Russia

MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian court on Tuesday extended the arrest of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich by three months, Russian news agencies reported.

Gershkovich, an American citizen, was ordered held until Aug. 30. He had been arrested in March on espionage charges on a reporting trip in Russia. He, his employer and the U.S. government have denied the charges.

Tuesday’s court hearing wasn’t announced in advance, and the entire case has been wrapped in secrecy.

MOSCOW, May 22. /TASS/: Moscow’s strategic course suggests further expansion of cooperation with China, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev said on Monday.

May 22 (Reuters) - The governor of Russia's Belgorod region said on Monday that a Ukrainian 'sabotage group' had entered Russian territory in the Graivoron district, which borders Ukraine, and was being repelled by Russian forces.

However, the Ukrainian outlet Hromadske cited Ukrainian military intelligence as saying two armed Russian opposition groups, the Liberty of Russia Legion and the Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC), both consisting of Russian citizens, had carried out the attack.

MOSCOW, May 22 (Xinhua) -- The Group of Seven (G7) summit in Hiroshima showed that the alliance has irreversibly deteriorated and turned into an "incubator of destructive initiatives" in the world, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

The outcome of the G7 meeting in Hiroshima was a set of statements filled with "odious passages" directed against China and Russia as the G7 members tried to prevent non-Western states from developing ties with Moscow and Beijing, the ministry said.

MOSCOW, May 21. /TASS/: The activities of the Group of Seven is a key factor of the escalation of global problems as it cannot reflect interests of other centers of development, the Russian foreign ministry said on Sunday.

"It is obvious that the Group of Seven is a major factor of the aggravation of global problems. It cannot represent interests of other centers of development, especially countries of the Asia Pacific region, South Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America," it said.

MOSCOW, May 21. /TASS/: Russia’s Investigative Committee said on Sunday it has charged in absentia the prosecutor and judge of the International Criminal Court (ICC) who issued a warrant for the arrest of Russian President Vladimir Putin and children’s rights ombudswoman Maria Lvova-Belova.

MOSCOW, May 21 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday congratulated the Wagner mercenary force and the Russian army for what he called the "liberation" of the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, which Russia calls by its Soviet-era name of Artyomovsk.

In a statement published on the Kremlin website, Putin said that the battle - the longest and bloodiest of the 15-month war - had ended in a Russian victory, and that all those who had excelled in it on Moscow's side would be given state awards.

MOSCOW, May 20. /TASS/: Western countries continue down the path of escalation and Moscow will take their plans to send F-16 aircraft to Ukraine into account, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told TASS on Saturday.

ISTRA /outside Moscow/, May 20. /TASS/: The congress of the A Just Russia - For Truth political party have reelected Sergey Mironov as chairman, and Zakhar Prilepin and Gennady Semigin as his co-chairs, TASS reported on Saturday.

Voting was conducted by secret ballot. Under the party’s charter, the chair and co-chairs are elected for 2.5 years.

MOSCOW, May 20. /TASS/: The decisions adopted at the G7 summit in Hiroshima pursue the goal of dual containment of Russia and China, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at the 31st Assembly of the Council for Foreign and Defense Policy on Saturday.

"Could you take a look at those decisions which are being debated and adopted at the G7 summit in Hiroshima and which are aimed at dual containment of Russia and the People’s Republic of China?" he said.