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joining Russia," Putin’s press secretary stressed. "Any plan that does not take into account these circumstances cannot claim to be a peace plan," he added.
Russia recorded its first official case of the so-called Kraken subvariant of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, the Rospotrebnadzor state monitoring agency reporting on January 12. The highly contagious subvariant was reported in the Penza region. Kraken, which the World Health organisation on January 4 proclaimed the most transmissible known COVID-19 variant, was first detected in the United States in October. It has since been detected in several European countries.
The number of crimes committed by foreign nationals in Russia in the first 11 months of 2022 rose by 10% compared to the same period last year, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. According to the ministry, this is the highest number in five years. "Foreign nationals and stateless persons committed 37,000 crimes in Russia, a 9.8% rise compared to the period from January to November 2021. In particular, citizens of CIS member states committed 30,400 crimes, which marks a 15.2% surge from the year before," the statement reads.
The BRICS organisation plans to expand by adding new members in 2023
as the non-aligned countries from the Global South, made nervous by the US use of trade and dollar in the sanctions regime against Russia, club together to provide a counterweight to possible pressure being brought to bear by the west.
The average annual temperature in Russia in 2022 was the second highest on record at minus one degree Celsius, according to the Research Director of the Russian Hydrometeorological Center, Roman Vilfand. The only warmer year was 2020, which was a unique year as it was the only time the average temperature across Russia was positive. The most significant annual temperature anomalies in 2022 were recorded in the north of European Russia, northern Ural, Siberia, and Yakutia.
Kremlin continues to falsely claim that Ukraine poses existential threat to Russia. Vasily Nebenzya, Russia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, responded to Ukrainian proposals for a peace summit on January13 with a series of false claims framing Ukraine as an aggressor that was “about to attack Moscow.”
Ukraine’s intelligence: Russia preparing for ‘long-term war.’ Russia’s efforts to reorganize its defence industry and the abrupt appointment of a new commander to oversee the war in Ukraine show that Moscow is preparing for “a long-term war,” Ukraine’s intelligence said on January 14.
German defence minister to resign. Germany’s defence minister Christine Lambrecht plans to resign, German media reported on February 13, citing a
30 RUSSIA Country Report February 2023 www.intellinews.com