Russia Proposes 2 Million Ruble Payment in February 1 News

Every day, many events occur in the world, and it is simply impossible to keep up with them in the news flow. Therefore, we gather the most important ones in this digest. Today, we summarize February 1.

Direct Trains to be Launched from Russia to Belarus

Railway communication will be developed between Smolensk and the Belarusian cities of Vitebsk and Orsha as part of the Union State.

«Approve... the projects of the Union State »On the organization and development of cross-border suburban passenger transport of the Union State by railway between adjacent border territories of the subjects of the Russian Federation and regions of the Republic of Belarus on the route Smolensk – Orsha« and »On the organization and development of cross-border suburban passenger transport of the Union State by railway between adjacent border territories of the subjects of the Russian Federation and regions of the Republic of Belarus on the route Smolensk – Vitebsk«,» — stated in the order of the Russian government.

The projects were presented by the Russian Ministry of Transport (Mintrans). They received approval from interested federal authorities and the Belarusian side, as indicated in the document. According to the instruction, Mintrans must submit these projects for consideration by the Council of Ministers of the Union State.

Shift Workers« Vehicle Falls into River in Kamchatka

In Kamchatka, a shift vehicle with workers from a gold mining company fell into a river from a bridge. 10 people were hospitalized, reports the regional department of the Russian Investigative Committee (SK).

«According to preliminary data, on the morning of February 1, 2026, at the 102nd km of the Milkovo – Aga highway, a shift vehicle transporting 26 workers of the joint-stock company »Kamchatka Gold« overturned from a bridge into a river. According to preliminary data, 10 people were injured as a result of the incident. The injured were delivered to the Milkovo District Hospital,» — reports the department.

However, the TASS news agency reported that the shift vehicle was involved in an accident before the bridge, not that it drove off it. Details of the incident are being established.

Taxi Driver Drops Off Passenger After Accident and Forbids Calling Ambulance

In Moscow, a taxi driver dropped off a passenger on the highway after an accident, forbidding her to call an ambulance. The driver was afraid of losing his license. This is reported by the Telegram channel 112.

The girl sustained serious injuries, while the driver«s airbags deployed during the collision, and he was not injured. The victim notes that instead of providing help, the man began to eject her from the car, claiming that nothing serious had happened.

After that, he completed the trip in the application and handed the victim a thousand rubles (approximately $11 at current rates). Moreover, the taxi driver stopped a passing car and asked another driver to take her to the nearest stop to call a new taxi.

However, the driver who gave the girl a ride immediately understood that her condition was serious and took her to the hospital. Doctors diagnosed the passenger with a spinal fracture and multiple bruises. The recovery period will be at least three months.

The identity of the taxi driver has already been established. The State Traffic Safety Inspectorate (GIBDD) is conducting an inspection on this fact. Representatives of the taxi service contacted the victim, promising to take all necessary measures and pay material compensation.

Earth Residents to See Planetary Parade in February

Russians will be able to see all planets except Mars in the sky in February. This was reported by Vladilen Sanakoev, an engineer at the educational astronomical observatory of Ural Federal University.

«Low above the horizon, the bright planet Venus can be seen, slightly higher and to the south in the sky, one can see successively: Mercury, the Moon, Saturn, and Neptune (Neptune is visible only through a telescope),» — the scientist said in a conversation with TASS.

Sanakoev clarified that all planets of the Solar System except Mars can be found in the sky at the end of February. The Moon can be seen on the evening of February 18, and on February 17, an annular solar eclipse will be visible in Antarctica.

Russia-Ukraine Talks in Abu Dhabi Postponed

The bilateral summit, which was supposed to take place today in Abu Dhabi, was postponed for several days. Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy provided details in his Telegram channel.

«Dates for the next trilateral meetings have been set — February 4 and 5 in Abu Dhabi. Ukraine is ready for a substantive conversation, and we are interested in the result bringing us closer to a real and worthy end to the conflict,» — wrote the Ukrainian leader.

According to The New York Times, the Russia-Ukraine meetings were postponed after negotiations between Russian and American delegations took place in Miami the day before. Reasons for the postponement are not stated.

Scammers Start Frightening with Account «Blocking»

In February, scammers may start frightening Russians with account blocking for allegedly abnormal number of transfers through the Faster Payments System (SBP). This was warned by the press service of the «Moushelovka» platform of the People«s Front.

