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Putin sacked Admiral Sergei Avakyants, 66, the commander of his Pacific Fleet His sacking is a sign that Putin had detected a failure in military exercises Vladimir Putin today dramatically fired an admiral in charge of his Pacific Fleet in a sign that the Russian despot is furious that military drills that were meant to send a message of strength to the West were a flop. Putin sacked Admiral Sergei Avakyants, 66, the commander of his Pacific Fleet, as the vast military drills he had apparently overseen were still underway. The move to axe Avakyants was confirmed by Deputy Prime...

Russia will not immediately demand that buyers pay for its gas exports in rubles, the Kremlin said on Wednesday, promising a gradual shift and saying Russia should work on an idea to widen the list of its exports requiring ruble payment. President Vladimir Putin issued an order last week for Russian gas, which accounts for 40 percent of European needs, to paid for in rubles instead of dollars or euros. -snip- Asked whether the payments should be in rubles starting from Thursday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “Absolutely no.”