Russia

Nov 2 (Reuters) - The cost of Russia's military mobilisation and the impact of Western sanctions are set to blow a hole in the government's budget forecasts and drain Moscow's reserves to their lowest level in years, according to analysts' latest calculations.

That will put an ever greater strain on the Kremlin's resources as President Vladimir Putin seeks to fund a conflict with no end in sight and prepares for a possible re-election bid in 2024.

Nov 2 (Reuters) - Russia said on Wednesday that avoiding a nuclear clash between the world's nuclear powers was its first priority, but accused the West of "encouraging provocations with weapons of mass destruction".

Western capitals have said Moscow is behind a ramping up of nuclear rhetoric since Russia invaded Ukraine in February - most recently by repeatedly accusing Kyiv of planning to use a radioactive "dirty bomb" without offering evidence. Kyiv has denied having any such plan.

02 Nov 2022; MEMO: Russian President Vladimir Putin has called on the states participating in the 31st Arab League Summit, which started in Algeria on Tuesday, to consider the necessity of establishing a "multipolar" world order. In a letter published by Russia Today, Putin said that the process of forming such an order in international relations is "gaining momentum".

MOSCOW, November 1./TASS/: As many as 300,000 people were drafted within the framework of the partial mobilization campaign in Russia, which ended on October 28. All drawbacks seen at the initial stage were remedied, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said on Tuesday.

"A total of 300,000 people were drafted in the course of the partial mobilization in line with the president’s decree of September 21," Shoigu said.

MOSCOW, November 1. /TASS/: Russian businessmen Oleg Tinkov and Nikolay Storonsky are entitled to the right to renounce Russian citizenship as they are doing practically no business in Russia, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.

"It is their right," he said. "As a matter of fact, they do practically no business here, as far as I know. In other words, they are taking practically no part in economic activities in our country."

MOSCOW, November 1. /TASS/: Only Russia’s complete and definitive victory in Ukraine will guarantee protection from a global conflict, to which the West is pushing the world, the deputy head of Russia’s Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, said on his Telegram channel on Tuesday.

"Let's call a spade a spade. Western countries are pushing the world to a global war. Only the complete and final victory of Russia will be a safeguard against a world conflict," he said in response to the Western countries’ frequent speculations to the effect "Russia cannot be allowed to win the war."

GROZNY, November 1. /TASS/: Russia has begun investigating the causes of the explosions at Nord Stream, at the moment there are no official results of the investigation, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told reporters.

"There are no official documents yet. The inspection is still in progress," he said.

"Of course, Gazprom management receives reports in real time. I believe there is some information, but I can’t tell you, because this is an ongoing process, they have just started working," the Deputy Prime Minister added.

MOSCOW, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Russia said on Tuesday it was considering what "further steps" to take in connection with its allegation that Britain was responsible for an attack on the Nord Stream undersea gas pipelines.

Russia's defence ministry said on Saturday that British navy personnel had blown up the Nord Stream pipelines in September, an assertion that London said was false and designed to distract from Russian military failures in Ukraine.

31 October 2022; MEMO: Lebanon has been officially informed of Russian President Vladimir Putin's approval of a donation of 25,000 tonnes of wheat to the crisis-hit country, Lebanese Public Works Minister, Ali Hamie, told Reuters on Monday.

Russia would also donate 10,000 tonnes of fuel oil to Beirut, Hamie said.

MOSCOW, October 31. /TASS/: Russia’s COVID-19 case tally rose by 5,781 over the past day versus 6,803 cases confirmed in the previous day, the anti-coronavirus crisis center reported on Monday.

Thus, the number of new detected cases became the lowest since July 20 when 5,685 new infections were recorded. In all, 21,429,506 coronavirus infections have been recorded in Russia since the onset of the pandemic.