Russia

MOSCOW, July 25. /TASS/: The Black Sea Fleet’s warships have lined up in a parade formation in the Sevastopol Bay ahead of Russia’s Navy Day celebrations, the Fleet’s press office reported on Thursday.

"The Black Sea Fleet’s warships have completed forming their parade lineup in the Sevastopol Bay," the press office said in a statement.

Sevastopol residents and guests will be able to view the submarine Novorossiysk, the air-cushion missile ship Samum, the frigate Admiral Makarov, the missile gunboat R-60 and other warships.

MOSCOW, July 25. /TASS/: Moscow is investigating the circumstances of Ukraine’s decision to detain a Russian tanker to take appropriate steps, the Russian Foreign Ministry told TASS on Thursday.

"We are studying the details of what has happened to take appropriate measures," the Russian diplomatic agency stressed. "If the Russians were taken hostage, then this will be qualified as a brazen violation of the international law and consequences will ensue quickly."

MOSCOW, July 25. /TASS/: Russian and Pakistani special forces will hold joint military drills dubbed Friendship-2019 at the Molkino practice range near the city of Krasnodar in south Russia in early October, the press office of Russia’s Southern Military District reported on Thursday.

MOSCOW, July 25. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree "On the abolition of some special economic measures against the Turkish Republic."

The document published on the official website of legal information, in particular, instructs Russia’s Foreign Ministry to notify the Republic of Turkey of the partial renewal of the Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Republic of Turkey on conditions for mutual visits of citizens of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Turkey dated May 12, 2010."

MOSCOW, July 24. /TASS/: Russia rejects new allegations by FBI Director Christopher Wray of meddling in US elections, there are no grounds for that whatsoever, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told reporters on Wednesday.

"Our stance has remained unchanged. There are no grounds whatsoever for asserting that Russia tried or is going to meddle [in US elections], as the FBI head said recently," Ryabkov stressed.

MOSCOW, July 24. /TASS/: Russia fully discharged its commitments in 2018 under the Treaty on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (the new START Treaty), First Deputy Head of the Russian General Staff’s Main Operational Department Lieutenant-General Viktor Poznikhir said on Wednesday.

"In 2018, Russia fully discharged its commitments and reached the threshold levels for strategic offensive arms stipulated by the treaty," the general said at a session of the International Affairs Committee in the upper house of Russia’s parliament.

KHABAROVSK, July 24. /TASS/: The children’s camp at the Kholdomi recreation center in Russia’s Far Eastern Khabarovsk Region where a deadly fire killed four children, will be closed, Minister of Education and Science of the Khabarovsk Region Alla Kuznetsova said on Wednesday.

"It was decided to close the camp, the children are being evacuated. Currently, there are 11 psychologists there who help evacuate them," Kuznetsova said.

The Ministry of Education did not specify when the camp would be closed.

MOSCOW, June 24. /TASS/: The return of the Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft with the android robot Fedor, which is due to travel to the International Space Station (ISS) on August 22, has been rescheduled for September 7, Russia’s State Space Corporation Roscosmos told TASS on Wednesday.

"The landing of the Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft has been rescheduled from September 3 for September 7," the federal space agency said.

MOSCOW, July 24. /TASS/: Russia has launched an operation to deliver the 2nd regiment set of S-400 surface-to-air missile systems to China by sea, a source in military and diplomatic circles told TASS on Wednesday.

"A transport vessel with the first batch of hardware from the second S-400 regiment set for China has taken to the sea from the port of Ust-Luga on the Baltic coast. Therefore, like in the case with Turkey, the deliveries of the systems have started several months ahead of the term stipulated in the contract," the source said.

24 July 2019; DW: Yelena Grigoryeva, a prominent local campaigner for LGBT+ rights, was found fatally stabbed in St. Petersburg. Fellow campaigners said she regularly received death threats, but police failed to act on the reports.

A Russian activist who regularly protested for LGBT+ rights and opposition issues has been killed in St. Petersburg.