Russia

MOSCOW, August 2. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a telephone conversation agreed to prepare for a potential personal meeting, the Kremlin press service reported.

"[The sides] agreed to continue contacts at various levels, including in the context of preparations for the potential meeting between the two leaders," the statement said.

The Turkish leader’s office earlier said that Erdogan and Putin had agreed on the Russian president’s visit to Turkey.

Russia (AP) —The glittering towers of the Moscow City business district dominate the skyline of the Russian capital. The sleek glass-and-steel buildings -- designed to attract investment amid an economic boom in the early 2000s – are a dramatic, modern contrast to the rest of the more than 800-year-old city.

Now they are a sign of its vulnerability, following a series of drone attacks that rattled some Muscovites and brought the war in Ukraine home to the seat of Russian power.

MOSCOW, August 1. /TASS/: Saudi Arabia plans to host peace negotiations on Ukraine in early August. Russia has not been invited.

TASS has gathered the key takeaways about the preparations for the talks.

Previous developments

On June 26, Germany’s ARD TV channel reported that an international meeting on Ukraine had taken place in secrecy in the Danish capital of Copenhagen on June 24, gathering Western diplomats along with Brazilian, Indian, Chinese and South African representatives.

MOSCOW, August 1. /TASS/: Russian air defense forces intercepted 16 rockets of the US-made HIMARS multiple launch rocket system and shot down 21 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles over the past day in the special military operation in Ukraine, Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov reported on Tuesday.

"In the past 24 hours, air defense capabilities intercepted 16 rockets of the HIMARS multiple launch rocket system," the spokesman said.

MOSCOW, August 1. /TASS/. The topic of expanding BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) is "near the top of the agenda" and will be discussed at the upcoming BRICS summit, alt:ough nuances exist among the group’s member states regarding its expansion prospects, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

MOSCOW, July 31. /TASS/: Russian air defense forces downed a Ukrainian Su-25 ground attack plane, destroyed 23 enemy drones and intercepted 12 rockets of the US-made HIMARS multiple launch rocket system over the past day in the special military operation in Ukraine, Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov reported on Monday.

MOSCOW, July 31. /TASS/: The Ukrainian military lost over 20,800 troops and more than 2,200 items of military hardware, including 10 Leopard tanks over the past month, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu told a conference call with military commanders on Monday.

MOSCOW, July 31. /TASS/: Development of the economy is the basis to solve all tasks Russia is facing, President Vladimir Putin said at the meeting with Vyacheslav Volodin, the Speaker of the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian legislative assembly.

"In issues of social nature, economic development, the economy is the basis to solve generally all the tasks our country is facing," the head of state said.

PETROZAVODSK, July 31. /TASS/: Ukraine’s attacks on the Crimean Bridge confirm that in aiding the Kiev regime, the US and its allies are in fact sponsors of terrorism, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev said.

MOSCOW, July 31 (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Monday it needed to find out the purpose of upcoming talks reportedly planned in Saudi Arabia about the war in Ukraine.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday that Saudi Arabia would invite Western states, Ukraine and major developing countries to the talks. The paper said Kyiv and Western countries hoped that the talks, which would exclude Russia, can lead to international backing for peace terms favoring Ukraine.