Russian Tu-160 strategic bombers can be equipped with Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, the modifications should take until the end of 2020, a source in Russia’s defense industry told TASS.

The source did not specify exactly which model of the bomber – the Tu-160 or Tu-160M – would be modified to carry Kinzhals.

There has been no official confirmation of this information.

The Kinzhal was presented to the public for the first time during Vladimir Putin’s state-of-the-nation address in March 2018. …

European countries have been buying more and more liquefied natural gas (LNG). At the end of January, LNG imports had reached 10 billion cubic meters (bcm), and for the first time in history were equal to the amount received from Russia’s Gazprom, according to the monthly monitoring by the Skolkovo School in Moscow.

One year ago, Russian natural gas accounted for twice as much as its liquefied counterpart. In January 2019, Gazprom sold 15 bcm, whereas only 7.7 bcm of gas reached the market as …

Russia has called on the US to immediately restore the normal issuance of visas to its officials, including diplomats and UN personnel, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported on its website.

“For a long time we have been urging the Americans completely and without any preconditions to normalize the issuance of visas for officials,” the report states. The department noted that Russia is ready for this to happen at any time.

According to the report, despite repeated attempts by Moscow to restore …

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said that it is disappointed in the new sanctions which the Council of Europe (CoE) Committee of Ministers introduced on February 5. The Ukrainian department believes that the new procedure for responding to member-states’ violations of statutory obligations eradicates the possibility of punishing countries for the most severe violations.

The ministry drew attention to the fact that for more than five years Ukraine has been subjected to Russian armed aggression, …

The Iranian press reported on Sunday, citing the Defense Ministry, that the launch of Iran’s Zafar satellite had failed. According to official reports, the satellite “was not successfully put into orbit”.

The satellite was launched on a Simorgh rocket, which brought it into space, but failed to give it sufficient velocity for a near earth orbit.

Iran has been space-capable since 2003, when the Iranian Space Agency was founded. The agency has successfully sent a tortoise, mice and two monkeys …

The Russian Embassy in Norway said that Oslo violates its obligations under the Svalbard archipelago treaty. "There are problems with Svalbard [Treaty]. Our issues are practical and need to be addressed," reads the statement published on the Russian Embassy’s Facebook page.

According to the Russian Embassy, Oslo violates the agreement because it issues "permits for the development of oil and gas deposits in the areas of the continental shelf which fall under the treaty."

The Russian Embassy …

Rezonans-N radar stations capable of detecting hypersonic missiles will be deployed in the Kola Peninsula before the end of the year, reports TASS citing a source in the Russian defense industry.

"To improve the combat capabilities of the Northern Fleet, two Rezonans-N stations will be deployed in the Kola Peninsula in 2020. One radar has already been installed, the second has been delivered to the peninsula and is expected to be installed before the end of 2020," the source said.

Previously, …

First Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Dmitry Krutoy, commenting on the talks held in Sochi on February 7, said that the Belarusian oil refineries will buy oil from Russia at global market prices.

"If we talk about the agreement on oil, the oil market, the Russian side agreed that Belarusian refineries will buy oil under agreement with Russian oil companies at prices that are set on the global market,"  said Krutoy as cited by  Belta news agency.

Minsk intends to continue working with all …