Russia has recorded its highest daily death toll since the outbreak of the pandemic as the country grapples with a spike in infections spurred by the highly contagious Delta variant.
An official government tally reported 652 coronavirus fatalities over the past 24 hours, topping a record that was set in December last year.
A record-high number of daily deaths - 119 - was also reported in Russia's second city Saint Petersburg that is due to host a Euro 2020 quarterfinal on Friday.
Some experts say that Russia vastly underreports coronavirus fatalities, counting only cases when Covid-19 was found to be the primary cause of death after autopsy.