Russia

IRKUTSK, August 31. /TASS/: Large-scale deliveries of the Sputnik V vaccine against the coronavirus infection will start in September, Russian Healthcare Minister Mikhail Murashko told journalists on Monday.

IRKUTSK, August 31. /TASS/: More than 2,500 volunteers have been selected to take part in the third post-registration stage of the Russian coronavirus vaccine’s trials, Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko told reporters on Monday.

"The groups for post-registration monitoring are now being formed. More than 2,500 people have been chosen of the total of 40,000 to be selected," the minister said.

MOSCOW, August 31. /TASS/: The first batch of the latest T-14 ‘Armata’ tanks will arrive for the Russian troops shortly, CEO of Uralvagonzavod defense manufacturer (part of the state tech corporation Rostec) Alexander Potapov told TASS on Monday.

"The first batch of vehicles will be delivered to the troops shortly," the chief executive said.

The Armata is of great interest both for the Russian Army and for foreign customers, which are inquiring about T-14 possible deliveries or the licensed production of this hardware, the Uralvagonzavod chief said.

MOSCOW, August 31. /TASS/: The ambassador of the Slovak Republic Peter Priputen on Monday was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry to be told that three staffers of the Slovak embassy must leave Russia.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Monday that the situation in neighboring Belarus was under control and that it did not see the need to send in forces to support Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko who is facing protests after a disputed election.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week that the Kremlin had set up a special police force to support Lukashenko at his request, but said it would not be deployed unless unrest there spun out of control.

MOSCOW, Aug 30 (NNN-Xinhua) — NATO fighters accompanied 10 Russian Tu-142 aircraft during their flight in the far sea area, which flew as part of the Ocean Shield-2020 naval exercises, said Russian navy commander Nikolai Yevmenov.

“Ten Tu-142 antisubmarine aircraft performed scheduled flights to the far sea zone over the waters of the Black, Baltic, Norwegian, Chukchi and Beaufort seas, along the Northern Sea Route and over the neutral waters of the Pacific Ocean,” Yevmenov said.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko have agreed to meet in Moscow in coming weeks, the Kremlin said on Sunday.

The two leaders have not met since anti-government protests over a disputed presidential election that handed victory to Lukashenko gripped Belarus.

In a phone call on Sunday, the two men agreed they should strengthen bilateral relations and expand cooperation.

“It was agreed to hold a meeting in Moscow in coming weeks,” the Kremlin said in a statement.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Several thousand women marched in the capital of Belarus on Saturday waving flags, flowers and balloons in the latest in a series of anti-government protests that have gripped the country since a disputed presidential election this month.

President Alexander Lukashenko denies opposition accusations that he rigged the Aug. 9 election to prolong his 26-year rule. He says the protesters are funded by the West, and accuses NATO of massing forces on Belarusian frontiers, which the alliance denies.

29 Aug 2020; MEMO: The Russian Defence Ministry has confirmed that it might send a new Russian-made anti-drone system to be tested in Syria, Aram Media reported on Friday.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoyu announced that Russia’s Sapsan-Convoy anti-drone system could be sent to Syria, noting that this depends on its success in the manoeuvres of Operation Caucasus 2020.

MOSCOW, August 28. /TASS/: Russian nationals travelling overseas may face the threat of persecution from US intelligence agencies, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement following the arrest in the United States of Russian citizen Yegor Kryuchkov.

"Following the August 22 arrest of Russian national Yegor Kryuchkov, 27, in the United States… we would like to draw the attention of our fellow citizens travelling overseas to the threat of becoming the subject of persecution from US law enforcement and intelligence agencies," the statement reads.