Russia

MOSCOW, November 13. /TASS/: The first two UR-100N UTTKh intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) outfitted with the Avangard nuclear boost-glide vehicle will go on experimental combat duty in coming weeks. Work is underway to prepare and place the missiles into silos, a source in the defense industry told TASS on Wednesday.

MOSCOW, November 13. /TASS/: Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has exposed a drug trafficking group that ran one of the largest online drug trafficking stores, the FSB said in a statement.

"Russia’s Federal Security Service has carried out a multi-stage special operation, exposing an organized criminal group involved in major drug trafficking schemes based on Internet technologies," the statement reads.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia on Wednesday accused Washington of hunting its citizens across the world and said it had made a formal diplomatic protest after Israel extradited a Russian man to the United States where he faces a slew of serious cyber crime charges.

The U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement on Tuesday that Alexei Burkov, 29, had arrived in the United States and made his first court appearance thanks to cooperation with Israel where he was arrested in 2015.

MOSCOW, November 12. /TASS/: Pilots of the 279th separate shipborne fighter air regiment of the Northern Fleet’s naval aviation will start training flights at the NITKA land-based aircraft carrier simulator near the town of Saky in Crimea in the third ten-day period of November, a source in the regional defense circles told TASS on Tuesday.

MOSCOW, November 12. /TASS/: Russia’s promising Lider-class destroyer may get ceramic armor protection, Head of the (Ship) Structural Strength and Reliability Division at the Krylov State Research Center Valery Shaposhnikov told TASS on Tuesday.

"Proposals have been given on the system of the rational structural protection of the ship being developed," the scientist said.

This relates to "protective structures based on ceramic and special fabric materials, which have been developed and tested," he added.

MOSCOW, November 12. /TASS/: A meeting between Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Vladimir Zelensky of Ukraine would make little difference if it’s not well-prepared, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, adding that Moscow was focused on the next Normandy Four summit.

MOSCOW, November 11. /TASS/: Over 700 latest Kalashnikov AK-12 assault rifles have arrived for special operations forces stationed in the Krasnodar Region in Russia’s south, the press office of the Southern Military District reported on Monday.

"A batch of more than 700 latest Kalashnikov AK-12 assault rifles has arrived for a special operations unit of the Southern Military District stationed in the Krasnodar Region," the press office said in a statement.

ROSTOV-ON-DON, November 11. /TASS/: Russian anti-aircraft gunners have returned to their permanent bases after the Arrow of Friendship-2019 joint drills with Egyptian forces, the press office of the Southern Military District reported on Monday.

"More than 100 anti-aircraft gunners of the Russian Federation have arrived at their permanent stations after taking part in the Arrow of Friendship-2019 joint Russian-Egyptian air defense drills near Cairo," the press office said in a statement.

MOSCOW, November 11. /TASS/: In January - September 2019, Russia's exports of coal remained at the level of the same period in 2018 and amounted to $12,335 bln, the Federal Customs Service said on Monday.

In physical terms, coal exports over the nine months of this year increased by 4.9% compared to last year to 153,488 mln tonnes.

Imports of coal during the reporting period decreased by 1.9% to $286 mln. In real terms, coal imports decreased by 2.4% to 16,032 mln tonnes.

MOSCOW, November 11. /TASS/: Exports of wheat and meslin from Russia in January - September 2019 decreased by 30% compared to the same period last year and amounted to 22.66 mln tonnes, according to the Federal Customs Service.

In monetary terms, the figure decreased by 23.5% and amounted to $4.61 bln.

According to the Customs Service, exports of vegetable oil in January - September 2019 increased by 30.8% in monetary terms and reached $1.568 bln. In physical terms, it amounted to 2.226 mln tonnes, which is 42.5% more than for the same period in 2018.