Russia

15 May 2023; MEMO: The Kremlin said, on Monday, that Russia expects cooperation with Turkiye to continue, deepen and expand amid the country's presidential and parliamentary elections that took place on Sunday, Anadolu News Agency reports.

MOSCOW, May 15. /TASS/: Andrey Rublev’s Holy Trinity icon has been returned to the Russian Orthodox Church.

"In response to numerous requests from Orthodox believers, Russian President Vladimir Putin has made a decision to return the miraculous Holy Trinity icon painted by Reverend Andrey Rublev to the Russian Orthodox Church," the church said in a press statement posted on its website on Monday.

The icon will be displayed for worship in the Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow for a year and after that it will be taken to the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius.

MOSCOW, May 15. /TASS/: Russian air defense forces shot down 21 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles over the past day during the special military operation in Ukraine, Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov reported on Monday.

MOSCOW, May 15. /TASS/: Moscow has categorially refuted the opinion recently voiced by Paris that Russia is purportedly in a state of so-called vassal dependence on China, stating that such rhetoric exudes a complete misunderstanding of the nature of Russian-Chinese relations, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.

SEVASTOPOL, May 15. /TASS/: Sberbank has opened its first regional branch in Sevastopol, which is the second decision of the bank on the territory of the Crimean Peninsula, a TASS correspondent reported from the opening ceremony on Monday.

A modular office has been installed near the Musson department store, with a parking lot nearby.

The beginning of operation of the country’s largest financial institution in the city will positively influence the quality of banking services provided to clients, Sevastopol Governor Mikhail Razvozhayev said at the ceremony.

May 14 (Reuters) - The head of Russia's Wagner private army dismissed a U.S. newspaper report on Monday that he had offered to betray Russian positions, and the Kremlin called it a "hoax".

The Washington Post, citing a U.S. intelligence leak, said Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin had offered Ukrainian intelligence in January to reveal the location of Russian regular forces in return for Ukraine pulling back troops in Bakhmut.

May 14 (Reuters) - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who has not been seen in public since Tuesday, did not appear on Sunday at a ceremony in the capital, Minsk, triggering speculation that the veteran leader is seriously ill.

The BelTA state news agency reported that Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko read a message from Lukashenko during an annual ceremony at which young people swear allegiance to the ex-Soviet state's flag.

MOSCOW, May 14. /TASS/: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)’s actions may lead to escalation in the Arctic Region, Russian Foreign Ministry ambassador-at-large Nikolay Korchunov has told TASS in an interview.

"We see no signs of improvement with regard to military security in the Arctic. NATO expansion continues in the region, the scope of the alliance’s military exercises there is on the rise, and its non-Arctic member states actively participate in them. Their military potential in high latitudes continues to grow," he said.

MOSCOW, May 14. /TASS/: Colonel Vyacheslav Makarov, the commander of the 4th motorized infantry brigade, was killed in the fighting in the Donetsk People’s Republic, Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov said on Sunday.

MOSCOW, May 14. /TASS/: Russia’s COVID-19 case tally rose by 2,996 over the past day to 22,898,376, the anti-coronavirus crisis center reported on Sunday.

As many as 332 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 in Russia over the past day, down 45.1% from the previous day. The number of hospitalized patients rose in 13 regions, while in 57 other regions the figure decreased. A day earlier, 605 people were rushed to hospitals.