Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has expanded sanctions against Russian companies and state institutions, putting on the sanctions list museums and scientific and cultural institutions in the list.

In particular, the new restrictive measures suspend for three years scientific cooperation and cultural contacts with the Hermitage, the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, the Moscow State University, the Russian Geographical Society, the Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, …

The second Iranian cargo plane in the last two weeks landed at the Russian Khmeimim military base in Syria, reported the Arabic-language news outlet Alhurra.com. Nothing is known about the nature of the cargo.

According to the newspaper, in this way Iran guarantees the uninterrupted supply to military units stationed in Syria, without fear of attacks by the Israeli Air Force.

The Syrian authorities can also use this method of delivering the necessary goods until security conditions are in …

The United States is transferring $25 million worth of defense and medical equipment to Ukraine for use in the war zone in the Donbas, reported the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine on Twitter.

"We continue to provide security assistance to Ukraine. This week, the Department of Defense Cooperation received night vision devices, thermal imaging devices, radions and medical equipment worth more than $25 million for use in the Joint Forces Operation zone," the statement reads.

The embassy also stressed …

Leonid Kharchenko,the defendant in the case of the Boeing 777 flight MH17, has been detained in Donetsk , reported BBC with reference to a fellow militant and another source who was involved in DPR military command.

DPR authorities detained Kharchenko near his home on March 11, two days after the Dutch court charged him with involvement in the MH17 disaster. However, according to BBC, Kharchenko's detention and subsequent arrest are connected with another criminal case.

A co-worker of the …

Boris Gryzlov, Russia's representative at the talks of the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) on the settlement of the conflict in the Donbass, said that Ukrainian representatives refuse to negotiate with members of the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR),reports TASS.

According to Gryzlov, the May 14 video conference of TCG was on the verge of failure because of such a position of the Ukrainian side. In particular, he said, the situation on Wednesday escalated at the …

President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko in a conversation with prime minister Syarhey Rumas said that it is necessary to reduce the price of natural gas supplied from Russia, repots the news agency BelTA.

Lukashenko noted that Russia sells gas to Germany much cheaper than Belarus.

"Yesterday I received information that at this difficult time Russia sells natural gas in Europe for up to $70: $65-68, but not for $127, as for Belarus. What are the circumstances and the situation here, what can …

Russian gas giant Gazprom continues to face problems in the European gas market, where demand and prices have collapsed and volume of gas in storage has reached a historic record, repots finanz.ru.

Following the failure of the Nord Stream 2 project, which came under U.S. sanctions and did not receive regulatory benefits from the German Federal Network Agency, a key operating pipeline for gas exports to the EU came under attack.

On May 17, the contract for the transit of Russian gas through …

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said there is "good evidence" of Russia's involvement in the "outrageous" cyberattack on Bundestag systems in 2015, reported the newspaper Handelsblatt.

"I take these things very seriously," she said, answering questions from MPs. The Chancellor said the attack was part of a "hybrid warfare strategy" that also included misrepresentation and disorientation. "It's not just a coincidence, it's a strategy," she said.

When asked by members of the Bundestag about …