Russia

MOSCOW (AP) — The daughter of an influential Russian political theorist often referred to as “Putin’s brain” was killed in a car bombing on the outskirts of Moscow, authorities said Sunday.

The Moscow branch of the Russian Investigative Committee said preliminary information indicated 29-year-old TV commentator Daria Dugina was killed by an explosive planted in the SUV she was driving Saturday night.

SEVASTOPOL, August 20. /TASS/: The Black Sea Fleet’s headquarters was attacked with a drone on Saturday, with no casualties reported, Sevastopol Governor Mikhail Razvozhayev said on his Telegram-channel.

"I am at the [Black Sea] Fleet’s headquarters now. A drone hit the roof here 25 minutes ago. Unfortunately, it was not downed. <…> There are no casualties," Razvozhayev wrote.

MOSCOW, August 20. /TASS/: Russia is preparing official confirmation of tests taken from Russian troops hospitalized with signs of severe poisoning upon completing their mission in the Zaporozhye Region for sending to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday.

"The evidence of the Kiev regime’s chemical terrorism will soon be submitted to the OPCW," the ministry said in a statement.

MOSCOW, August 20. /TASS/: Russia’s COVID-19 case tally rose by 40,010 over the past day to 19,077,764, the anti-coronavirus crisis center reported on Saturday.

The growth rate stands at a new high since March 14.

As many as 3,450 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 in Russia over the past day, up 3% from a day earlier. The number of hospitalized patients increased in 42 regions, while in 39 regions the figure decreased. The situation remained unchanged in four regions. A day earlier, 3,349 people were rushed to hospitals.

PATRIOT PARK /Moscow Region/, August 20. /TASS/: Russia's Defense Ministry begins mass production of Tsirkon hypersonic cruise missiles, and it will be documented this year, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said on Saturday in a televised interview with Rossiya-1 channel on the sidelines of the Army-2022 forum.

"We are starting serial production of the Tsirkon missile. In fact, we have put it (the missile - TASS) into service, and it will be documented as early as this year, let’s call it that," he said.

Aug 20 (Reuters) - Russia's defence ministry accused Ukraine on Saturday of poisoning some of its servicemen in the Russian-controlled part of Ukraine's southeastern region of Zaporizhzhia in late July.

An adviser to Ukraine's interior ministry said in response that the alleged poisoning could have been caused by Russian forces eating expired canned meat.

MOSCOW, August 19. /TASS/: US media outlets seek to launch another campaign to discredit Russia’s activities in the Central African Republic, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement on Friday.

"We have taken note of recent reports in the US media, which appear to be trying to launch another campaign to discredit Russia’s activities on the African continent, particularly in the Central African Republic," the statement reads.

MOSCOW, August 19. /TASS/: Russia took third place among countries using China’s yuan in international payments in July as its share on the global foreign exchange market soared 6.3-fold in just three months, Forbes magazine revealed, citing statistics provided by the SWIFT international payment system.

MOSCOW, August 19. /TASS/: Gas supplies via Nord Stream will be completely stopped from August 31 to September 2 due to the repair of the only gas compressor unit remaining in operation, Gazprom said in a statement.

"On August 31, 2022, the only working Trent 60 gas compressor unit will be shut down for three days for maintenance and scheduled preventive work. A set of routine maintenance in accordance with the current maintenance contract will be carried out jointly with Siemens specialists," the statement said.

MOSCOW, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- Washington has doomed Europe to hunger, cold and isolation, said Vyacheslav Volodin, chairman of Russia's lower parliament house, the State Duma, on Friday.

The United States sells gas to Europe, which is already hit by record inflation, at much higher prices than in the domestic market, thus weakening the competitiveness of the European Union economies, Volodin wrote on Telegram.