sunday rejected a British claim that the Kremlin is seeking to replace Ukraine’s government with a pro-Moscow administration, and that former Ukrainian lawmaker Yevheniy Murayev is a potential candidate.

Britain’s Foreign Office on Saturday also named several other Ukrainian politicians it said had links with Russian intelligence services, along with Murayev who is the leader of a small party that has no seats in parliament.

MOSCOW, January 22. /TASS/: Russia’s FSB and law enforcement have detained four members of the Infraud Organization hacking group. Its purported founder Andrey Novak is wanted in the US on the accusations of cybercrime. As a source in law enforcement told TASS, Novak was arrested while three other purported hackers are under a house arrest.

MOSCOW, January 22. /TASS/: The safety of Russian cosmonaut Nikolay Chub during his mission on the International Space Station (ISS), scheduled for 2023, has been called into question after the United States refused him an entry visa, Russia’s space agency Roscosmos told reporters on Saturday.

"This situation calls into question the very safety of the Russian cosmonaut’s mission on the ISS and the safety of the Station’s US segment due to the unpreparedness of the Russian cosmonaut in case of an emergency," Roscosmos said.

MOSCOW, January 22. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the prospects of further interaction within the framework of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in a phone conversation with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, the Kremlin press service reported on Saturday. The conversation was held at the initiative of the Armenian side.

"Considering Armenia’s current chairmanship of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, the prospects of further interaction within the framework of the CSTO were discussed," the statement said.

MOSCOW, January 22. /TASS/: The Russian government has approved a plan on additional measures against the Omicron coronavirus strain, the press service of the cabinet of ministers reported on Saturday.

"The government began to implement a plan on additional measures on fighting the spread of the new Omicron coronavirus strain in Russia and the preparation of the healthcare system for helping those infected with COVID-19," the statement said.

MOSCOW, January 22. /TASS/: Russia has registered 57,212 new confirmed COVID-19 infections over the past 24 hours, compared to 49,513 the day before, with the total number of infections reaching 11,044,986 cases, the anti-coronavirus crisis center told reporters on Saturday.

According to the crisis center, the relative increase of new infections is at the level of 0.52%. The number of COVID-19 hospitalizations over 24 hours amounted to 9,902 which is 8.4% higher than the day before. The increase occurred in 46 regions.

MOSCOW, Jan 22 (Reuters) - British foreign minister Liz Truss is expected to visit Moscow in February for talks with her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, the RIA news agency reported on Saturday, citing a diplomatic source.

The planned visit comes amid elevated tensions between Russia and the West over Ukraine. Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made no breakthrough in talks on the issue this week but agreed to keep talking to try to resolve a crisis that has stoked fears of a military conflict. 

MOSCOW, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Political advisers from Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany will hold "Normandy format" talks on eastern Ukraine in Paris on Jan. 25, a source in Russian President Vladimir Putin's administration said on Saturday.

Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to Ukraine's chief negotiator Andriy Yermak, confirmed that a meeting in Paris was planned but told Reuters a preliminary date had been set for Jan. 26.

The planned talks come amid elevated tensions between Russia and the West over Ukraine.

MOSCOW (AP) — With tens of thousands of Russian troops positioned near Ukraine, the Kremlin has kept the U.S. and its allies guessing about its next moves in the worst security crisis to emerge between Moscow and the West since the Cold War.

Amid fears of an imminent attack on Ukraine, Russia has further upped the ante by announcing more military drills in the region. It also has refused to rule out the possibility of military deployments to the Caribbean, and President Vladimir Putin has reached out to leaders opposed to the West.

MOSCOW, January 21. /TASS/: Russia’s demand for NATO to withdraw foreign troops, weapons and equipment also applies to Bulgaria and Romania as the two countries were not NATO members in 1997, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in response to media questions collected for top diplomat Sergey Lavrov’s press conference. The ministry’s responses were published on its website on Friday.