Projectiles Thrown at Russian Consulate in France, One Explodes, Says Source

Bomb-squad officers prepare a demining robot in front of the Russian consulate in Marseille, after improvised explosive devices were thrown, on February 24, 2025. (AFP)
Bomb-squad officers prepare a demining robot in front of the Russian consulate in Marseille, after improvised explosive devices were thrown, on February 24, 2025. (AFP)
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Projectiles Thrown at Russian Consulate in France, One Explodes, Says Source

Bomb-squad officers prepare a demining robot in front of the Russian consulate in Marseille, after improvised explosive devices were thrown, on February 24, 2025. (AFP)
Bomb-squad officers prepare a demining robot in front of the Russian consulate in Marseille, after improvised explosive devices were thrown, on February 24, 2025. (AFP)

Two projectiles were thrown at the perimeter wall of Russia's consulate in the southern French port city of Marseille on Monday, one of which exploded, a French security source said. 

It was not immediately clear if the projectiles cleared the wall. BFM TV said the projectiles were Molotov cocktails and that they landed in the consulate's garden. 

Russia demanded a full French investigation and said the incident looked like an act of terrorism, state news agency TASS reported. 

No one was injured, the security source said. Consulate staff were kept indoors and police set up a security perimeter around the consulate. 

The incident in the southern French city took place on the third anniversary of the Russia-Ukraine war. 

"The explosions on the territory of the Russian Consulate General in Marseille have all the hallmarks of a terrorist attack," TASS quoted Russia's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as saying. 

Marseille, France’s second-largest city and a major Mediterranean port, is home to a diverse population but does not have a notably large Russian community. France has seen multiple protests against Russia’s war in Ukraine since 2022, including demonstrations in Marseille, Paris, and other cities. 



Train Service between Moscow and North Korea’s Pyongyang to Resume This Month, Says Russia

A woman walks past a fountain in Pyongyang on June 6, 2025. (AFP)
A woman walks past a fountain in Pyongyang on June 6, 2025. (AFP)
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Train Service between Moscow and North Korea’s Pyongyang to Resume This Month, Says Russia

A woman walks past a fountain in Pyongyang on June 6, 2025. (AFP)
A woman walks past a fountain in Pyongyang on June 6, 2025. (AFP)

Russia and North Korea plan to restart a direct passenger train service between Moscow and the North Korean capital Pyongyang this month for the first time since 2020, Russia's state-owned rail monopoly said on Monday.

Russian Railways said it had agreed with North Korea's railways ministry to resume a twice-monthly service between the two capitals on June 17, a journey it said took eight days and which, at over 10,000 km (6,213 miles), was the longest direct rail journey in the world.

Another service between Pyongyang and Khabarovsk, a Russian city close to China's northeastern border, will restart two days later.

The services will be operated by Korean State Railway, the state operator, and in the case of the Moscow-Pyongyang route will see a North Korean passenger railcar hitched to the regular Moscow-Vladivostok service and then re-attached to another train.

Passenger rail traffic between Russia and North Korea was suspended in February 2020 at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Moscow and Pyongyang have since ratcheted up cooperation, including in the military sphere since President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty last year.

North Korea confirmed in late April that it had sent more than 10,000 troops and weapons to Russia to assist in its war in Ukraine, aid which proved crucial for Moscow in recapturing Russia's western Kursk region from Ukraine.

The two countries already operate a passenger rail service between Vladivostok in Russia's Far East and Rason, a North Korean port city.

The nations are also linked by freight rail networks, although Russia does not disclose the size of the cargo traffic.