Russia

The Russian defence minister noted that the emergence of a multipolar world order, mechanisms for boosting cooperation between defence agencies, and the role of these agencies in assessing security threats have regularly been discussed within the framework of the security conference, Xinhua news agency reported.

"The production of S-400 Triumf anti-aircraft missile systems is being carried out according to schedule," Dmitry Shugaev, head of Russia's Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation, was quoted as saying by Interfax.

Ukraine on Saturday launched two S-200 missiles to strike the Crimean Bridge, but they "were detected in a timely manner and were intercepted in the air by Russian air defence systems," Russia's Tass news agency reported on Saturday, citing the country's Defence Ministry.

Luna-25 took off atop a Soyuz-2.1b rocket from the Vostochny launch facility in Russia at 2:10 a.m. Moscow time (4:40 am IST) on Friday, TASS news agency reported. Russia's last lunar mission, Luna-24 was launched in 1976, during the former Soviet Union period. It successfully delivered about 170 grams of moon samples to Earth.

In a statement on Monday, the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) said that Metropolitan Ionafan, head of the Tulchin Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate in Vinnytsia region, was sentenced based on the evidence presented by the special services, Ukrainska Pravda reported. 

The proceedings were closed to the press and the public. The Kremlin's most vocal critic, who was found guilty of founding and funding an extremist organisation, will serve his time in a "special regime colony", which Russian state prosecutors had been calling for.

Vladimir Putin told Erdogan that the extension of the agreement was meaningless without the implementation of the Russian part of the grain deal, according to the Kremlin. He reiterated that Russia would return to the deal "as soon as the West fulfills all its obligations" outlined in the agreement.

The Soviet emblem on the monument -- the tallest staue in Ukraine -- will be replaced by the trident by August 24, when the country celebrates Independence Day, Xinhua news agency quoted the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy as saying in a statement. Experts on Monday carrued out some preparatory work and constructed the metal sculpture of the trident, the Ministry said.

"We have seen indications that they might be interested in returning to discussions. So we will wait to see whether that actually happens," Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US representative to the UN, said on Tuesday at a press briefing on the US presidency of the UN Security Council for August.

In a statement on Telegram, the Ministry said that an attempt by Ukraine "to carry out a terrorist attack by unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) on facilities in the Moscow region has been foiled, reports CNN. "The UAV was destroyed by means of air defence," the Ministry said, adding that there were no casualties or damage.