Russian state news agency Izvestia has reported two explosions at an "enterprise" in the city last night and that 12 people were killed. As yet the cause of the blast is unconfirmed. The footage we've seen indicates the explosions occurred at the munitions plant, which is located near to the city of Chelyabinsk in the Urals region.

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday it was now absolutely clear that the United States was Russia's adversary and that U.S. President Donald Trump's recent steps on Ukraine amounted to an act of war against Russia.

Trump wants Russia and Ukraine to freeze the war on the current battlelines, with Moscow holding a huge swathe of eastern Ukraine.

But Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday dismissed the idea of halting the conflict at the current contact line. Moscow was only interested in "long-term, sustainable peace", Lavrov said, implying that freezing the front line would only amount to a temporary ceasefire.

Russia secretly used front companies to buy Western technology and erect a surveillance net in the Arctic where its submarines operate, an investigation shows.

The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies found Russia’s growth has slumped due to sky-high interest rates.

Residents of Russia's Belgorod region say blackouts, air-raid sirens and the sound of gunfire aimed at incoming Ukrainian drones are becoming increasingly common, as Kyiv retaliates against repeated bombardments of its cities with cross-border strikes of its own.

A massive Russian attack pummeled Ukraine’s energy and port infrastructure on Oct. 22 as Moscow shows no sign of slowing down its plan to freeze out Ukrainians as winter draws closer. Emergency power outages were implemented in most regions of the country throughout the day as energy workers battled to repair damaged infrastructure,