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Syrian and pro-Iranian forces attack US-Led coalition near Deir ez-Zor
The Syrian Army and Iran-sponsored militias attacked the positions of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on the east bank of the Euphrates. The Syrian forces managed to take control of several villages located north-east of the city of Deir ez-Zor. The Syrian state agency SANA confirmed the information.
Later, the SDF forces brought reinforcements from Conoco oil field. They mounted a counteroffensive and with the support of strikes by the US-led coalition aircraft regained control of the lost …
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Deripaska’s companies ask Kremlin for help after falling under US sanctions
The Ministry of Energy of Russia received a formal request for government support from En+ Group and Rusal who have fallen under US sanctions, TASS reported, citing Deputy Minister Vyacheslav Kravchenko.
"They have sent us support measures that they require. There are quite a few of them, we are working with them," he said, without specifying which measures the companies are asking for or when they would be enacted. "Rusal made a large number of proposals. There are a lot of them. We are …
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Russia unblocks 3 million of Amazon’s IP addresses
On April 28, the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media (Roskomnadzor) unblocked 3 million IP addresses from two sub-networks of Amazon cloud services, as reported by usher2.club online service which keeps track of websites and services blocked in Russia. The unblocking of sub-networks of Amazon was also confirmed by Roskomnadzor.
“Roskomnadzor unblocked three sub-networks of a number of foreign hosting providers in order to lift restrictions …
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A mountain in Crimea sheltering highly endangered species is being destroyed
Ongoing construction is destroying a mountain in Koktebel, Pol'ovyi Lane that is home to species of plants listed in the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List, as stated by Olga Vecher, an architect and expert on landscape and architectural complexes and historical and cultural reserves, in an interview with Krym.Realii’s correspondent.
According to the architect, the mountain is being demolished by construction workers who are decimating layers of soil. "The mountain …
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Russia admits its GLONASS navigation satellites are made of over 50 percent of foreign components
Spacecraft of the Russian Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) are currently made-up of almost 60 percent foreign components, CEO Nikolay Testoyedov told RIA Novosti. Testoyedov is the CEO of the ISS-Reshetnev company, a manufacturer of satellites. According to him, Roskosmos State Corporation, the governmental agency responsible for Russia’s cosmonautics programs, has developed a program of import substitution. Following this substitution plan, by 2022, GLONASS spacecraft should not be …
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Russia recognizes that it’s impossible to block Telegram messenger
RIA Novosti reports that Russian Internet ombudsman Dmitry Marinichev claims that blocking Telegram by adding IP addresses to the blacklist is impossible.
"Even considering that the client part of Telegram is open source. The code is open. It can be analyzed and how it works can be understood. Because Telegram is not a website, it's an application. It's almost impossible to close [such] a resource through IP addresses," he said.
According to Marinichev, "the block could last forever." He …
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Poland proposes to change format of Ukraine-NATO meetings to avoid Hungary’s blocking vote
Ukrinform reports that Jacek Czaputowicz, The Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs, has proposed to change the format of the meetings of the Ukraine-NATO Commission in order to bypass Hungary's veto for holding formal meetings.
In Czaputowicz’s opinion, it is necessary to find an opportunity for holding "less formal" meetings between Kyiv and Brussels.
"Perhaps we will find a way out, another, less formal format, so that Ukrainians can participate in this discussion," Czaputowicz said.
On …
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Russia bans several Lithuanian politicians from entering the country
Moscow has made a so-called "stop list" with names of politicians, deputies and political scientists from Lithuania, the Russian Foreign Ministry reports.
List figurants are prohibited from entering Russia. The Russian Ministry has called its decision to take such a step a response to Vilnius’ adoption of an analogue to the American Magnitsky Act.
The names of officials are not specified in the Russian Ministry’s statement.
"We warn that the Russian ‘stop-list’ remains open. In the case of …
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Pentagon may increase U.S. military contingent in Poland
James Mattis, the United States Secretary of Defense, stated that the United States is open for discussing the possibility of increasing its military contingent in Poland, DW reports. Mattis announced this information during a meeting with Polish Defense Minister, Mariusz Blaszczak, emphasizing that Poland is America’s ally in NATO.
“We are placing troops in NATO in accordance with the requirements of security,” Mattis stated. “Therefore, we are always open to such discussions.”
In 2017, NATO …
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Ukrainian MP: Russia’s Kerch Bridge to Crimea should be given to Ukraine
Refat Chubarov, Deputy of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, stated in an interview with the Obozrevatel news outlet that Russia should hand over the Crimean bridge “as contribution” to a special “international consortium” which should be established to operate the bridge.
“As the country that annexed Crimea, Russia should hand over the Crimean Bridge as a contribution to the international consortium for damage caused [to Ukraine],” Chubarov stated. “The transfer agreement should contain measures …