Russia

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s Luna-25 spacecraft crashed into the moon after it spun into an uncontrolled orbit, the country’s Roscosmos space agency said Sunday.

The pilotless spacecraft was aiming to be the first ever to land on the south pole of the moon, an area where scientists believe there could be important reserves of frozen water and precious elements. It had been expected to land Monday.

However, Roscosmos said it lost contact with the Luna-25 on Saturday after the spacecraft ran into difficulties and reported an “abnormal situation ”.

MOSCOW, August 18. /TASS/: The Ukrainian authorities are preying not only on their own people but also on US taxpayers, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement.

"The Kiev elite is preying not only on its fellow citizens but also on American taxpayers. Not so long ago, US presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pointed out in an interview that Washington’s spending on Ukraine aid stood at $130 billion, while 15 million Americans did not have medical insurance and 30 million people in the US lacked food stamps," she noted.

MOSCOW, August 18. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin has approved the makeup of Russia’s delegation to the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). It will be led by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The corresponding order was uploaded to the official portal of legal information.

MOSCOW, August 18. /TASS/: Moscow has expanded its stop-list as a retaliatory measure barring 54 UK citizens from entering Russia, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

The list now includes Lucy Frazer, UK secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport, "who is promoting Russia’s international sports isolation." Other UK nationals on the list include journalists from the BBC, Guardian Media Group, the Daily Telegraph, as well as Karim Khan, prosecutor with the International Criminal Court (ICC), involved in issuing an arrest warrant for the Russian leadership.

MOSCOW, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- Russian air defense forces have shot down a drone that attempted to fly over Russia's capital early Friday, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on his social media channel.

The debris fell in the area of the Expocentre, causing partial damage to one of its pavilions, he said.

There were no casualties and the city's emergency services were working at the scene.

MOSCOW (AP) — A Moscow judge has formally arrested and detained one of the leaders of a prominent independent election monitoring group on suspicion of being involved with an “undesirable” organization, his lawyer said Friday.

The case against Grigory Melkonyants, co-chair of Russia’s leading election watchdog Golos, is the latest in the monthslong crackdown on Kremlin critics and rights activists that the government ratcheted up after sending troops into Ukraine.

MOSCOW (AP) — The Russian authorities have opened a criminal investigation into one of the leaders of a prominent independent election monitoring group, his lawyer said Thursday.

The case against Grigory Melkonyants, co-chair of Russia’s leading election watchdog Golos, is the latest step in the months-long crackdown on Kremlin critics and rights activists that the government ratcheted up after sending troops into Ukraine.

KUBINKA /Moscow Region/, August 16. /TASS/: The West is not interested in negotiations on a peace settlement in Ukraine, because it is keen to make as much money as possible for its military-industrial complex, Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council Dmitry Medvedev told the media.

MOSCOW, August 16. /TASS/: Russia’s Luna-25 automatic lunar station has entered the orbit of the Earth’s natural satellite, firing its thrusters twice, the State Space Corporation Roscosmos reported on Wednesday.

"The Luna-25 automatic station engineered at the Lavochkin Research and Production Association (part of the state corporation Roscosmos) has entered the orbit of the Moon’s artificial satellite," Roscosmos said in a statement.

MOSCOW, August 16. /TASS/: Global sports organizations are degrading due to their politicization and commercialization, therefore, an emergence of parallel structures in the sphere of international sports is inevitable, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday.

"As a result of the politicization of international sports structures and further commercialization of the international Olympic Movement we unfortunately witness a certain degradation evolving there," the Russian president said.