LIVE UPDATES: Russia Eliminates Over 40 Foreign Mercenaries in DPR, MoD Says

"No such decision has been taken at EU level," the source said when asked to comment on the reports.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the operation aims to "protect people subjected to genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years." As of March 25, the Russian Armed Forces completed the main tasks of the first stage, significantly reducing the combat potential of Ukraine. Western nations have imposed numerous sanctions on Russia and have been supplying weapons to Ukraine.

Representative of Russia Irina Tyazhlova, speaking at a meeting of the UN open-ended working group on international information security, called to refrain from accusing Moscow of cyber aggression.

"We call on individual participants in our discussion to refrain from unceremoniously accusing Russia of cyber aggression. In case of any concerns, any state can directly address the competent Russian structures," Tyazhlova said.

Earlier on Tuesday, CNN reported that Ukrainian troops seeking treatment at the US military hospital in Germany will have to leave Ukraine by train or car so that they can be evacuated by air to the Ramstein Air Base.

ANKARA, July 26 (Sputnik) - Ankara hopes to avoid problems with gas in winter, extending contracts with suppliers, including Russia, Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Fatih Donmez said.

"Our main suppliers are Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran. We are renewing contracts that expired in the new period. We are trying to ensure the security of our supplies. In Europe, access to gas is more important than price," A Haber broadcaster quoted Donmez as saying.

"Our warehouse in Silivri is 82% full, we hope that by the end of the year it will be filled. We have 6 billion cubic meters of natural gas. I hope we will not have such a problem as long as suppliers comply with the shipment schedule," the minister added.

“We've seen Russia statement that it plans to leave the International Space Station after 2024. It's an unfortunate development given the critical scientific work performed at the ISS, the valuable professional collaboration our space agencies have had over the years, and especially in light of our renewed agreement on spaceflight cooperation,” Price said during a press briefing. “We were taken by surprise by the public statement that went out [in Russia].”

Wintershall Dea chief financial officer Paul Smith said during the representation that the company was working on receiving the required approvals for the expatriation of dividends for 2021.

CAIRO (Sputnik) - A fuel transportation plan similar to the "food deal" is in the works, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Tuesday.

"Now work is underway on an agreement on the transportation of fuel, it will be similar to the 'food deal' and will contribute to resolving the global crisis," Akar said in an interview with the Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera.

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar added that a plan to ensure safe transportation of grain is being devised now. The vessels loaded with grain will be examined in Ukrainian ports, he said.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Gas futures in Europe surged 14% on Tuesday, exceeding $2,100 per thousand cubic meters for the first time since the beginning of March, according to data from the London-based ICE exchange.

August futures rose to intraday high on $2117.9 dollars (+13.7%), but then retreated, and as of 18.21 Moscow time, the growth was slightly less than 13%.

This comes on top of 12 howitzers delivered by Germany and the Netherlands in the past months and a day after Ukraine received five of the promised 30 Gepard anti-aircraft tanks from Germany.

"The likelihood that the US economy can avoid a recession is actually quite narrow. Under our current projections, for instance, for the US, the Q4 [quarter four] growth rate in 2023 is only 0.6%, and 0.6% is under our baseline. So, you see that a small shock at this point could be enough to sort of knock off the US economy of a fairly low number and sort of tilt it over into recession. So, it's a very narrow path at this point," International Monetary Fund's Director of Research Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas said on Tuesday.

"A number of foreign media share false information that Russia allegedly conducts some kind of mobilization. Please note that only a part of the Russian armed forces is involved in the special military operation [in Ukraine], as its number is sufficient enough to fulfill all the tasks set by the commander-in-chief," the ministry told reporters.

The Russian and Turkish presidents last met in Tehran at a trilateral summit on Syria a week ago.