Russia

MOSCOW, August 18./TASS/: Helsinki’s decision to restrict issuing visas to Russians will evoke a reaction from Moscow, Deputy Spokesman of the Russian Foreign Ministry Ivan Nechayev told a briefing on Thursday.

The decision by the Finnish authorities to put a cap on applications by Russian citizens for visas to Finland is fully in line with yet another Russophobic crusade in place in some European Union countries, initiated by the Baltic States," the diplomat specified.

PATRIOT PARK /Moscow Region/, August 18. /TASS/: Russia’s state arms seller Rosoboronexport rolled out the export version of its cutting-edge Armata main battle tank at the Army 2022 international military-technical forum, a TASS correspondent reported from the scene on Thursday.

The tank is on the company’s display stand among other export-oriented armaments. The Russian state arms exporter has never demonstrated the T-14 Armata tank before. The tank’s export version was unveiled as a scale model at the IDEX arms show in Abu Dhabi in February 2021.

MOSCOW, August 18. /TASS/: Russia’s COVID-19 case tally rose by 35,809 over the past day to 19,000,055, the anti-coronavirus crisis center reported on Thursday.

In absolute terms, the growth rate has been the highest since March 16, when 36,519 daily cases were recorded.

MOSCOW, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Two Russian astronauts ended their spacewalk earlier than planned on Wednesday as one of them had a battery issue with his spacesuit, Russia's state space corporation Roscosmos said.

Cosmonauts Oleg Artemiev and Denis Matveev, members of the 67th long-term expedition to the International Space Station (ISS), closed the exit hatch of the Poisk small research module at 20:54 Moscow time (1754 GMT), completing their spacewalk that lasted 4 hours and 1 minute.

According to the plan, work overboard the ISS should last 6 hours and 44 minutes.

18 August 2022; MEMO: A senior security officer from the Palestinian Authority has met with Russia's deputy defence minister to discuss security and intelligence cooperation, agencies reported yesterday.

Major General Nidal Abu Dukhan met Alexander Fomin on the fringe of Russia's Army-2022 forum on Tuesday. The meeting came as Russia is looking for new allies after six months of war in Ukraine.

MOSCOW, August 17. /TASS/: A total of 500 time slots a day for visa applications will be available at the Finnish visa centers in Russia from September 1, of which only 20% will be set aside for tourist purposes, the Finnish Embassy told TASS on Wednesday.

"From September 1, 500 time slots per day will be available. Twenty percent of them will be for tourist visas and 80% - for visas for other reasons," it said. If necessary, the quotas can be changed to ensure the functionality of the system and prevent misuse, the embassy pointed out.

ISS, August 17. /TASS/: Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev, who is also a special correspondent for TASS, and Denis Matveyev have opened the exit hatch of the Poisk module of the International Space Station (ISS) and began extravehicular activity (EVA) under the Russian program. The process is being streamed on the corporation’s website.

The cosmonauts’ task is to mount the European Robotic Arm’s extra elbow cameras, relocate and connect the external EMMI control panel, and remove the launch restraint rings to make the ERA manipulator lighter.

MOSCOW, August 17. /TASS/: The Russian government introduced subsidized loans up to 5% for agricultural producers for purposes of production and processing of agricultural raw materials and purchase of reefer containers, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said on Wednesday.

"Agricultural producers can receive subsidized investment loans at the rate up to 5% for the term from two to fifteen years, and borrow a loan for a short term at the same rate. The relevant decree was signed," the Prime Minister said.

MOSCOW, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- The Russian Defense Ministry on Tuesday signed contracts on the delivery of Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missiles and S-500 air defense systems for Russian troops.

The contract on the production and delivery of Sarmat missiles was signed by Deputy Defense Minister Alexei Krivoruchko and CEO of the Makeyev State Rocket Center Vladimir Degtyar at the Army 2022 international military-technical forum, the TASS news agency reported.

Russian state gas company Gazprom yesterday warned that European gas prices could rise by 60 per cent to more than $4,000 per 1,000 cubic metres this winter, Reuters reported.

According to the news site, the company's own export and production continues to fall amid Western sanctions.

Western media had reported that Russian gas flows to Europe are at a minimum level this year due to the western sanctions imposed on Moscow as a result of its war on Ukraine.