Russia

Sept 26 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin on Monday granted Russian citizenship to former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, nine years after he exposed the scale of secret surveillance operations by the National Security Agency (NSA).

Snowden, 39, fled the United States and was given asylum in Russia after leaking secret files in 2013 that revealed vast domestic and international surveillance operations carried out by the NSA, where he worked.

MOSCOW (AP) — A gunman opened fire in a school in central Russia on Monday, killing 15 people and wounding 24 others before shooting himself dead, authorities said.

The shooting took place in School No. 88 in Izhevsk, a city 960 kilometers (600 miles) east of Moscow in the Udmurtia region.

Russia’s Investigative Committee identified the gunman as 34-year-old Artyom Kazantsev, a graduate of the same school, and said he was wearing a black t-shirt bearing “Nazi symbols.” No details about his motives have been released.

MOSCOW, September 24. /TASS/: The accession of the Donetsk and the Lugansk People’s Republics as well as the Kherson and the Zaporozhye Regions to Russia may take place on September 30, a Russian lawmaker told TASS on Saturday.

"Taking into account the preliminary results of the referendums and Russia’s readiness to acknowledge them, the accession of the territories [the DPR, the LPR, the Kherson and the Zaporozhye Regions to Russia] is likely to take place as early as on September 30," a State Duma member said.

Sept 25 (Reuters) - Russia has sought to defend its seven-month old war at the United Nations, with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov saying that regions of Ukraine where widely-derided referendums are being held would be under Russia's "full protection" if annexed by Moscow.

The referendums in four eastern Ukrainian regions, aimed at annexing territory Russia has taken by force since its invasion in February, were being staged for a third day on Sunday and the Russian parliament could move to formalise the annexation within days.

Sept 25 (Reuters) - Russia's two most senior lawmakers on Sunday addressed a string of complaints about Russia's mobilisation drive, ordering regional officials to get a handle on the situation and swiftly solve the "excesses" that have stoked public anger.

President Vladimir Putin's move to order Russia's first military mobilisation since World War Two triggered protests across the country and seen flocks of military-age men flee, causing tailbacks at borders and flights to sell out.

MOSCOW, September 24. /TASS/: Official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova noted that the number of meetings with the Russian delegation on the sidelines of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly eliminates all hints of Moscow's isolation.

MOSCOW, September 24. /TASS/: Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev, chief of Russia’s National Defense Management Center, was appointed as deputy defense minister for logistics, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday.

" Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev was appointed as deputy defense minister for logistics. Colonel General M. Mizintsev previously held the post of chief of Russia’s National Defense Management Center," the ministry said in a statement.

MOSCOW, September 24. /TASS/: Russia’s COVID-19 case tally rose by 51,269 over the past day to 20,746,163, the anti-coronavirus crisis center reported on Saturday.

A day earlier, 53,335 daily cases were recorded.

As many as 3,528 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 in Russia over the past day, down 9.9% from a day earlier. The number of hospitalized patients increased in 31 regions, while in 50 regions the figure decreased. The situation remained unchanged in four regions. A day earlier, 3,915 people were rushed to hospitals.

MOSCOW, September 24. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin has sent a message of greetings to participants, hosts and guests of an international forum on Christianity in the Caucasus marking the 1,100th anniversary of the Christianization of Alania, according to a telegram published on the Kremlin website on Saturday.

MOSCOW, Sept 24 (Reuters) - More than 730 people were detained across Russia at protests against a mobilisation order on Saturday, a rights group said, three days after President Vladimir Putin ordered Russia's first military draft since World War Two for the conflict in Ukraine.

The independent OVD-Info protest monitoring group said it was aware of detentions in 32 different cities, from St Petersburg to Siberia.

Unsanctioned rallies are illegal under Russian law, which also forbids any activity considered to defame the armed forces.