The Victory Day parade in St. Petersburg on May 9 will be held without aircraft, Fontanka reports , without specifying the source of the information. There is no official confirmation of this information. The publication notes that as of April 24, military pilots of the Western Military District have not conducted a single training flight over Palace Square. Fontanka also writes that the press service of the Western Military District has not issued a single press release dedicated to the parade.

A Moscow court sentenced Semiel Vedel, a former captain of the Interior Ministry’s Internal Service, to seven years in prison for “spreading fakes” about the Russian military, Mediazona reports . The prosecution had sought a nine-year sentence for Vedel, charged with disseminating false information about Russia’s combat operations.

The nephew of the head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov, 26-year-old Khamzat Kadyrov became his adviser-assistant in the power bloc. This was announced in his telegram channel by the Minister of Chechnya for National Policy, Foreign Relations, Press and Information Akhmed Dudayev. According to Dudayev, any direction entrusted to Khamzat Kadyrov "begins to develop dynamically." He also called him an "excellent manager" and "loyal ally" of Ramzan Kadyrov.

The Basmanny District Court of Moscow sentenced Murat Sabanov, accused of a series of poisonings in the city center, to 15 years in prison in a strict regime colony. This was reported by the press service of the Moscow courts. In May 2021, the same court sentenced the man to 16 years in prison, but the Moscow City Court overturned the sentence and sent the case back for a new trial.

The Anapa City Court of the Krasnodar Territory deprived the former RBC and Vedomosti journalist Oksana Goncharova of parental rights, accused of murdering her former common-law husband Alexei Samusev, who beat her. This was reported by “Verstka” with reference to her friend and lawyer Yunis Digmar. The defense intends to appeal the court's decision. “Next week a reasoned decision will be made, we’ll see what the court used to justify the decision.

The airspace above Moscow’s Vnukovo airport is closed after a drone was allegedly spotted in the area, reports TASS, citing emergency services. The airport’s press service, however, told RIA Novostsi that Vnukovo is operating normally and its airspace is open. The news agency, citing a source in aviation, had previously also reported that a drone prompted the airport to close its airspace. Data from the flight tracking service Flightradar24 shows that there are no planes flying in the area.

In St. Petersburg, the annual May 9 Victory Day parade will take place this year with no air show, reports Petersburg publication Fontanka. Official sources have not confirmed this information. The publication notes that as of April 24, pilots with the Western Military District hadn’t conducted a single training flight over Palace Square. Fontanka also writes that the Western Military District hasn’t released any announcements about the parade.

The Russian Defense Ministry said that the next extension of the grain deal is under threat due to attacks by "unmanned boats" in the annexed Sevastopol and Crimea. The Russian military department blamed the Ukrainian authorities for the attacks. This was reported on the Defense Ministry's Telegram channel. In its statement, the Defense Ministry recalls that at the end of October 2022, Russia suspended its participation in the agreement on the export of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea.

Stage director Kirill Serebrennikov on the Bolshoi-banished ballet and why Rudolf Nureyev’s story matters today Sergey Karpukhin / Reuters / Scanpix / LETA Last week, Moscow’s Bolshoi Theater dropped Kirill Serebrennikov’s “Nureyev,” a ballet production celebrating the Soviet-born star dancer and choreographer, from its repertoire.

The president's press secretary Dmitry Peskov called denunciations a "disgusting" practice. He told journalists about this on the sidelines of the "Knowledge" marathon, Interfax reports. The Kremlin representative was asked how he feels about the numerous denunciations that have become more frequent recently, including the denunciation of actor Danila Kozlovsky. “As for denunciations, this has always been disgusting, and it is so, and I hope it will remain so,” Peskov said.

Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for the Russian president, called rumors that Vladimir Putin has body doubles “a lie.” His remarks came during a speech at an educational marathon , where leaders in culture and business speak on topics like artificial intelligence and intercultural communication. “You’ve likely heard that Putin has a large number of body doubles, who appear in his place while he sits in a bunker. Just another lie.

The airspace over the Vnukovo airport is closed due to the fact that a drone was allegedly seen there. This is reported by TASS with reference to emergency services. At the same time, the press service of the airport told RIA Novosti that Vnukovo is operating normally, the airspace is open. Earlier, the agency, citing a source in aviation circles, also announced the closure of airspace due to information about the drone.

In Russia, the film “Challenge” was released, for which Julia Peresild flew into space. It is advertised through "public services", but to the success of the "Cheburashka" far far away On April 20, the premiere of Klim Shipenko “Call” took place in Russia. “The first picture shot in space,” as the Russian media called it, long before reaching the screens became a project of national importance - and about a billion rubles were spent on its shooting.

A Flydubai plane taking off from Nepal's capital, Kathmandu, caught fire on takeoff. This is reported by the agency ANI. The plane tries to land at Kathmandu airport. The Kathmandu Post clarifies that one of the aircraft's engines caught fire. The plane took off at 21:19 local time and was heading to Dubai. Soon, Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu reported that the plane continued its flight to Dubai, as the pilots made sure that all indicators were normal.

In Wagner PMCs, prisoners with HIV are fighting. In Ukrainian captivity, they said that they are recruited, promising medicines that are not in the colony Diego Herrera Carcedo / Anadolu Agency / Abacapress / DDP Images / Vida Press The prisoners recruited by Wagner's PMC said that they were promised by HIV preparations if they sign a contract and go to war with Ukraine.