Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė has signed the law on the introduction of universal military service in the country on an ongoing basis.

According to the Lithuanian news portal Delfi, the law, previously approved by the Council of State Defense, provides for the transition of the Lithuanian army from fully professional to a mixed-type system. At the moment, more than ten thousand people are serving in the Armed Forces of Lithuania.

Previously, the introduction of universal …

The State Duma suggested penalizing developers of instant messengers who refuse to surrender keys to the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) that would allow them to decode messages. The corresponding amendment was added to the anti-terrorism package of laws developed by the Head of the Parliamentary Committee for Security and Anti-Corruption, Irina Yarovaya and Senator Viktor Ozerov, TASS reports.

MPs want to oblige the creators of IM clients to provide the competent authorities with the …

The Commander of the United States Army Europe, Lieutenant General Frederick Benjamin Hodges, believes that NATO will not be able to protect the Baltic States if Russia attacks them.

“Russia could invade the Baltic States faster than we could come there to defend them," the Lieutenant General said in an interview with the German weekly Die Zeit, published on June 22.

Hodges said that he agrees with the estimate of military analysts that the Russian troops could capture the capital cities of …

The Ukrainian Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources, Ostap Semerak, discussed the investment attractiveness of the exclusion zone for renewable energy during a Canadian-Ukrainian business forum, stating that a number of Canadian investors are interested in the possibility of constructing solar power plants and biofuel plants in the exclusion zone, the agency’s press service reported.

“Canadian investors are interested in the possibility of constructing biofuel plants and power stations in …

According to the Ukrainian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association, $132 million was invested in Ukrainian companies in 2015. As noted, these funds were largely private and venture investments in IT companies. According to the results of the study, only 66 contracts were signed in 2015, but the total amount of investments is higher than in 2014 by 237%, Ekonomichna Pravda reported.

The creation and improvement of the investment climate in Ukraine is the main task of the Association.   …

As reported by the Russian Defense Ministry, the Russian Air Force has successfully carried out tests of a new short-range, anti-ballistic missile system. The launch took place on Tuesday in the morning at the Sary-Shagan missile testing site in Kazakhstan.

The purpose of the launch was to confirm the performance characteristics of the anti-missile system which is in service in the Russian Air Force.

As was stated by Aerospace Force Air Defense Chief Viktor Gumyonny, who was present during …

In an interview with the BBC, General Ben Hodges, the commander of U.S. land forces in Europe claimed that NATO has to simplify the mechanism of relocating the military units between the countries, to be able to respond quickly to potential threats from the Russian Federation.

"Twenty thousand armed people may appear on the borders of NATO, or at the borders of Georgia, or Ukraine. This is a serious concern. The Russians have what we call freedom of movement on the interior lines. They can …

The Ministry of Defense of Lithuania announced that the Lithuanian army will acquire Javelin portable anti-tank missiles and supporting equipments from US. The deal is worth 8 million dollars and is based on a previously signed agreement with the two countries

“The acquisition of Javelin portable anti-tank missiles will be made to further strengthen the capabilities of the Lithuanian army,” a press release stated.

The Lithuanian Ministry of defense further elaborated that the purchase will be …