TASS

MOSCOW - In an interview for Russia's TASS news agency, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has said he intends to maintain an independent policy of not imposing sanctions against Russia despite colossal pressure from the West.

A celebrity-studded "almost naked" party in Moscow's famed Mutabor nightclub has drawn outrage from Russia's political establishment, which has become increasingly po-faced since the assault on Ukraine.

"The testing of the new self-propelled artillery units has been completed and their mass production has already begun," said Sergey Chemezov, the head of Rostec, in an interview with the state news agency RIA, adding that the first pilot batch will be delivered by the end of 2023.

The Russian Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation called on Bulgaria not to transfer missiles for the S-300 anti-aircraft system to Ukraine, in order not to violate international law, TASS reported.

The head of the Wagner group that in June attempted to topple Russia's military leadership was on the passengers list of a plane that crashed Wednesday, Russian news agencies said.

A business jet with 10 people on board has crashed in Russia's Tver region, authorities in the country have confirmed.

Rosaviatsia, quoted by TASS, said that among the passengers was businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the private military company "Wagner".

Russian forces have destroyed Ukrainian drones targeting Moscow and its Black Sea Fleet, officials said, the latest in a surge of attacks on the capital and the flashpoint waterway.

Russia's defence ministry said its air force downed a Ukrainian drone over the capital at about 04:00 (0100 GMT) on Friday.

The Russian Embassy in Cyprus will soon start providing consular services in the Turkish-occupied north of the divided island, according to a telegram from the Russian state news agency TASS citing an embassy spokesperson. 

Russian media report that the fire broke out in the Grand Setun Plaza business center. It is also stated that 20 people remained trapped in the building affected by the fire.
The ambulance announced that 120 people were evacuated, and the search for the people who remained in the building continues.
No casualties have been reported so far.

At the extraordinary summit in Brussels, the leaders of the European Union reached an agreement on the sixth package of sanctions against Russia, which includes an embargo on oil imports, said the President of the European Council, Charles Michel.