Russia

MOSCOW, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Russia's Defence Ministry on Saturday named Air Force General Sergei Surovikin as the overall commander of Russian forces fighting in Ukraine, Moscow's third senior military appointment in the space of a week.

The change follows the reported sacking earlier this week of the commanders of two of Russia's five military regions, as its forces have suffered a series of dramatic reverses in northeastern and southern Ukraine in recent weeks.

The ministry did not say who, if anyone, Surovikin was replacing.

MOSCOW, October 7. /TASS/: Head of Dagestan Sergey Melikov said that Hero of Russia Rustam Muradov has been appointed the commander of the Eastern Military District.

"One of our own, Hero of Russia Rustam Muradov, was appointed as the commander of the Eastern Military District - one of the most potent military districts in the country in terms of its personnel," he wrote on his Telegram channel on Friday.

MOSCOW, October 7. /TASS/: Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Friday said the decision by the Latvian parliament that orders a transition to education in the national language is discriminatory, even though the country signed international legal agreements.

The diplomat said Latvia’s Saeima recently amended the law on education to order preschool and school education to switch only to the Latvian language, from September 1, 2023 and September 2025, respectively.

GROZNY, October 7. /TASS/: About 10,000 Chechen combatants are fighting in Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine, Chechnya Head Ramzan Kadyrov said at a festive lineup of the republic’s security, defense and law-enforcement agencies in honor of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s 70th birthday on Friday.

YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK, October 7. /TASS/: NATO, whom French President Emmanuel Macron at one time called ‘brain dead’, has gone too far, judging from the US-led Western bloc’s recent policies on Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday.

ST. PETERSBURG, October 7. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested discussing preparations for the first Russia-Central Asia heads of states' meeting at an informal CIS summit on Friday.

"The topic for discussion is preparations for next week's first-ever summit in the Russia-Central Asia format in Astana," Putin said. He drew attention to the fact that "this forum is held in the year of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Russia and all five Central Asian states."

Oct 7 (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday that remarks by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy suggesting NATO should launch preventive strikes on Russia confirmed the need for what it calls its "special operation" in Ukraine.

"By doing so, (he) essentially presented the world with further evidence of the threats posed by the Kyiv regime," Lavrov said. "This is why a special military operation was launched to neutralise them."

MOSCOW, October 6. /TASS/: The leaders of most NATO countries are aware that Ukraine’s accession to the alliance will entail the most serious of consequences, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a news briefing on Thursday.

"The leaders of most NATO countries, including the United States and Germany, are in no hurry to speak in support [of Ukraine’s accelerated accession to NATO] as they are apparently aware of the seriousness of this move, which will go beyond all permissible limits and entail the most serious consequences," the diplomat said.

MOSCOW, October 6. /TASS/: It is time for the US State Department to admit its involvement in the situation in Ukraine, from regime change to motives for blowing up gas pipelines, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing on Thursday.

"It's time for Washington to speak loudly, frankly and clearly about its true involvement in the situation in Ukraine, from regime change to their motives for destroying gas pipelines," Zakharova said.

MOSCOW, October 6. /TASS/: Journalist and public figure Vladimir Kara-Murza (recognized in Russia as a foreign agent), accused of discrediting the Russian armed forces, has been charged with high treason, the law enforcement agencies told TASS on Thursday.

"On Thursday, in the presence of his lawyers, Kara-Murza was charged under Article 275 of the Russian Criminal Code: High Treason," the agency's source said.