The Netherlands said it has stopped issuing visas to Russian nationals from Wednesday following a slew of tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions during Russia's war in Ukraine.

The Dutch Embassy in Moscow told Russian media it still plans to issue humanitarian visas and temporary residence permits. The Netherlands is a member of the European Union and

The interior ministry of Transnistria, a Moscow-backed separatist region of Moldova bordering Ukraine, said Wednesday that shots were fired at a village housing a Russian arms depot after drones flew over from Ukraine.

This came after the unrecognized region has reported a series of explosions that it called "terrorist attacks," raising fears of a

Russia's energy giant Gazprom said Wednesday it had stopped all gas supplies to Poland and highly dependent Bulgaria after not receiving payment in rubles from the two EU members.

President Vladimir Putin last month said Russia will only accept payment for deliveries in its national currency, with buyers required to set up ruble accounts or have

Russia has officially completed its section of the first rail bridge linking it to China on Wednesday ahead of the bridge's expected opening within the next month. 

The Tongjiang-Nizhneleninskoye bridge, named after the cities on opposite sides of the Amur River that it now connects, was eight years in the making.

Construction began in 2014 as