Russia

MOSCOW, February 23. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin has praised combat capability of the Armed Forces, thanking all servicemen for the worthy performance of their military duty.

The president also expressed special gratitude to the veterans, calling them "a great generation, who have taught us, their descendants, how to win and not to give up." He also noted that thanks to Russia’s "never fading heroism" the traditions of patriotism are "so strong" in the country.

MOSCOW, February 23. /TASS/: An emergency situation was introduced in the Ilek district of the Orenburg region, where an explosion occurred on a gas pipeline on Tuesday morning, the first vice-governor, first deputy chairman of the regional government, minister of agriculture, trade, food and processing industry Sergei Balykin told reporters.

"An emergency situation was declared in the area where the explosion occurred on the gas pipeline," Balykin said.

MOSCOW, February 23 / TASS /: The number of people infected with coronavirus in Russia per day increased by 11,823, this is at least number of new cases since October 8.

The total number of infected has reached 4.1 mln, the federal operational headquarters for the fight against the new disease told reporters on Tuesday. In relative terms, the increase in new cases, according to the headquarters, was 0.3%.

The lowest growth rates were recorded per day in the Republic of Tuva (0.04%) and Magadan Region (0.06%).

MOSCOW, February 21. /TASS/: Russia’s COVID-19 cases hit below 100,000 this week, for the first time since early October 2020, according to TASS estimates based on the anti-coronavirus crisis center’s data.

From February 15 to 21, the crisis center reported 92,843 coronavirus cases (compared to 104,602 a week earlier). Last time Russia registered fewer than 100,000 COVID-19 weekly cases on October 5-11, 2020.

Since the start of the pandemic, Russia has confirmed 4,164,726 coronavirus cases, which is 2.85% of the population.

MOSCOW, February 21. /TASS/: Russia’s emergencies ministry has confirmed that a fishing trawler with a crew of ten has lost way in the Barents Sea.

"On February 21, we received information that the main engine of the Polaris № МК0355 small trawler has failed in the Barents Sea, near the Rybachy Peninsula in the Murmansk region, were it was fishing. The trawler has a crew of ten," the press service of the Russian emergencies ministry told TASS on Sunday.

MOSCOW, February 21. /TASS/: Russia’s Vector State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology has received more than 45 inquiries from foreign countries for tests and possible production of its anti-coronavirus vaccine, Epivaccorona, the Center’s director, Rinat Maksyutov said on Sunday.

MOSCOW, February 22. /TASS/: The price of Bitcoin gained 1.97% during the trading session to the level of $58,100, according to CoinDesk portal data.

The Bitcoin price set a new all-time high record.

Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency invented in 2008 by an unknown person or group of people using the name Satoshi Nakamoto. It is a decentralized digital currency without a central bank or single administrator that can be sent from user to user on the peer-to-peer bitcoin network without intermediaries.

IKHALA, Russia (AP) — Maria Piparinen and other elderly residents of Ikhala were relieved when they heard that doctors were finally bringing a few doses of the coronavirus vaccine to their remote, snowy village in the Russian region of Karelia, near the border with Finland.

Otherwise, the 75-year-old said she would have had to hire a car to take her 10 kilometers (6 miles) to the town of Lakhdenpokhya, because the bus no longer runs there.

MOSCOW, February 20. /TASS/: Russia wants the United States’ foreign policy to be more predictable, Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said on Saturday.

"All we want is predictability, confidence in future, confidence in the United States’ actions. We want to live peacefully so that, excuse me for such lofty words, our foreign policy could help encourage the country’s internal development. As a matter of fact, this is what we are doing," he said in an interview with the Solovyov Live YouTube channel.

TASS, February 21: Five workers, who were injured after a collapse at an enrichment factory in Russia’s Arctic city of Norilsk, are in stably serious condition, the Health Ministry in the Krasnoyarsk Region told TASS on Sunday.

"Five people are in stably serious condition. Four of them were moved to a hospital ward and another one is in intensive care. All of them are receiving medical assistance and those injured are under medical care," the ministry's press service said.