Russia was third in the world in military spending in 2016. This was reported by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

Russia's expenditures on armaments were $69.2 billion, a 5.9% increase over the previous year. The United States remained in first place in terms of military spending; in 2016 its expenditures increased by 1.7% to $611 billion. China was second at $215 billion.

The amount spent on arms globally increased by 0.4% to $1686 billion. Total military …

Russian singer Yuliya Samoylova, who is banned from entering Ukraine is scheduled to perform in the Crimea again. This information was confirmed by the singer’s press service in comments to Radio Liberty Project "Krym.Realiyi.”

"Yes, she will perform in Sevastopol. At least, as of today it is confirmed. It is expected that Yuliya will sing two to three songs there," said the press service. Crimean media had earlier reported the probability of Samoylova performing in Sevastopol on May 9.

On …

The demand for Crimean vacations among Russians is declining due to competition with Turkey and the Krasnodar Krai, as well as the costs which are exceeding the expectations of tourists. This conclusion was reached by experts at the Association of Tour Operators of Russia, Krym.Realii reported, citing Interfax.

According to Russian travel companies, on average, prices for hotels in the Crimea increased by 10-15%.

"When making calculations, we focused on the average amount spent on purchased …

A Russian journalist managed to track down a person who claims that the voice which can be heard in the SBU (Security Service of Ukraine) recordings about the Boeing belongs to Russian Colonel Sergey Dubinsky, who is believed to be responsible for the transfer of the Buk missile system which shot down the Boeing MH17.

This is described in the research of Pavel Kanygin for Nova Gazeta.

Sergey Tiunov, leader of Zaporizhia Self-Defense organization and war veteran in Afghanistan, recognized …

The creation of anti-corruption courts in Ukraine is necessary, according to the IMF Resident Representative in Ukraine, Jerome Vacher, as he stated in an interview with LB.ua.

"The critical element, anti-corruption courts, is absent. We support both the creation, as well as the initiation of their activities. Ukraine’s other international partners support them too," Vacher said.

Presently, according to him, most of the anti-corruption cases fall apart in the courts. In addition, the IMF …

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau or NABU published a video revealing the destination countries in which the money illegally withdrawn from Ukraine had “settled.” Most of the money was withdrawn to Britain, Austria and Latvia.

It is reported that more than 2.27 billion hryvnias, 420 million US dollars, 4.3 million euros and 825 thousand pounds sterling were taken out of Ukraine.

Most of this money was withdrawn by Britain in the amount of 208 million dollars. Latvia accounted for 73.36 …

The Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council (NSDC) of Ukraine, Oleksandr Turchynov, said that the military and political leadership of the Russian Federation are responsible for the death of an OSCE Special Monitoring Mission member (U.S. citizen) and the wounding of two representatives of the mission (citizens of Germany and the Czech Republic).

"This explosion was a planned act of terror directed against the OSCE Mission to the Donbas. The military-political leadership of the …

The Federal Directorate of Music and Festival Programs, Rosconcert commissioned a theatrical spectacle for the third anniversary of the creation of the separatist Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic.

According to the Russian news agency RIA Novosti, the event will be held on May 11 at the Regional Sports Complex Olimpiyskyi in Donetsk and on May 12 it will be held in Luhansk at the Theater Square.

1.14 million rubles or about 20,000 USD is being allocated from the Russian …