Russia

Recent reports of Russian military activity in and around Ukraine as well as ceasefire violations have sparked international concern that the seven-year conflict between the two nations could escalate again,reports dpa news agency.The latest ceasefire was announced on July 27, 2020.

"I suggest increasing by 50 per cent the salary of those who have already been in space and have been holding prominent positions in the cosmonaut team. And by 70 per cent for cosmonauts-to-be who currently undergo training," TASS News Agency quoted Putin as saying on Monday.

The crew of the Russian jet identified the air target as an RC-135 strategic reconnaissance aircraft of the US Air Force and escorted it over the Pacific Ocean.After the US aircraft flew away from the Russian border, the MiG-31 returned safely to its home airfield.

At a weekly briefing on Friday, the ministry's spokesperson Maria Zakharova criticised Kyiv's stance on a possible military solution to the conflict in eastern Ukraine, reports Xinhua news agency. The Ukrainian authorities are massing troops and weaponry as well as calling up military reservists, she said.

"The US is increasingly concerned by recent escalating Russian aggression in eastern Ukraine, including Russian troop movements on Ukraine's border," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters during a briefing on Thursday. "Five Ukrainian soldiers have been killed this week alone. These are all deeply concerning signs," she added.

The envoy will not depart for Washington at any time soon, and Moscow is watching the steps the US will take towards normalising ties with Russia, Xinhua news agency quoted Ryabkov as saying in a statement on Wednesday. Consultations between Russian authorities and Antonov are still going on, according to the Deputy Foreign Minister.

"We support a settlement of the conflict in Donbas exclusively by peaceful means," the ministry's spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in a statement on Wednesday, Xinhua news agency reported. Russia has noticed a disinformation campaign by Ukraine and some Western countries, which are trying to accuse Russia of intensifying the conflict in Donbas and on the Russian-Ukrainian border, she said.

Threats, pressure and using sanctions against the acting authorities in Myanmar are futile and extremely dangerous, dpa news agency quoted the Foreign Ministry as saying to Interfax media outlet. Such policies "only contribute to setting the parties against each other", the Ministry said, adding that it would drive people into civil war.

In a statement on Monday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that Pentagon officials in the US have recently made statements about the practical steps required to deploy in various regions of the world ground-based intermediate and shorter-range missiles, previously banned by the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, Xinhua news agency reported.

The military build-up of the NATO will undoubtedly escalate tensions near the Russian-Ukrainian border, requiring Moscow to "take additional measures to ensure its security", Xinhua news agency quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying at a daily briefing on Friday.