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Russia says its special forces are active in Syria
In an interview with Rossiskaya Gazeta, Russian Colonel-General Alexander Dvornikov said that Russian special forces are actively carrying out reconnaissance missions and “other special tasks” in Syria.
"I will not hide the fact that on the territory of Syria there is a division of our special operations forces," Dvornikov told the state-run news agency.
"They perform supplementary reconnaissance on targets for Russian air strikes, they are engaged in guiding aircraft to targets in remote …
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Poll finds Russians' trust in Putin is decreasing
Over the past year, the number of Russians that trust President Vladimir Putin has decreased, according to a survey conducted by the Levada Center. According to sociologists, 21% "completely trust" Putin, 52% "somewhat trust", and 14% chose "somewhat not trust". Last year, the corresponding response options chose 26%, 57% and 14% respectively.
Thus, the index of confidence has decreased by 10% overall. Dozhd reported the results of the survey conducted in March this year.
When asked, "How …
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Kremlin spokesman: Only Putin can make a decision on exchanging Savchenko
According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, only Russian President Vladimir Putin can make a decision regarding an exchange of Ukrainian pilot Nadiya Savchenko for Russian prisoners held in Ukraine, RIA Novosti reported.
“Russia will act in accordance with the laws of the Russian Federation. In all other respects, only the President can make a decision. What the decision is, I cannot say yet,” Peskov stated.
After the Russian court ruled that Savchenko was guilty of killing two Russian …
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Russian Defense Minister arrives in Crimea to carry out military inspection
Russian media has reported that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu arrived in the Crimea to inspect the combat readiness of Russian troops stationed on the Peninsula, as stated by a representative of the Defense Ministry, Igor Konashenkov. According to the spokesman, Shoigu will also inspect the construction of combat training facilities and social infrastructure in the annexed territory.
The Head of the Russian Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev, also visited the Crimea on Tuesday, where …
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Millions more Russians living in poverty as economic crisis sinks in
Russia’s economic crisis has driven the country’s poverty rate to a nine-year high, according to data provided by the Russian Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat).
In 2015, the number of people living in poverty reached 19 million (13.4% of the population), up from 16 million in 2014.
Rosstat reported that this is the highest rate since 2006.
The Statistics Service also reported that real incomes fell by 6.7% in February of this year compared to the same month in 2015.