Leonid Slutsky, Head of the State Duma's Foreign Affairs Committee, who has been interim acting head of the LDPR since the death of Vladimir Zhirinovsky, was elected its chairman at a session of the LDPR parliamentary faction. LDPR spokesman Alexander Dupin announced on his Telegram channel that Leonid Slutsky was elected permanent leader of the Duma faction by a majority vote.
The leaders of the countries of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) have held their first face-to-face summit in 2.5 years. The event, marking the 30th anniversary of the signing of the document and the 20th anniversary of the association itself, took place in the Alexander Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace.
The ruling Swedish Social Democratic Party has made a decision about the country's joining the North Atlantic Alliance. Earlier, the authorities of Finland announced about joining NATO. In this case, the border of Russia with the North Atlantic block will increase by another 1,200 kilometers.
On May 9, the main parade dedicated to the victory of the Soviet people in the Second World War of 1941 – 1945 was held traditionally on Red Square 1945 in Moscow.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed decrees on the appointment of acting heads of five Russian regions. Earlier, the decision to leave office before to the scheduled date was announced by Igor Vasilyev, the governor of the Kirov region, Sergei Zhvachkin, the governor of Tomsk region, Valery Radaev, the governor of Saratov region, Nikolai Lyubimov, the Ryazan region, and Alexander Yevstifeev, the head of the Republic of Mari El.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree on new measures of Russia in response to sanctions of unfriendly states, as well as international organizations that joined them, says the document on the official website of legal information.
The British Under Secretary of Defense James Hippy said that his government admits that Ukraine might strike “legitimate military targets” in Russia, using weapons of Western countries in the process.
On April 27, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported that after long negotiations with the American side, it was decided to exchange Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko, convicted on charges of preparing to carry a large batch of drugs in the United States, for US citizen Trevor Reed, convicted in Russia for an attack on police officers.
The day before the U.S. expanded the sanctions list against several dozens of Russian citizens and organizations. As reported by TASS, the restrictions were imposed for “attempts to evade sanctions” that had been introduced earlier, said the U.S. Treasury Department.
On April 19, there was shelling of the village of Golovchino in the Grayvorovsky district from Ukraine, Vyacheslav Gladkov, governor of the Belgorod region, reported in his Telegram channel.
Two battalions of the 36th Marines Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces have recently decided to surrender in Mariupol. Over 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers and officers laid down their arms. The media reported earlier that 265 marines had also surrendered in Mariupol.
According to Stéphane Dujarric, the Spokesperson for the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, a thorough investigation is needed into reports of mistreatment of Russian servicemen captured in Ukraine.
According to the order of the Governor of Kursk region Roman Starovoit, a “yellow” (increased) level of terrorist threat has been temporarily introduced on the territory of the region since April 11 due to the possibility of provocations from the Ukrainian side.
Battalion tactical groups of the Russian Armed Forces have redeployed, leaving the Kiev region. An air-raid alert, thousands of Kievers living in subways, artillery arrivals, queues in front of pharmacies and supermarkets, armed territorial defenses, roadblocks everywhere, and nightly shootouts – that is how capital of Ukraine looks today.
In the early hours of April 1, two helicopters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) entered Russian territory at a low altitude and launched a missile attack on the oil depot of the Rosneft Oil Company, located on the outskirts of Belgorod.