Russia

MOSCOW, April 30. /TASS/: The Krupets checkpoint in the Kursk Region has come under mortar fire from Ukraine, there are no casualties or destruction, Governor Roman Starovoit wrote on his Telegram channel on Saturday.

"Several mortars have been fired on the Krupets checkpoint in the Rylsk district from Ukraine. No one was killed or injured. There is no destruction," he wrote.

MOSCOW, April 30. /TASS/: Confirmed coronavirus cases in Russia grew by 7,363 in the past day, totaling 18,182,354, the federal anti-coronavirus crisis center reported on Saturday. The coronavirus growth rate equaled 0.04%, the crisis center said.

MOSCOW, April 30. /TASS/: Aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces struck five Ukrainian ammunition depots, eliminating over 200 nationalists, Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Major-General Igor Konashenkov said on Saturday.

"Over the day, operational-tactical aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces struck two command posts, nine company-level strongholds and areas of amassed manpower and military equipment as well as five ammunition and fuel depots," the spokesman said. "More than 200 nationalists and 23 pieces of armored vehicles have been eliminated."

April 30 (Reuters) - More than 1 million people have been evacuated from Ukraine into Russia since Feb. 24, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in remarks published early on Saturday.

The 1.02 million includes 120,000 foreigners and people evacuated from Russian-backed breakaway regions of Ukraine, the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People's republics, which Russia recognised as independent just before launching its invasion.

April 30 (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said the lifting of sanctions imposed on Russia is part of peace talks with Ukraine, but senior Ukrainian negotiator Mykhailo Podolyak denied that this was the case.

"At present, the Russian and Ukrainian delegations are actually discussing on a daily basis via video-conferencing a draft of a possible treaty," Lavrov said in comments to China's official Xinhua news agency published on the Russian foreign ministry's website on Saturday.

April 30 (Reuters) - Russia believes the risks of nuclear war should be kept to a minimum and that any armed conflict between nuclear powers should be prevented, the TASS news agency quoted a foreign ministry official as saying on Saturday.

Vladimir Yermakov, the foreign ministry's head of nuclear non-proliferation, said all nuclear powers must stick to the logic laid out in official documents aimed at preventing nuclear war.

MOSCOW, April 29. /TASS/: Russia’s COVID-19 case tally rose by 7,710 over the past day to 18,174,991, the anti-coronavirus crisis center reported on Friday.

In relative terms, the growth rate reached 0.04%.

As many as 2,558 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 in Russia over the past day, down 1.5% from a day earlier. The number of hospitalized patients decreased in 39 regions, while in 41 regions the figure increased. The situation remained unchanged in five regions. A day earlier, 2,596 people were rushed to hospitals.

MOSCOW, April 29. /TASS/: Head of the State Space Corporation Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin told TASS in an interview that he plans to discuss cooperation on the Moon with Chinese partners before the end of May.

"Before the end of May, I plan to hold detailed dialogue with our Chinese colleagues on our cooperation in this direction," he noted.

MOSCOW, April 29. /TASS/: Russia’s Finance Ministry has all the resources to fulfill its obligations, any default is out of the question, head of the Bank of Russia Elvira Nabiullina said after a meeting of the Board of Directors of the regulator on Friday.

"Concerning the Finance’s Ministry’s obligations on debts, I would like to reiterate that the ministry has the resources, and economically, there can be no question of any default," she said.

However, Nabiullina admitted that there are difficulties with payments.

28 April 2022; MEMO: Russia, on Thursday, urged Israel to cease its strikes on Syria, saying the attacks are "categorically unacceptable and inadmissible", Anadolu News Agency reports.

Speaking at a press briefing in Moscow, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, strongly condemned the Israeli actions, stressing that they violate international law.