Russian military began large-scale exercises involving air defense, ships, as well as nuclear and diesel submarines in the Arctic, reported the Russian Defense Ministry.

"The Northern Fleet has begun an intergroup command-staff exercise, which takes place under the general leadership of the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy, Admiral Nikolay Yevmenov," the ministry said.

The Russian Defense Ministry noted that in the first stages of the exercises, the Northern Fleet's military …

Moscow has declared 20 employees of the Czech Embassy in Russia persona non grata in response to Prague’s decision to expel 18 Russian diplomats because of their involvement in an explosion of an ammunition depot.

The day before, on April 18, Czech Ambassador Vitezslav Pivonka was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry and handed over a note. According to media reports, he stayed in the Russian Foreign Ministry building for about 20 minutes.

"The Russian Foreign Ministry strongly protested …

Russia has moved more than 50 fighter jets from Stavropol to the annexed Crimea, TASS reports with reference to the press service of the Southern Military District of the Russian Federation.

The crews of the Su-25SM3 aviation unit of the 4th Air Force and Air Defense Army of the Southern Military District, stationed in Stavropol, are relocated to the military airfields in Crimea.

At the same time, the Su-25SM3 Squadron stationed in Crimea was relocated to the Ashuluk test site in the …

The Czech Foreign Ministry announced that it is expelling 18 Russian diplomats. They are accused of working for the Russian special services, reported Novinky, citing the country's Interior Minister, Jan Gamachek.

According to Gamachek, these people were identified as employees of the Russian Military Intelligence Directorate (GRU) and the Foreign Intelligence Service. The diplomats were given 48 hours to leave the Czech Republic.

The authorities in Prague made this decision, as they came to …

On April 17, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) announced that it detained two people who allegedly were preparing a military coup in Belarus and an assassination attempt on the self-proclaimed president Alexander Lukashenko, TASS reports.

"The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation, together with the Committee of State Security of the Republic of Belarus (KGB), as a result of the special operation, foiled the illegal activities of Yuri Zyankovich, who has dual citizenship …

The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) detained Ukrainian consul Alexander Sosonyuk. He was allegedly detained in St. Petersburg, “when he was receiving information of a classified nature during a meeting with a Russian citizen," TASS reports, citing the FSB Center for Public Relations.

"On April 16 in St. Petersburg, the Federal Security Service detained red-handed Ukrainian diplomat, consul of the Consulate General of Ukraine in St. Petersburg Alexander Sosonyuk, during his meeting with …

The National Bank of Belarus continues to lose its gold and currency reserves as the value of Belarus ruble continues to fall.  In April the Belarusian ruble broke the "bottom" reached during the summer protests and set a new historical low.

In the five quarters from January 2020 to April 2021, foreign currency reserves of Belarus decreased by 25% - from $9.2 billion to $6.9 billion.

Since the beginning of 2021, the reserves of the National Bank have lost $310 million due to the repayment of …

Russia has announced the that it is closing the Kerch Strait for warships of Ukraine and other countries during its military exercises, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

According to Kyiv, the decision comes into force from next week and will be in effect until October. It extends to parts of the Black Sea adjacent to the Kerch Strait.

"Such actions of the Russian Federation are yet another violation of the norms and principles of international law. They are intended to usurp …