Russia

MOSCOW, April 26. /TASS/: Most companies with foreign capital are ready to continue working in Russia, but want to reduce the risks of doing business, Sergey Katyrin, President of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI), told TASS on Tuesday following a meeting with representatives of foreign business associations.

MOSCOW, April 25. /TASS/: About 400 Russian diplomats have been expelled from 28 Western countries since the start of the special military operation in Ukraine, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Yevgeny Ivanov said on Monday at a meeting of the Russian Federation Council's Interim Commission for the Protection of State Sovereignty and Prevention of Interference in the country's Internal Affairs.

MOSCOW, April 25. /TASS/: Russia’s COVID-19 case tally rose by 7,651 over the past day to 18,144,788, the anti-coronavirus crisis center reported on Monday.

In absolute terms, the growth rate was the lowest since May 6, 2021. In relative terms, the growth rate reached 0.04%.

MOSCOW, April 25. /TASS/: Russia’s Central Bank has changed the procedure for calculating official exchange rates of the dollar, euro and yuan against the ruble to ensure business continuity of economic agents on Russian territory. Now the exchange rate will be calculated as of 3:30 pm Moscow time, the regulator reported on Monday.

MOSCOW, April 25. /TASS/: The sixth package of sanctions against Russia may include some form of an oil embargo, though it is necessary to make sure the damage on the European Union’s member states is minimized, Executive Vice President of the European Commission (EC) Valdis Dombrovskis said in an interview with The Times published on Monday.

MOSCOW, April 25 (Xinhua) -- Russia's Defense Ministry on Monday announced a ceasefire near the Azovstal plant in Mariupol for the safe evacuation of civilians.

Russia's armed forces and the formations of the Donetsk People's Republic "from 14:00 Moscow time (1100 GMT) on April 25 will unilaterally cease all hostilities" to ensure the safe evacuation of the specified category of civilians (workers, women and children), the ministry said in a statement.

It said the civilians will be taken "in any direction they choose."

MOSCOW, April 24. /TASS/: Russian missile and artillery troops hit 423 targets in Ukraine overnight as part of the special military operation, Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Major-General Igor Konashenkov said on Sunday.

"The missile and artillery troops performed 423 fire tasks during the night," Konashenkov said, adding that particularly, 26 command posts, 367 strongpoints and places of the amassment of manpower and military equipment, as well as 25 gun lines were hit.

MOSCOW, April 24. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin plans a face-to-face meeting with members of the Council of Legislators of the Federal Assembly in St. Petersburg on Wednesday, April 27, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed to TASS.

"Yes, [the event] is being readied," he said when asked whether the president plans to participate in the meeting face-to-face.

The Council of Legislators will gather on April 27 in the Tauride Palace in Russia’s second-biggest city. The head of the state traditionally speaks at those events.

MOSCOW, April 24. /TASS/: The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Russia grew by 8,446 in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of infected to 18,137,137, the federal anti-coronavirus crisis center reported on Sunday.

In absolute terms the increase in new cases has become the lowest since May 26, 2021, whereas in relative terms it totaled 0.05%.

The number of coronavirus patients taken to hospital in the past 24 hours amounted to 1,352, down by 49.6% compared with the previous day. On the previous day 2,682 coronavirus patients were taken to hospital.

April 24 (Reuters) - Russian forces attempted to storm the Ukrainian-held Azovstal steel plant in the besieged southeastern city of Mariupol on Sunday, Ukrainian officials said, despite Russian President Vladimir Putin's comments last week that the complex did not need to be taken.

Ukraine's armed forces command wrote on Facebook that Russian forces were firing and performing "offensive operations" in the Azovstal area, as well as conducting air strikes on civilian infrastructure.