Contents tagged with Russia

  • Military deployment to Syria approved by Russian parliament.

    The upper house of Russia's parliament has voted to allow the military to be deployed in Syria, making it the first formal move to legalize Russian air strikes on the militant Islamic State (IS) group.

    According to US intelligence, within hours Russia appeared to have carried out its first attack.

    Although as assured by a senior Kremlin official, no ground troops would be involved in Syria, only the air force.

    Earlier this week President Vladimir Putin called for a broad anti-terror …

  • Russian rocket launchers spotted in Ukraine.

    As reported by OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM), Russian TOS-1 thermobaric rocket launchers have been spotted in Ukraine.A multiple launch thermobaric rocket system (TOS-1 Buratino, 220mm) was spotted at Kruhlyk training area around 30 km south-west of Luhansk in eastern Ukraine, controlled by pro-russian forces. TOS-1  is a Russian 220mm 30-barrel (original system, Ob.634 or TOS-1M) or 24-barrel (Ob.634B or TOS-1A) multiple rocket launcher and thermobaric weapon mounted on a T-72 tank …

  • Russian soldiers on trial in Kyiv.

    As reported by BBC, a pair of Russian special-forces soldiers have gone on trial in Kyiv, Ukraine.

    Yevgeny Yerofeyev and Alexander Alexandrov were accused of waging war against Ukrainian troops. They were captured in May in east Ukraine. Both are alleged to be officers in Russia's GRU foreign military intelligence, though Russia insists the men were not serving soldiers when they were detained. Prosecutors called for life sentences. The two russians denied charges of terrorism and the hearing …

  • Putin may stay for 4th term as President.

    In his recent interview with CBC, Russian President Vladimir Putin said there are several conditions where he might remain in power.According to Putin, no laws would be violated if he goes for the 4th term as the Russian President, and his staying in power would depend on the circumstances

    "But I'm not sure I should take full advantage of these constitutional rights. This will depend on the specific situation in the country, in the world, and on my own sentiments, "- said Putin.

  • Horlivka controlled by Russian citizens.

    As reported by Informational Resistance Group, all municipal services of Horlivka are now controlled by Russian citizens.Horlivka is a city in the east of Ukraine held by the pro-russian forces. It's pre war population listed as 250,000. Horlivka's all major services such as mayor office, police department, school board, and others have been taken over by russians.The same is happening to its largest factories, coal mines and other enterprises which are managed now from Rostov, a russian city …

  • Putin daugher's fund under investigation.

    As reported, The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) got interested in Ekaterina Tikhonova, who media say is the daugher of Russian President Vladimir Putin.Ekaterina became the head of a Moscow State University project with a budget of 1, 5 billion dollars.

    Former gymnast, who specialized in acrobatic rock 'n' roll, entered the Academic Council of Moscow State University between April 2014 and January 2015, found OCCRP. In May, her fund Innopraktika began to develope a …

  • Over 700 tons of imported food destroyed in Russia.

    As reported by the Russian Federal Service for Veterinary And Phytosanitary Surveillance on Monday, over 700 tons of sanctioned food has been destroyed in Russia since early August when President Putin's decree on special economic measures came into effect.According to the agency, as of September 27, over 676 tons of contraband food has been detained, including 318 tons of food of animal origin.The first batch of products were destroyed on 6 August. Many politicians and public figures have …

  • Iran won't buy Russian Superjets.

    As stated by Iranian Minister of Roads and Urban Construction Ahmad Abbas Akhmud, Iran gives up plans to buy Russian Sukhoi Superjet-100 aircrafts to upgrade its fleet. 

    According to the minister, Iran has already held talks with Airbus and Boeing. "A preliminary agreement with leading aircraft manufacturers have been reached," - Akhmud said, "and as soon as the nuclear deal with world powers come into force, Iran's aviation industry will come out of sanctions".

    The secretary of the …

  • Pentagon chief confirms support of Ukraine.

    Ashton Carter, US Defense Secretary, confirmed Pentagon's continued support for Ukraine on Thursday at a joint press conference with his Ukrainian counterpart Stepan Poltorak in Washington, D.C.He said Pentagon would soon start training Ukrainian forces.

    Small numbers of US troops have already started training Ukrainian National Guards in the west of Ukraine far from the frontlines. In July a plan was also announced to take on regular military units.

    Carter said America's commitment to …

  • Pro-Russian militants order UN agencies to leave.

    According to Stephen O'Brien, United Nations' Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, pro-russian militants ordered UN agencies to leave rebel-held parts of in the eastern Ukraine.

    Stephen O'Brien said the agencies had been told to leave by Friday, and several international non-governmental organisations (NGO) by Saturday.

    The Luhansk separatists had earlier banned 10 international humanitarian agencies citing "violations".

    Last year parts of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions …