Russia

MOSCOW, August 14. /TASS/: The Russian Embassy in Poland has sent a diplomatic note to the Polish Foreign Ministry demanding information about the detention of two Russians who, according to local special services, purportedly distributed posters for the private military company Wagner in Warsaw and Krakow, Ambassador Sergey Andreyev told TASS.

He said the embassy has no information on the issue for the time being.

MOSCOW, August 14. /TASS/: An MiG-29 fighter jet has prevented a Norwegian aircraft from violating the Russian border over the Barents Sea, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.

"On August 14, Russian airspace control systems detected an aerial target flying towards the Russian border over the Barents Sea. An MiG-29 fighter jet of the Northern Fleet’s air defense units on duty was scrambled to identify the aerial target and prevent a violation of the border," the statement reads.

MOSCOW, August 14. /TASS/: The Moldovan authorities' decision to reduce the number of Russian diplomats in the country will have consequences for relations between Moscow and Chisinau, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

It said that employees of Russian diplomatic missions in Moldova and their families returned to Moscow on August 14, forced to leave the republic due to unfriendly moves by the Moldovan authorities.

Aug 14 (Reuters) - Russia is in the process of equipping its new nuclear submarines with hypersonic Zircon missiles, the head of Russia's largest shipbuilder told the RIA state news agency in an interview published on Monday.

"Multi-purpose nuclear submarines of the Yasen-M project will ... be equipped with the Zircon missile system on a regular basis," , Alexei Rakhmanov, chief executive officer of the United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC), told RIA.

"Work in this direction is already underway."

MOSCOW, August 13. /TASS/: Scientific instruments were activated for the first time aboard Russia’s Luna-25 automatic station currently on its pathway to the Moon, the State Space Corporation Roscosmos announced on Sunday.

"Today the scientific equipment developed by the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences was activated for the first time in the conditions of the space flight. The service telemetric data from all the devices showed their normal operation," Roscosmos said.

PATRIOT PARK /Moscow Region/, August 13. /TASS/: The Kalashnikov Group unveiled a new AK-19 short-barreled assault rifle, a TASS correspondent reported from the scene.

The AK-19 is based on the 5.45mm AK-12 assault rifle and is chambered for the NATO-standard 5.56mm round. The AK-19 is the latest export version of the Kalashnikov assault rifle engineered for the 5.56x45mm cartridge. This model differs from previous generations by its refined ergonomics and adapted use round-the clock and boasts increased accuracy of fire.

MOSCOW, August 13. /TASS/: The Russian naval ship Vasily Bykov forcibly stopped the Palau-flagged dry cargo ship Sukru Okan heading for the Ukrainian port of Izmail for inspection, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Sunday.

MOSCOW, August 13. /TASS/: Artillery units of Russia’s Battlegroup East have destroyed a pontoon crossing Ukrainian troops were trying to build across the River Mokrye Yaly near the settlement of Urozhainoye, the battlegroup’s spokesman Oleg Chekhov said on Sunday.

BELGOROD, August 13. /TASS/: An apartment block and 15 passenger cars were damaged in Belgorod presumably in a drone attack, Belgorod Region governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Sunday.

Aug 13 (Reuters) - Britain's defence ministry said on Sunday there was a realistic possibility that Russia no longer funds the activities of the mercenary Wagner Group.

The defence ministry said in a daily bulletin the Russian state has acted against some other business interests of Wagner owner Yevgeny Prigozhin after he led a failed mutiny against the Russian army's top brass in June.

"If the Russian state no longer pays Wagner, the second most plausible paymasters are the Belarusian authorities," it said, adding that this would be a drain on Belarus' resources.