Russia

MOSCOW, July 21 (Reuters) - The head of Russia's state arms exporter said on Wednesday that Moscow was cooperating closely with Myanmar's ruling junta to supply it with military hardware including aircraft.

Rights activists have accused Moscow of legitimising the junta, which seized power in a Feb. 1 coup, by continuing bilateral visits and arms deals.

"There is close cooperation between us on the supply of military products, including aircraft," Alexander Mikheev, the head of Rosoboronexport, was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency.

Moscow, Jul 20 (AP-PTI) With much fanfare, Russian aircraft makers on Tuesday unveiled a prototype of a new fighter jet that features stealth capabilities and other advanced characteristics.

Russian President Vladimir Putin inspected the prospective warplane displayed at the MAKS-2021 International Aviation and Space Salon in Zhukovsky, outside Moscow.

The new design has been developed by aircraft maker Sukhoi under the LTS program a Russian acronym for the Light Tactical Aircraft.

SUKHUM, July 20. /TASS/: The Russian military presence in Abkhazia is subject to bilateral agreements with Moscow, it complies with international law and in no way affects the territory of Georgia, let alone Ukraine, the Foreign Ministry of Abkhazia said in a commentary on Tuesday following a trip to Georgia by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, who also visited the Georgia-Abkhazia border along the Enguri River.

MOSCOW, July 20. /TASS/: Russia and its allies are capable of neutralizing any threats posed by Islamic extremists, Russian Special Presidential Envoy for Afghanistan and Director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Second Asian Department Zamir Kabulov said at an online discussion of the Valdai international discussion club.

MOSCOW, July 20. /TASS/: Russia confirmed 23,770 COVID-19 cases over the past day, a new low since July 6, and the total case tally hit 6,006,536, the anti-coronavirus crisis center told reporters on Tuesday.

The number of new cases grew by 0.4% in relative terms.

Moscow confirmed 3,188 COVID-19 cases over the past day. Some 2,478 COVID-19 cases were recorded in the Moscow Region, 1,934 in St. Petersburg, 527 in the Nizhny Novgorod Region, 491 in the Sverdlovsk Region and 490 in the Krasnoyarsk Region.

Currently, 474,401 people are undergoing treatment in Russia.

MOSCOW, July 20. /TASS/: Russia’s S-500 next-generation missile system has struck a fast-moving ballistic target in a training exercise at the Kapustin Yar range. The first S-500 system will be procured to the Moscow Region’s air and missile defense unit after a full cycle of tests is completed, the Russian Defense Ministry told reporters.

"The S-500 cutting-edge missile system has carried out a test combat shooting at the Kapustin Yar training ground to strike a fast-moving ballistic target. According to data recorders, the target was engaged," the military agency noted.

ZHUKOVSKY, July 20. /TASS/: Models presented at the MAKS 2021 International Aviation and Space Salon clearly demonstrate that the development potential of the Russian aviation is high, President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday when opening the event.

"What we see now in Zhukovsky obviously demonstrates that the Russian aviation has high potential for development. Our aircraft industry also continues creating new competitive aviation equipment," the President said.

MOSCOW, July 19. /TASS/: Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov has refused to confirm or deny media reports that Moscow offered the use of its military bases in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan to Washington in order to jointly control the situation in Afghanistan.

"I can neither confirm nor deny this," Peskov told reporters on Monday.

MOSCOW, July 19. / TASS /: Moscow is exploring the possibility of launching the production of a Russian COVID-19 vaccine in Nicaragua following the country’s request, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated on Monday at a press conference after talks with his Nicaraguan counterpart Denis Moncada Colindres.

MOSCOW, July 19. /TASS/: The Admiral Gorshkov frigate has successfully test-fired the Tsirkon hypersonic missile against a surface target at the range of over 350 km and the flight speed reached 7 Mach, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Monday.

"According to live monitoring data, the Tsirkon missile successfully hit a target directly at a range of over 350 km. During the test, the tactical and technical characteristics were confirmed. The flight speed reached nearly 7 Mach," the statement said.