Former Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev’s frantic attempts to bring national projects back on schedule in the last few weeks of December were a severe trial for the Russian banking system, and even major banks like Sberbank and VTB experienced a record number of disruptions, reports finanz.ru.

According to the Russian Finance Ministry, in order to implement the budget in December, the government had to spend 4.14 trillion rubles (around $67.3 billion), triple the average amount for the …

Elizaveta Peskova, the daughter of Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov, told Forbes in an interview that in Russia a “specific mayhem” comes from the law enforcement organs.

“In Russia there is a specific mayhem which no adequate, civilized person will be indifferent towards, and this mayhem comes from the law enforcement organs,” she said. During the interview she did not clarify exactly when or how this mayhem manifests itself.

She mentioned the “mayhem” when asked by the correspondent to …

The plans to create a Kosovo army, supported by the leading NATO states, seriously endanger the security of the Balkan region, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on January 17 during a press conference on the results of Russian diplomatic activity in 2019.

The Russian Foreign Ministry believes that these plans are a gross violation of UN Security Council resolution 1244, which demands the demilitarization of any armed groups of Kosovan Albanians.

“Many times we have drawn and will continue to …

The Polish Foreign Ministry said on Twitter that the Soviet Union’s actions during World War II caused “tremendous losses” to Polish Culture.

“Special divisions of the NKVD (Soviet Union interior ministry) stole valuable works of Polish culture – many of them are still in Russia,” the department tweeted.

The ministry cited examples of works that were confiscated by the Red Army. These include Lucas Cranach the Elder’s “Madonna and Child” (Głogowska), Antoine Pesne’s “Girl with a Dove”, and …

Ukraine and Georgia have complained to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) regarding “unlawful Russian activity”, which is reportedly interfering with search and rescue operations in the Black and Azov seas.

According to the Ukrainian embassy in the UK, the complaint has been supported by delegations from EU countries and the US.

Kyiv has also sent an objection to the IMO, accusing Russia of “unlawfully extending the Novorossiysk region’s NAVTEX radio station service to the Sea of …

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reports that a convoy of about 40 Russian troops which was heading for the town of Tall Tamr was stopped by a U.S. patrol.

"This caused a state of tension between both parties," SOHR writes. As a result, the Russians retreated and headed towards the city of Ain Issa.

According to the Turkish news agency Anodolu, the U.S. troops thwarted an attempt by the Russian military to proceed to the Rumeylan oil field in the northeastern part of Hasakah …

On Saturday, January 18, the pro-Russian militants violated the ceasefire in the Donbas six times, killing one Ukrainian serviceman and wounding 10 others, reported the Command of the Ukrainian Joint Forces Operation.

"The enemy fired at our positions from 120 mm mortars prohibited by the Minsk agreements, as well as used various types of grenade launchers. The enemy also used UAVs, BMP armored personnel vehicles and small arms," said the command of the Ukrainian Joint Forces Operation in a …

Turkish President Recep Erdogan met with Russian President Vladimir Putin during a summit on Libya in Berlin. The Turkish leader stated that the commander of the Libyan National Army Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar is pursuing an aggressive policy that must be stopped, reports TASS.

"Haftar did not sign the agreement at the meeting in Moscow, which shows us that he is not a supporter of the peace process, but seeks a military solution to the conflict," Erdogan said.

According to Erdogan, in …