«A call or SMS comes to the phone, allegedly from the bank»s security service. The content may be as follows: «In January, an abnormally high number of transfers were made from your account via SBP. Confirm that it was you by naming the code from the SMS/ transferring funds to a »verification« account»,« — stated in the message.

Scammers are targeting bank customers who actively used SBP during the January holidays.

Experts note that such a scheme is relevant for February, as many indeed made many transfers in January (gifts, holiday payments, gifts for children).

«Fear of account blocking due to »suspicious activity« makes people compliant,» — experts are quoted by RIA Novosti.

People are advised to immediately hang up and call the bank back at the official number from the card or website. Even better, if a person enables notifications for all operations in the bank application settings.

Specialists reminded that the bank«s security service will never ask to name the code from an SMS, a password, or to make a money transfer.

State Duma Explains When Employee Will Not Receive Vacation Compensation

An employee may be denied in court the payment of compensation for vacation if he or she consciously refused it for many years. This was stated by Yekaterina Stenyakina, a member of the State Duma Committee on Labor, Social Policy, and Veterans« Affairs.

According to her, usually the employer is obligated to pay compensation for all unused vacation upon dismissal of an employee. But there are exceptions, which are mainly related to the circumstances of accumulating vacation days.

Stenyakina noted that employees often do not take vacation for years, accumulating 70–80 days of rest, and then expect to receive monetary compensation for them. When considering such disputes, courts evaluate the reasons why the vacation was not used. If it turns out that the employer did not prevent going on vacation, and the employee voluntarily refused rest, this may be regarded as an unrealized right by personal choice.

As for the carry-over of the unused part of annual paid leave to the next year, it is allowed only in exceptional cases, and the carried-over days must be taken within the subsequent 12 months. Also, the deputy emphasized that the Labor Code categorically prohibits not providing annual paid leave for two consecutive years. Usually, HR departments monitor vacation schedules and remind employees of the importance of rest, as the employer can be fined for violating these rules, TASS reports.

Rules for Returning Equipment Changed

From February 1, new rules for returning technically complex goods, introduced into the law «On Consumer Rights Protection,» came into force in Russia. According to the new provisions, when returning a defective product, the consumer will receive the difference between the purchase price and the market value of a similar device at the time the requirement is satisfied by the seller or a court decision. At the same time, wear and tear and the year of manufacture of the product will be taken into account.

Thus, if a buyer wants to return a faulty laptop purchased two years ago, they will be refunded not the price of a new model, but the current market value of a similar used device.

Also, the conditions for calculating penalties for untimely return, replacement, or other unfulfilled customer requirements were changed. Now the total amount of the penalty cannot exceed the amount paid for the goods.

For more details on which goods are classified as technically complex, you can find out here.

«Father Capital» Proposed to be Introduced in Russia

In Russia, they plan to introduce «father capital» in the amount of 2 million rubles (approximately $22,000 at current rates) to stimulate the birth of third and subsequent children and enhance the role of fathers. This was reported by Sergei Rybalchenko, chairman of the commission on demography of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation.

He noted that in large families, the main financial burden falls on men, as 40% of mothers with many children do not work. Moreover, men often want more children than women. According to Rybalchenko, the payment should be provided upon the birth of the third child, which will strengthen large families and emphasize the father«s role.

«The meaning of father capital is precisely to emphasize the role of the father-parent. One of the ideas that I proposed to implement for father capital is that it be provided upon the birth of three children in one family — this [will help] support a stable large family,» — the head of the commission of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation said in a conversation with TASS.

Other News

In addition to the daily news digest, we gather the main events of the week. About incidents, bills, and what awaits us ahead, you can learn in this material.

We also tell about the main events that happened in the SMO. Read about how the situation on the battlefield changed and what political decisions were made this week here.

A lot of interesting things are happening in the world of show business. Blogger Oksana Samoylova named the real reason for her divorce with rapper Dzhigan (Denis Ustimenko). The editor-in-chief of Russia Today (RT) Margarita Simonyan stopped being shy about her real appearance and showed how she looks without hair, and actor Nikita Kologrivy has a double. All stories from the lives of stars we told in a separate material.