Russia

MOSCOW, March 5. /TASS/: Russian State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin has said that the myth of the inviolability of private property on which the legal system of the US and EU countries is based has been ruined.

"The myth about the inviolability of private property on which the legal system of the United States and the EU rests upon has been ruined. Properties, bank accounts and pre-paid goods are confiscated on account of nationality," Volodin said on his Telegram channel. "Nothing new. Only beautiful illusions instead of the inviolability of rights and freedoms."

March 5 (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's attempt to secure direct NATO help in the conflict between their countries was not helping talks between the two sides. 

"Constant angry statements from Mr Zelenskiy do not increase optimism," Lavrov told reporters on Saturday.

In particular, he mentioned Zelenskiy's strong criticism of the Western military alliance on Friday for refusing to intervene in the conflict by preventing Russian missiles and warplanes using Ukrainian airspace.

MOSCOW, March 5 (Xinhua) -- The Russian Armed Forces have destroyed 2,037 Ukrainian military infrastructure objects since the start of the operation, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said Saturday.

Among them were 71 command posts and communication centers of the Ukrainian armed forces, 98 anti-aircraft missile systems, and 61 radar stations, Konashenkov told a regular briefing.

MOSCOW, March 4. /TASS/: Russia’s COVID-19 case tally rose by 89,174 over the past day to 16,775,024, the anti-coronavirus crisis center reported on Friday.

In relative terms, the growth rate reached 0.53%.

As many as 9,849 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 in Russia over the past day, down 7.3% from a day earlier. The number of hospitalized patients declined in 55 regions, while in 29 other regions the figure increased. The situation remained unchanged in one region. A day earlier, 10,620 people were rushed to hospitals.

MOSCOW, March 4. /TASS/: At a meeting on Friday the State Duma adopted a draft law in the second and the third reading, including criminal liability for calls for the introduction of foreign sanctions against Russia.

The Russian Criminal Code will now be updated by a new article "Calls for the introduction of restrictive measures against the Russian Federation, citizens of the Russian Federation or Russian legal entities." The draft legislation will cover individuals with previous administrative responsibility for related offenses during a year.

MOSCOW, March 3. /TASS/: A solution to the situation around Ukraine will certainly be found and the West will get over its hysteria, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with Russian and foreign media outlets on Thursday.

He emphasized that Moscow was confident it was doing the right thing in Ukraine, pointed out that the current developments weren’t a Hollywood action movie "where there is an absolute evil and an absolute good," and stressed that thoughts of a nuclear war "are circling in the heads" of Western politicians but not Russian ones.

MOSCOW, March 3. /TASS/: None of the mercenaries the West is sending to Ukraine to fight for the nationalist regime will enjoy the right of combatants under international humanitarian law, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said.

"I wish to make an official statement that none of the mercenaries the West is sending to Ukraine to fight for the nationalist regime in Kiev can be considered as combatants in accordance with international humanitarian law or enjoy the status of prisoners of war," Konashenkov stressed.

(AP) --- In a stunning reversal, Russian and Belarusian athletes have been banned from the Winter Paralympic Games for their countries’ roles in the war in Ukraine, the International Paralympic Committee said Thursday in Beijing.

The about-face comes less than 24 hours after the IPC on Wednesday announced it would allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete when the Games open on Friday, but only as neutral athletes with colors, flags and other national symbols removed.

MOSCOW, March 2. /TASS/: The Russian embassy in London does get threats by telephone and e-mail, but still it maintains normal operation, ambassador Andrey Kelin said on the Rossiya-24 round-the-clock television news channel on Wednesday.

"As far as threats are concerned, we do get them to different telephone numbers at the embassy and by e-mail. Such phone calls do happen, but they are few," Kelin said.

He stressed that the embassy was working as usual.

MOSCOW, March 2. /TASS/: Officials from Turkey, Egypt, and Tunisia confirmed that the countries are waiting for Russian tourists, the press service of Rostourism (the Federal tourism agency) told journalists on Wednesday.

"Turkey, Egypt, and Tunisia confirmed that they are waiting for Russian tourists," the press service said.