Russia

MOSCOW, July 26. /TASS/: The US authorities have intensified pressure on European contractors of construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline recently, threating with "far-reaching" consequences if they continue cooperating with the project, the German Die Welt paper wrote on Saturday with reference to sources.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday the Russian Navy would be armed with hypersonic nuclear strike weapons and underwater nuclear drones, which the defence ministry said were in their final phase of testing.

Putin, who says he does not want an arms race, has often spoken of a new generation of Russian nuclear weapons that he says are unequalled and can hit almost anywhere in the world. Some Western experts have questioned how advanced they are.

MOSCOW, July 25. /TASS/: A slight increase in COVID-19 cases is possible in Russia this fall, but it won’t be comparable to this spring’s figures, said Vladimir Chulanov, the lead infectious diseases specialist of the Russian Health Ministry.

KERCH, July 24. /TASS/: The Zaliv Shipyard in Kerch on the Crimean Peninsula floated out the Project 22800 Karakurt-class cruise missile corvette Tsiklon, a TASS correspondent reported from the scene.

The launch ceremony was attended by Crimean Head Sergei Aksyonov, officials of the city and the Shipyard, shipbuilders and the public.

MOSCOW, July 25. /TASS/: The state trials of the improved Project 885M (Yasen-M) lead nuclear-powered submarine Kazan will begin in the first half of August, a source in the defense industry told TASS on Saturday.

"The deployment of the nuclear-powered submarine Kazan to the sea for state trials is planned for the first half of August. In case of their successful completion, the submarine is due to be delivered to the Navy before the end of 2020," the source said.

The nuclear-powered submarine Kazan is "100% technically ready for the trials," the source added.

MOSCOW, July 24. /TASS/: Russia will resume regular and chartered air service with the United Kingdom, Turkey, and Tanzania, Russia’s Air Transport Agency said on Friday.

"Flights will be performed by Russian and foreign air carriers on the regular and chartered basis," the agency said, adding that upper limits on the number arriving passengers have been cancelled.

The agency warned however that air carriers and passengers will be obliged to observe anti-coronavirus recommendations of Russia’s sanitary watchdog.

MOSCOW, July 25. /TASS/: At least two people were injured when Israeli military helicopters attacked several Syrian military facilities in the south of the country, the state-run SANA news agency said on Saturday.

According to the agency, three Syrian army outposts were attacked by Israel.

On Friday night, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) press service said Israeli military helicopters had attacked several Syrian army facilities in the country’s south in response to the shelling of the Golan Heights earlier in the day.

MOSCOW, July 25. /TASS/: The Chumakov Federal Scientific Center for Research and Development of Immune and Biological Products at the Russian Academy of Sciences has filed a bid for an international tender of the World Health Organization (WHO) for the delivery of the coronavirus vaccine, Center Head Aidar Ishmukhametov told TASS on Saturday.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Thousands of people marched in the Russian far eastern city of Khabarovsk on Saturday for the third weekend in a row, protesting at President Vladimir Putin’s handling of a regional political crisis that has sparked demonstrations.

Residents of Khabarovsk, around 3,800 miles (6,110 km) and seven time zones east of Moscow, are unhappy about the July 9 detention of the wider region’s popular regional governor, Sergei Furgal, who was arrested on murder charges he denies.

MOSCOW, July 23. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin has sent greetings to participants in an event dubbed The United Russia - Communist Party of China Dialogue. The president’s message has been published on the Kremlin’s website.