Russia

MOSCOW, March 27. /TASS/. The Kremlin is not commenting on the issue of anti-satellite weapon tests held by India and on whether Russia possesses such weapons, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday.

Responding to a question about whether Russia has tested anti-satellite weapons as the US intelligence reported earlier, the Kremlin spokesman said as follows: "You should address this question to US intelligence, the Americans should explain what they mean."

MOSCOW, March 27. /TASS/. The Russian Navy will get over 180 warships and vessels of new Projects under the state armament plan for 2018-2027, Defense Minister Army General Sergei Shoigu said at a meeting with defense chiefs on Wednesday.

"We will begin today’s meeting with the discussion of the draft program on the development of the moorage space of the Navy’s bases through 2030. In accordance with the 2018-2027 state armament program, the Navy is to get over 180 ships and vessels of new Projects," the defense minister said.

MOSCOW, March 27. /TASS/. The Basmanny Court of Moscow took into custody ex-minister of open government affairs Mikhail Abyzov with charges of criminal community creation and theft of 4 bln rubles ($62 mln), TASS reports from the court room.

"The request of the investigation on selection of custodial restraint as the restrictive measure for Abyzov is satisfied," Judge Natalia Dudar said in the ruling.

According to the court decision, Abyzov will be under arrest until May 25. Attorneys will appeal against the court decision.

26 Mar 2019; DW: The military presence "is regulated by an agreement" between Moscow and Caracas, said the foreign ministry. Opposition leader Juan Guaido has rejected the deployment, saying it violates the constitution.

Russia on Tuesday defended its decision to deploy military personnel to Venezuela last week in a move that drew criticism from the US-backed opposition.

MOSCOW, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Russian astronauts will carry out an experiment on controlling a propeller-driven drone on board the International Space Station (ISS), local media reported Wednesday.

"The experiment was introduced into the program. During experiments with the propeller-driven drone, it is first planned to work out the design of its body and propulsion system," Sputnik news agency quoted Alexander Bloshenko, advisor to the head of the Roscosmos state corporation, as saying.

MOSCOW, March 25. /TASS/. Russian and Chinese scientists will organize joint studies of the Arctic and Antarctic, they will explore mineral and biology resources in the global ocean, the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Vice President Andrey Adrianov told TASS after the first meeting between representatives of the Russian and Chinese Academies of Sciences in Beijing on Sunday.

MOSCOW, March 25. /TASS/. The Roscosmos state corporation will preserve the International Space Station (ISS) on the orbit even if the American side withdraws from the project, Roscosmos Director General Dmitry Rogozin told journalists.

"This is Roscosmos’ proposal. We believe that we can keep the station in case the Americans decide to withdraw from this project, through other countries and partners. We have technological and technical capabilities to keep the station on the orbit and fully provide both electric energy and water there," Rogozin said.

MOSCOW, March 25. /TASS/. Ukraine’s special services were behind the assassination of militia leaders of the self-proclaimed Donbass republics, former officer of Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) Vasily Prozorov told a news conference in Moscow on Monday.

Prozorov denied the claims that many militia leaders of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics had been killed in internal skirmishes. "Their killing was the work of Ukraine’s special services," he said. This effort is led by the SBU’s special unit.

MOSCOW, March 25. /TASS/. The signing of a proclamation recognizing Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights by US President Donald Trump does not change Russia’s official stance on the issue, Russian Presidential Envoy for the Middle East and Africa and Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov told TASS on Monday.

"Nothing has changed, either before or after. Our principled stance and assessments have been provided on the Russian Foreign Ministry’s website," he stressed.

MOSCOW, March 25. /TASS/. The Ukrainian side was involved in the MH17 flight disaster over Donbass, a former officer of the Ukrainian security service SBU, Vasily Prozorov, told a news conference on Monday.

"It is my personal opinion and it relies on certain information. The Ukrainian side is an accomplice to the Malaysian MH17 flight disaster," he said.