Russia

MOSCOW, June 11. /TASS/: Scientists from the Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology of Russia have developed mathematical models of the coronavirus spread in the world, predicting that the pandemic in most countries, including Russia, will end in July, the Russian Ministry of Science and Higher Education said on Thursday.

MOSCOW, June 11. /TASS/: The Kamov Ka-52M upgraded combat helicopter armed with a new long-range cruise missile is due to complete state trials by October 2022, according to the data posted on the government’s procurement website on Thursday.

"Taking part in state joint trials of upgraded Ka-52M helicopters. Finalizing the helicopters following the results of the state joint trials. The time limits for the contractual work: December 1, 2020 as its beginning and September 30, 2022 as its completion," the documents say.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia on Thursday rolled out a drug approved to treat patients suffering from the novel coronavirus, its state financial backer said, as the number of infections there surpassed half a million.

The first deliveries of the new antiviral drug, registered under the name Avifavir, were made to some hospitals and clinics across the country, Russia’s RDIF sovereign wealth fund said in a press release. RDIF has a 50% share in a joint venture with the drug’s manufacturer ChemRar that runs the trials.

10 June 2020; MEMO: Russia and China have started making the case at the United Nations against Washington’s claim that it can trigger a return of all sanctions on Iran at the Security Council, with Moscow invoking a 50-year-old international legal opinion to argue against the move.

MOSCOW, June 10. /TASS/: Russia is not interfering in the Belarusian presidential election and calls on other countries not to meddle in the polls, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday.

"Certainly, we are observing with great attention how the election campaign is held and we wish our Belarusian partners to successfully hold this election," Peskov said, stressing that the Kremlin saw nothing "that would discredit these polls."

MOSCOW, June 10. /TASS/: The Central Design Bureau for Marine Engineering Rubin has completed research into a robotized system called Surrogat, which is capable of simulating nuclear and non-nuclear submarines, Rubin’s CEO Igor Vilnit told TASS in an interview.

"Research into Surrogat was our own initiative. It has been completed and the results forwarded to the Defense Ministry’s organizations concerned. Consultations are underway," Vilnit said.

MOSCOW, June 10. /TASS/: Western countries are responsible for unrest in Hong Kong, they send money and weapons there to back the protests, Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui told an online briefing Wednesday.

He stressed that the West as led by the United States is "playing a malicious role" in Jong Kong developments. "I can honestly tell you that all these demonstrations and protests, this chaos, were organized by the west. They are sending funds and even weapons [there]. They prepped [protesting] students, radicals and separatists," the envoy noted.

MOSCOW, June 10. /TASS/: Russia does not have any oligarchs who wield their financial clout in order to influence politics, said Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov Wednesday.

The press secretary’s reply came on the heels of a reporter’s request to comment on a statement by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko who earlier said that "money from Russian oligarchs" is allegedly being used to bankroll the opposition in the former Soviet republic.

"We do not know about any oligarchs, or about their existence," the presidential press secretary said.

MOSCOW, June 10. /TASS/: It is unreasonable for Russia to withdraw from the World Trade Organization (WTO) now, Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov said addressing the State Duma’s deputies on Wednesday.

MOSCOW, June 10. /TASS/: Two groups of volunteers, comprising Russian servicemen and civilians, have been selected for clinical trials of Russia’s vaccine against the novel coronavirus, the Russian Defense Ministry told reporters on Wednesday.

"In order to participate in clinical trials of the COVID-19 vaccine, two groups of volunteers have been selected. The first group comprises servicemen who gave their voluntary consent to take part in the trials (officers, warrant officers, contract servicemen). The second group comprises civilian volunteers," the ministry said.