Russia

MOSCOW, September 5. /TASS/: Russia is fighting not against the Ukrainian people but against the Banderite monsters and their ilk as it pushes ahead with the special military operation, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting of Russia’s Victory organizing committee.

MOSCOW, September 6. /TASS/: Ukrainian troops attempted to attack facilities in Russia with a fixed-wing drone, but it was shot down by Russian air defenses above the western Russian Bryansk Region, the Russian Defense Ministry told reporters on Wednesday.

"At around 11:40 p.m. Moscow time on September 5, the Kiev regime’s attempt to carry out a terrorist attack by a fixed-wing UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle] against facilities on the territory of the Russian Federation was foiled," the ministry said.

MOSCOW, September 5. /TASS/: Around 5,200 COVID-19 cases were registered in Russia over the past week, the press service of the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing has told reporters.

"Over the past week, some 5,200 COVID-19 cases were registered," the press service said.

The federal service added that the omicron variant of the novel coronavirus remained prevalent in Russia.

04 September 2023; MEMO: Russian President, Vladimir Putin, said Monday that a landmark deal allowing Ukraine to export grain safely through the Black Sea amid the war will not be restored until the West meets Moscow’s demands on its own agricultural exports, AP reports.

According to the report, Ukraine and its Western allies have dismissed the Kremlin’s demands as a ploy to advance its own interests.

MOSCOW, September 4. /TASS/: Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's statements about Russia in an interview with Italian media are unacceptable in tone and Moscow is extremely dissatisfied with them, a diplomatic source has told TASS.

MOSCOW, September 4. /TASS/: Russian naval aircraft of the Black Sea Fleet destroyed four US-made Willard Sea Force speedboats carrying Ukrainian special operations forces in the northwest of the Black Sea overnight, Russian Defense Ministry said.

Russian drones also struck a Ukrainian shipyard that makes uncrewed sea vehicles, the ministry said in a daily bulletin of the special military operation.

Donetsk area

Russian forces repelled three Ukrainian attacks near Artyomovsk and Severny, causing the enemy to lose up to 285 troops.

SOCHI, September 4. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the Ukrainian counter-offensive has failed. He expects that this trend on the frontline will continue.

"As for the stalling of the counter-offensive (of Ukrainian troops - TASS), it is not a stalling, it is a failure," Putin told a news conference following talks with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

"In any case, this is how it looks as of today," he remarked.

"We'll see what happens next. I hope it will continue to be like this," Putin said.

MOSCOW, September 4. /TASS/: Ukrainian authorities do not plan to change their position on the grain deal, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said.

Speaking on TV, he also said that Ukraine expects to receive details of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin from the Turkish side. He underscored that Kiev will defend "all principal positions, including in regards to the sanctions pressure on Russia."

MOSCOW, September 4. /TASS/: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will participate in the events of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in Vladivostok, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko announced at the Valdai international discussion club.

"Sergey Viktorovich is expected to participate in events on the margins of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok," the senior diplomat said.

MOSCOW, Sept 4 (Reuters) - A new photo appearing to show Russian General Sergei Surovikin, who has not been seen in public since a brief mutiny by the Wagner mercenary group in June, was published on social media on Monday by a well known Russian media personality.

"General Sergei Surovikin is out. Alive, healthy, at home, with his family, in Moscow. Photo taken today," Ksenia Sobchak wrote in a caption to the picture on Telegram.