Russia

Russia has sent crews to assist in Dagestan, where the official number of COVID-19 deaths is 29. "It long ago became clear the official statistics have no basis in reality," a resident says.

The 34-nation agreement allows the U.S., Russia and other countries to fly their aircraft over each other's territory. The Trump administration says it will negotiate a new deal with Russia.

The U.S. government delivers 50 American-made ventilators on Thursday and will send another 150 next week.

An art project to shake the lockdown blues has become an online sensation as pent-up Russian speakers from across the globe reenact classic artwork to pass the time amid the pandemic.

Loosely (very loosely) based on the early life of Russia's Catherine the Great, Hulu's 10-episode historical comedy-drama is arch, witty, twisty and knowing.

Russia has the world's second-highest confirmed coronavirus case number but ranks 18th in officially reported fatalities from the virus.

Speaking during a videoconference with President Vladimir Putin that was broadcast on state-run TV, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin announced that he had tested positive for the virus.

Earlier this month, China — the original epicenter of the pandemic but which later saw daily new domestic cases fall to zero — has in recent weeks seen a wave of infections arriving from Russia.

The Russian president says his country is making progress in its battle against the novel coronavirus, even as the number of Russians infected continues to rise.

A month ago, Vladimir Putin said the outbreak in Russia was "under control," but in a teleconference with health officials on Monday he acknowledged the situation was changing "not for the better."

Officials said Thursday that the country had nearly 1,500 new cases in a single day with 13 new deaths from COVID-19. The news came as the Kremlin extended a national "non-working week."

Moscow's spike in COVID-19 infections has forced an economic shutdown in far-flung territories where the coronavirus has so far shown minimal bite.