The Dispatch

Russia to resume travel to Geneva

Russia said on Saturday it would allow flights to resume to Geneva starting from Aug. 15, a first air link to be reopened between Russia and a continental European since…

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Thousands protest against Kremlin in Russian far east for fourth weekend

Thousands of people marched in the Russian far eastern city of Khabarovsk on Saturday for the fourth weekend in a row, protesting at President Vladimir Putin’s handling of a local…

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Azerbaijan lowers outlook, expects economy to shrink by 5% this year

Azerbaijan has lowered its economic outlook, projecting its oil-driven economy will shrink by 5% this year from an earlier forecast of 3.8%, the finance ministry said on Saturday. Its updated…

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Russia plans mass vaccination against coronavirus from October

Russia's health minister is preparing a mass vaccination campaign against the novel coronavirus for October, local news agencies reported on Saturday, after a vaccine completed clinical trials. Health Minister Mikhail…

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Belarus, Ukraine beef up border controls after detention of alleged Russian mercenaries

Belarus and Ukraine have agreed to beef up their border controls and expand border cooperation after Belarus detained more than 30 alleged Russian mercenaries near Minsk ahead of Belarus' presidential…

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Russia’s coronavirus case tally nears 840,000

Russia reported 5,482 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Friday, pushing its national tally to 839,981, the world's fourth largest caseload. Officials said 161 people had died in the…

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Russia reports more than 5,500 new coronavirus cases

Russia reported 5,509 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Thursday, pushing its national tally to 834,499, the world's fourth largest caseload. Officials said 129 people had died in the…

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Ukraine sees record daily high of 1,197 new coronavirus cases

Ukraine reported a record daily high of 1,197 new coronavirus cases on July 29, the country’s council of security and defence said on Thursday. The number of new daily infections has…

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Belarus suspects Russian mercenaries preparing acts of terrorism

Belarus said on Thursday it suspected a group of alleged Russian mercenaries it detained the previous day of plotting "acts of terrorism" ahead of a presidential election in August and…

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Former Russian anti-doping boss says no Russian athletes should take part in Olympics

Former Russian anti-doping boss turned whistleblower Grigory Rodchenkov said that no Russian athletes should be allowed to take part in next year's postponed Tokyo Olympics. WADA, the World Anti-Doping Agency…

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Ukraine says separatists violated ceasefire within hours

A full and comprehensive ceasefire between Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian separatists that entered into force in eastern Ukraine on Monday has already been violated by separatists, Ukrainian military said.…

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UPDATED: Russia says it thwarted planned militant attack in Moscow

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Monday it had thwarted a planned militant attack in Moscow and shot dead an unnamed man it said was plotting a mass shooting…

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Russia reports lowest number of new coronavirus cases since late April

Russia reported 5,635 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Monday, its lowest daily rise since April 23, pushing its national tally to 818,120, the fourth largest in the world.…

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Putin and Zelenskiy pledge support for ceasefire in Ukraine starting tomorrow

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy discussed the conflict in eastern Ukraine and both expressed support for a ceasefire that starts on July 27, their offices said on…

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Putin says Russian Navy to get hypersonic nuclear strike weapons

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…

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Ukrainian Football national team doctor dies from coronavirus

Anton Hudaev, the Ukrainian national team’s doctor, has died from the novel coronavirus at the age of 48, the domestic football association (UAF) said. “On behalf of the President of…

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Russia reports 5,765 new coronavirus cases in past 24 hours

Russia on Sunday reported 5,765 new coronavirus cases and 77 more deaths, a steep decline from the 146 deaths reported a day earlier. The nationwide tally of infections has risen…

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Ukraine reports highest daily number of coronavirus cases in a month

Ukraine reported 1,106 new cases of the coronavirus within a 24-hour period, the highest daily toll since a record on June 26, when it reached 1,109, Health Minister Maksym Stepanov…

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Thousands protest against Kremlin in Russian far east for third weekend

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…

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WTO ruling in EU-Russia dispute confirms legality of some EU rules – EU

The European Commission said on Friday a World Trade Organisation ruling on the European Union's dispute with Russia confirmed the legality of specific EU anti-dumping rules, but raised issues about their practical application. A…

