Government of Russia

Russian officials said Friday they had arrested three people plotting an attack in the country's south, a week after the assault on a Moscow concert hall killed at least 144 people.

The FSB security agency said it had "put an end to the terrorist activities of three nationals from a Central Asian country", Russian news agencies reported.

The US and British embassies in Moscow have issued warnings of potential terrorist attacks targeting large gatherings in the Russian capital. The US Embassy urged American citizens to avoid crowded areas in Moscow over the next 48 hours, citing unspecified extremist threats.

Russia's FSB security service said Thursday it had killed ISIL militants who were planning a "terrorist attack" on a Moscow synagogue, Russian state news agencies reported.

The FSB said an ISIL cell based in Kaluga, southwest of Moscow, had been planning to shoot Jewish worshippers at a synagogue in the capital.

Tensions between Russia and Bulgaria have further escalated as Russia ordered the correspondent of the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) in Moscow, Angel Grigorov, to leave the country. This move comes in direct response to Bulgaria's decision to expel Alexander Gatsak, a correspondent for the Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper, labeling him a threat to national security.

The Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has revoked the accreditation of Alexander Gatsak, a correspondent for "Rossiyskaya Gazeta" (Российская газета), in a move that has triggered significant tensions. The decision, which lacks a clear explanation, also involved threats of extradition, as reported by the newspaper's press service and cited by BTA.

Day 486 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours:

South Africa's president, in Russia as part of a delegation pushing for peace between Kiev and Moscow, told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Saturday that the fighting had to stop.

His delegation put forward a set of principles that the Kremlin deemed "very difficult to implement", a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ruled out talks with Moscow.

Day 455 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours:

This was announced by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov for TASS.
When asked if Russia shares the opinion of the West that the war conflict in Ukraine should not be allowed to become frozen, he replied that Russia supports it.

Moscow said Thursday it had denied an upcoming consular visit to detained US reporter Evan Gershkovich in retaliation for Washington not issuing visas to several Russian journalists.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov complained last weekend that the United States had denied visas to Russian journalists due to travel with him to the UN headquarters.