Russia

MOSCOW, December 24. /TASS/: The Russian Defense Ministry will send two medical units to Simferopol and Yalta to help combat the coronavirus in Crimea, the ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

"Defense Minister Army General Sergei Shoigu has handed down instructions to set up two hospitals in Crimea in accordance with Supreme Commander-in-Chief Vladimir Putin’s order," the statement reads.

"The hospitals will be equipped with ventilators, X-ray, blood analyzer and ultrasound machines and a PCR laboratory," the ministry added.

MOSCOW, December 24. /TASS/: The concern Kalashnikov (an affiliate of Rostec) has launched batch production of a new guided missile 9M333 for the air defense systems of the Strela-10M family, the concern’s press service said on Thursday.

"Onsite testing of the missile at the Donguz test site in the Orenburg Region has been completed successfully. The missile’s batch production has begun under a contract with the Defense Ministry," the news release runs.

Kalashnikov stressed that the newly-developed missile was a fire-and-forget weapon.

MOSCOW, December 24. /TASS/: The Trump administration only harms bilateral relations with Russia by making statements about Moscow’s involvement in cyberattacks, preventing new White House occupant Joe Biden from establishing cooperation with Moscow, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters at a press briefing on Thursday.

MOSCOW, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that the situation will not get worse for Russia during the Biden administration.

"With regard to the statement that the leadership in the United States is changing and it will be more difficult for us, I don't think this will be the case. Things will remain the same," Putin said at a joint meeting of the country's State Council and the Council for Strategic Development and National Projects.

MOSCOW, December 23. /TASS/: The number of carriers for long-range cruise missiles in Russia grew by 13 times between 2012 and 2020, according to a bulletin, headlined ‘Main results of the Russian Armed Forces’ activities in 2012-2020,’ obtained by TASS.

"[The number of] carriers for long-range cruise missiles [increased] by 13 times," the document says.

MOSCOW, December 23. /TASS/: Moscow will draw conclusions on the entire range of relations with the US following Washington’s new sanctions, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters on Wednesday.

"The United States has long been pursuing a hostile policy towards our country. A response will certainly follow, not only in terms of reciprocation, but we will also draw additional conclusions on the entire range of Russia-US relations," he pointed out.

MOSCOW, December 22. /TASS/: Russian energy giant Gazprom and its Turkish partners are currently in talks on how the TurkStream pipeline can be used for deliveries to the European market, said Elena Burmistrova, the chief executive of the Russian holding’s export arm Gazprom Export.

"We are now in talks on the issue with our Turkish colleagues," she said at a conference with investment banks, when asked how the pipeline will be used for European deliveries.

MOSCOW, December 23. /TASS/: The first regiment of Avangard hypersonic missile systems that went on combat alert in late 2019 in the Orenburg Region will assume its full strength in late 2021, a source in the domestic defense industry told TASS on Wednesday.

"The first regiment of the Yasny division of the Strategic Missile Force will have six silo-based launchers by the end of next year. Therefore, it will be brought to its assigned strength," the source said.

MOSCOW, December 23. /TASS/: Russia’s coronavirus cases rose by 27,250 in the past day and the total case tally reached 2,933,753, the anti-coronavirus crisis center told reporters on Wednesday.

The growth rate in cases dropped to 0.9% for the first time since October 8.

The lowest growth rates were registered in the past 24 hours in the Chukotka Autonomous Region (0.2%), the Republics of Altai, Tuva and the Nenets Autonomous Region (0.4%).

MOSCOW, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- Russia has declared two employees of the Colombian diplomatic mission in Moscow "persona non grata" in tit-for-tat retaliation, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.

The ministry said it summoned the Colombian ambassador on Tuesday to protest against the "groundless decision" of the Colombian side to expel two diplomats from the Russian embassy in Bogota.

"This step does not correspond to the spirit of the traditionally friendly and mutually respectful relations between Russia and Colombia," the ministry said in a statement.