Russia’s defence minister has announced new military exercises along the Ukrainian border just hours after Ukrainian troops killed at least two pro-Russia insurgents in eastern Ukraine.

Expanding Russia’s military presence in the Arctic region is among the armed forces’ top priorities, president Vladimir Putin has declared.

Fears grew today that there are not enough crews to battle the devastating wildfires sweeping western Russia, as the country’s emergency chief said some were out of control.

Rescuers struggling through the blast-shattered corridors of a Siberian coal mine have nearly reached the last area where any of 30 missing miners could still be found after two explosions, the emergency ministry said today.

Russia’s top investigative body said the number of people who died in a nightclub fire in the Urals city of Perm has risen to 109.

Hopes were fading today for 64 workers missing after an accident at Russia’s largest hydroelectric plant.

An accident at Russia’s largest hydro-electric plant has killed seven people and shut down the plant.

Flooded caverns and flammable gas hampered the search for workers missing after an explosion at a Siberian coal mine as Russia held a day of mourning for the 108 killed in the country’s worst mining disaster in more than a decade.

The concave, snow-covered roof of a three-decade-old Moscow market collapsed early today, killing at least 31 people and trapping about 10.

The toxic spill that poisoned a Chinese river and forced Chinese authorities to cut off drinking water for millions has crossed the Russian border, Russian media reported today.

Rescue workers with sniffer dogs picked through the ruins of an indoor water park searching for survivors in Moscow today after a roof collapsed on hundreds of bathers yesterday, killing over two dozen people.

Emergency crews pulled a seventh body from the ruins of an apartment block in northern Moscow today.

At least four people were killed and up to nine more were feared trapped in the debris of a Moscow residential building that collapsed following an explosion.