• Russia to deploy additional S-400 missile systems in annexed Crimea

    This year air defense units in the Crimea will be equipped with S-400 surface-to-air missile systems and Pantsir-S anti-aircraft missile systems, said the commander of the Russian Southern Military District, Colonel General Alexander Dvornikov.

    "We managed to significantly strengthen security on the western flank, including through forming the new units in the 150th Motorized Rifle Division and 22th Army Corps stationed in the Crimea," said Dvornikov, adding that “strengthening defense on the …

  • US Navy warplanes strike ISIS in Syria

    According to the US Navy press service, the USA Navy strike group headed by the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier has reached the coast of Syria and has already started strikes against ISIS positions.

    In a twitter message, the US Navy Forces Europe said that the US Navy started sorties against ISIS positions on May 3.

    “The USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group conducts aviation ops May 3 in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, which began Oct. 17, 2014, to defeat ISIS in designated …

  • Russia blocks expansion of OSCE mission to entire Donbas border

    The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses its disappointment that the Russian Federation remains the only OSCE member that "aggressively blocks" the expansion of the Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) mandate to cover the entire stretch of the border adjacent to the separatist controlled territories of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

    The Ministry released a statement detailing its position in response to a decision by the OSCE Permanent Council to extend the mandate of the OSCE SMM at …

  • Russia postpones launch of power plants in Crimea by half a year

    Russian Deputy Energy Minister Andrey Cherezov announced on May 3 that the preliminary start of operations for the first group of Thermal Power Plants (TPP) under construction in Simferopol and Sevastopol is scheduled for October. The second block is scheduled to launch operations in November.

    "These are the preliminary dates for the stations, and those of us in the government will, first and foremost, make adjustments; it [the launch] will be October-November. The first blocks will be put …

  • DPR fighter from Brazil now lives in a monastery in Kyiv

    Rafael Lusvarghi, the Brazilian national who was convicted of participating in the illegal, separatist organization DPR was released and now lives in the Holy Protection Holosiivsky Monastery of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. A Donbas.Realii journalist met with the former separatist fighter there. Lusvarghi initially tried to deny who he was but later agreed to talk.

    According to the former separatist fighter, he first became interested in Orthodoxy when he was in custody in the Kyiv detention …

  • Moscow warns against depriving Russia of right of veto in UN

    The power of veto in the United Nations Security Council, which is held by Russia, Britain, China, the United States and France, is the cornerstone of the organization’s architecture, without which it will lose its stability, as stated by Deputy Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations Vladimir Safronkov at the regular meeting of the General Assembly on the issue of Security Council reform.

    The diplomat noted that “ungrounded actions against the right of veto” …

  • Kyiv: Hungary continues to block Ukraine-NATO Summit

    The NATO Summit in Brussels can take place on July 11-12 with the participation of the Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, as reported by Radio Svoboda journalist Rikard Jozwiak on Twitter. According to him, it became possible after Hungary unblocked holding the event."The EU-Ukraine Summit is tentatively scheduled for July 9 in Brussels. This means that Poroshenko should stay there for the NATO Summit on July 11-12. Hungary allows it,” Jozwiak wrote.On the other hand, Vice-Prime-Minister for …

  • Putin fires five generals and two prosecutors

    Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a decree on May 3 that effectively fired five generals of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) and the Investigation Committee (IC), as well as two prosecutors. In addition, he appointed 16 people to the posts. The text of the decree was published on the Official Internet Portal of Legal Information.

    The prosecutor of Udmurtia, Sergey Panov and the prosecutor of the Tula region, Alexander Kozlov were dismissed from their posts. Others relieved of their …

  • Russia may block another messenger application

    Nikolay Nikiforov, Minister of Communications and Mass Media of Russia, stated that the Viber messenger application may be blocked in Russia, TASS reports.

    According to Nikiforov, the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB) must decide on this “specific” issue. According to him, responsibility for making the decision does not fall on the Ministry of Communications. However, FSB can take the issue to court if they encounter problems obtaining an encryption key. In that …

  • Russia will show 'Putin’s missile' at Victory Day parade

    During the Victory Day parade in Moscow, the Russian Defense Ministry will showcase the latest hypersonic Kinzhal missile system, which Russian President Vladimir Putin boasted about when speaking to the Federal Assembly.

    “Aside from the modern Su-57, Su-Z0SM and MiG-29SMT aircraft, the upgraded MiG-31K, equipped with the latest hypersonic Kinzhal missile system, will take part in the ceremonies during the holiday,” said Defense Minister of the Russian Federation, General of the Army Sergey …