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Ukraine: Black box transcript confirms illegal interference with jet downed in Iran in January

The transcript from the black boxes from a Ukrainian jet accidentally shot down by Iran on Jan. 8 confirm the fact of illegal interference with the plane, Ukraine's deputy foreign…

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Russia’s coronavirus case tally passes 800,000

The total number of cases of the novel coronavirus in Russia passed 800,000 on Friday, as the country reported 5,811 new infections in the past 24 hours. The country's coronavirus…

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Russia to resume international flights from August 1

Russia plans to resume some international flights from Aug. 1, Deputy Prime Minister Tatiana Golikova said on Friday, but the list of destinations will initially be limited to Tanzania, Turkey…

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Lucescu appointed Dynamo Kyiv coach

Former Romania and Turkey manager Mircea Lucescu has been appointed Dynamo Kyiv coach, the Ukrainian club said on Thursday. Lucescu, who turns 75 next Wednesday, previously transformed Shakhtar Donetsk into…

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Russia’s coronavirus tally nears 800,000

Russia reported 5,848 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Thursday, pushing its national tally to 795,038, the fourth largest in the world. In their daily readout, officials said 147…

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Man armed with hand grenade takes police chief hostage in central Ukraine

A man armed with a grenade escaped arrest on Thursday and took a senior Ukrainian policeman hostage in the central city of Poltava, a government minister said. It was the second…

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Deal reached for east Ukraine ceasefire from July 27

Ukrainian, Russian and OSCE negotiators reached an agreement for a full ceasefire between government forces and pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine from Monday, Ukraine’s president’s office said. A simmering conflict…

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Russia reports close to 6,000 new coronavirus cases

Russia reported 5,862 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Wednesday, pushing its total infection tally to 789,190, the fourth largest in the world. The country's coronavirus crisis response centre…

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Ukraine bus hijack ends

A stand-off with a gunman in Ukraine has ended with police storming a bus and freeing his hostages after hours of negotiations, officials say. BBC reports that Interior Minister Arsen…

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Russia’s Coronavirus Vaccine ‘Ready,’ Military Says

The Russian military announced that its experimental coronavirus vaccine which has not yet completed Phase II trials and is yet to begin Phase III is “ready.” The Defense Ministry, which…

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Gunman armed with explosives holding 20 people on board bus as hostages in Ukraine

A 'hostage situation' has developed in Ukraine after a gunman armed with explosives took over a passenger bus with around 20 people on board in the western Ukrainian city of…

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Russian anti-corruption foundation’s activity thwarted by hefty court fines

Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny said on Monday he would shut down his Anti-Corruption Foundation due to hefty court fines imposed over one of its investigations, but would try to…

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Work on flight recorders from Ukrainian jet shot down in Iran started

Investigators have begun work on the flight recorders from the Ukrainian jet accidentally shot down by Iran in January, France's BEA accident investigation bureau said on Monday. Iranian forces say…

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The virtue of patience and a renewed call for a global ceasefire characterises Pope Francis Angelus on Sunday

Pope Francis on Sunday appealed for a global ceasefire to combat the coronavirus pandemic that continues to claim lives and wreak havoc on the economy. Speaking during the Angelus in…

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Russia reported 6,109 new coronavirus cases

Russia on Sunday reported 6,109 new cases and 95 more deaths from the coronavirus. The nationwide tally of infections has risen to 771,546 cases, Russia's coronavirus crisis response centre said.…

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Azerbaijan flags alarm on oil and gas supplies to Europe

Azerbaijan warned on Saturday about security risks to the oil and gas it supplies to European markets due to the outbreak of hostilities at its border with Armenia. Elshad Nassirov,…

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Income of Russians falls most in 20 years

Russians' real disposable income plunged the most in 20 years in the second quarter, while the economy shrank by 9.6% year-on-year as the country has been hit by low…

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Ceremony to mark the 45th anniversary of Apollo-Soyuz docking

A series of photos during a ceremony to mark the 45th anniversary of the docking of a US Apollo space module with a Soviet Soyuz space capsule, at the Museum…

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Turkish defence industry says it can support Azerbaijan

Turkey's defence industry chief said that his sector was ready to help Azerbaijan, which has seen border clashes with Armenia in which 16 people have been killed. Turkey has strong…

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Russians to be offered free plots of land in the Arctic

Russians will be able to obtain plots of land in Russia's Arctic free of charge to build homes and set up businesses under a draft law drawn up by the…

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Ukraine to stage military exercises to coincide with Russian manoeuvres

Ukraine said on Friday it would conduct military exercises, which it hoped NATO partners would join, as an answer to planned Russian exercises in the Caucasus, and an insurance against…

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Russia’s coronavirus death toll passes 12,000

Russia's death toll from the novel coronavirus passed 12,000 on Friday, as the country reported 186 new deaths in the past 24 hours. The country's coronavirus crisis response centre registered…

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Russia expects to make COVID-19 vaccine being developed in Britain

Russia expects a deal with AstraZeneca for it to manufacture a COVID-19 vaccine being developed by the pharmaceuticals giant and Oxford University to go ahead despite allegations it has been…

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Kremlin denies UK allegations of vote meddling, Covid-19 vaccine hacking

The Kremlin denied claims by Britain that "Russian actors" sought to meddle in last year's general election and that Russian intelligence services most likely hacked coronavirus vaccine research. "We have…

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Russia sought to interfere in UK’s 2019 election – Dominic Raab

Russian groups "sought to interfere" in the U.K.'s general election last year, the country's Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said. In a written statement released Thursday, Raab said "on the basis…

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Russian hackers target organisations developing coronavirus vaccines

Russian hackers are targeting organizations developing coronavirus vaccines, according to security officials from the U.K., United States and Canada. A co-ordinated statement from Britain, the United States and Canada attributed…

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Death toll rises in Azerbaijan-Armenia border clashes

Seven Azeri soldiers and a civilian and four Armenian servicemen were killed on Tuesday in the third day of border clashes between countries that fought a war in the 1990s…

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Russia Lifts Quarantine for Arriving Foreigners Ahead of Reopening

Foreigners will no longer need to self-isolate for 14 days after arrival in Russia, as the country looks to begin reopening to international travel in the midst of the pandemic,…

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Russia reports more than 6,500 new coronavirus infections

Russia on Monday reported 6,537 new cases of the novel coronavirus, pushing its overall tally to 733,699, the fourth largest reported in the world. Authorities said 104 people had died…

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Russia’s journalists under increasing pressure from the secret services

Russia's intelligence services have 'stepped up' their war on free media, carrying out a series of operations designed to intimidate journalists in the wake of Vladimir Putin's controversial referendum victory…

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Russia’s Nornickel reports another fuel leak in Arctic

Russian mining giant Norilsk Nickel said on Sunday that around 45 tonnes of aviation fuel had leaked from its pipeline in the Arctic. Arctic environment security has been in the…

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Russia on Sunday reports 6,615 new cases of coronavirus

Russia on Sunday reported 6,615 new coronavirus cases, taking its nationwide tally of infections to 727,162. The country's coronavirus crisis response centre said 130 people had died from COVID-19 in…

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Kazakh president threatens to sack cabinet if COVID-19 efforts fail

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said on Friday he may sack his cabinet if its second, two-week lockdown fails to curb the coronavirus outbreak in the oil-rich Central Asian nation. "It…

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Russia’s coronavirus death toll passes 11,000

Russia's death toll from the novel coronavirus edged past 11,000 on Friday, as the country reported 174 new deaths in the past 24 hours. The country's coronavirus crisis response centre…

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Recovery plan, Brexit and Russia on agenda of EU leaders meeting today

EU leaders convene today for a virtual summit focused on the bloc's budget for the next seven years, coupled with a proposed 750 billion euro ($842 billion) fund to support…

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Photo Story: Hermitage State Museum in St. Petersburg reopens

Sculptures are on display in an exhibition hall of the Hermitage State Museum during preparations for reopening after the Covid-19 coronavirus quarantine in St. Petersburg, Russia. The Hermitage started selling…

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Russia reports more than 6,500 new coronavirus cases

Russia on Thursday reported 6,509 new cases of the novel coronavirus, pushing its official nationwide tally to 707,301, the fourth largest caseload in the world. The national coronavirus taskforce said…

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