Contents tagged with Russia

  • Kremlin claims NATO increased the number of high-precision strategic weapons near Russian borders

    NATO countries, especially the USA are building up their military activities near Russian borders and deploying high-precision, strategic weapons systems, said Admiral Vladimir Korolyov, Commander-in-chief of the Russian Navy, reported the RBC. 

    Korolyov said the Russian Fleet’s development plans will be implemented next year, considering “the deployment of missile defense systems, strategic non-nuclear systems of high-precisions weapons, and military infrastructure facilities in the adjacent …

  • Moldovan President Dodon counts on Russian peacekeepers to ensure stability in Transnistria

    Moldovan President Igor Dodon wrote on Facebook after a meeting with the President of unrecognized Transnistria, Vadim Krasnoselsky that he considers Russian peacekeepers in Transnistria a defining factor of stability in the region. 

    "[We] reaffirmed the importance of preserving the existing peacekeeping operation as a factor in maintaining stability and peace in the security zone. It was also noted that some challenges occurred in the area this year, but with joint efforts we managed to …

  • Russia calls Israel's air strikes on Iranian military bases ‘a flagrant violation of Syria's sovereignty’

    In a statement published on Russian Foreign Ministry’s website, the Kremlin stated that the attacks by Israeli warplanes in the vicinity of Damascus are a "flagrant violation of the sovereignty" of Syria, as well as the provisions of the UN resolution.

    "We are extremely concerned about both the fact of the strikes and the way they were carried out. This is a flagrant violation of Syria's sovereignty and the provisions of UN Security Council resolutions, including resolution 1701, " the …

  • Kremlin: Russian government lost trust in Belarus 

    Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said that the Russian Federation has lost trust in Belarus. 

    According to him, this is due to the fact that Belarus has been violating the Russian-Belarusian customs regime, including the import of sanctioned and excisable goods into the Russian Federation. 

    “We keep telling Belarus that they are our neighbor, our ally, but we have recently lost trust in Belarus. All those solvents, sanctioned products that come to us, excisable goods, cigarettes that …

  • Russia expands sanctions against Ukraine 

    Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev announced that the list of Ukrainian citizens and companies under sanctions would be expanded. 

    “The list of persons and legal entities of Ukraine, that will be included in the list of special restrictive measures has been expanded. I signed the appropriate decree,” wrote Medvedev on Twitter. 

    TASS with reference to the Russian Cabinet press service report that the signed decree has been expanded to include more than 200 individuals and organizations.  …

  • Putin invites Lukashenko to lunch for a private chat

    Vladimir Putin has invited Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who arrived recently in Moscow, to a meal without any delegations from the two countries, TASS reports. 

    “I propose this arrangement: we will listen to how our colleagues have been working, and then we will give the delegations another opportunity to talk, and then I want to invite you separately to a New Year’s work lunch,” Putin said. 

    When speaking about how Russia-Belarus relations have been developing in recent times, …

  • Nord Stream 2 construction begins in Sweden’s exclusive economic zone 

    The Solitaire, a ship working on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, has begun laying pipes in Sweden’s exclusive economic zone, Aftonbladet reports. The pipes needed for construction will be stored at the Swedish Karshamn Port. 

    Sveriges Radio reported that the pipe-laying operation in this region will last until summer 2019, and that the Karshamn Port administration has hired 110 extra staff for this period. 

    Nord Stream AG, the pipeline’s operator company, announced on December 23 that the …

  • Russian military industry cut off from US dollar 

    US sanctions have led to the Russian military-industrial complex being cut off from dollar transactions, reports finanz.ru. 

    Although the portfolio of orders of the Russian state-owned arms exporter Rosoboronexport is estimated at $50 billion, the sale of weapons abroad does not bring in hard currency – the deals are made in rupees, yuans and rubles, which are harder to use to pay for imports. 

    Major defense contracts to supply S-400 systems have to be maintained outside the global dollar …

  • Russian Defense Minister: the army has received record-high number of modern weapons

    According to the Defense Ministry’s website, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu stated that the Russian Army saw an unprecedented increase in equipment with modern weaponry this year, a level not achieved by any army in the world.

    The minister also stated that Russian army has received a total of more than 1,500 weapons and more than 80,000 pieces of military equipment. “In general, we reached the point of 61.5% in modern weapon armaments. Such an availability of modern technology is not …

  • Ukraine calls on international community to increase pressure on Russia after Kremlin sentences four Crimean Tatars

    In a statement published on the website of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry after the decision of the North Caucasian District Military Court of the Russian Federation, which sentenced four Ukrainian citizens on charges of terrorism, Ukraine called on the international community to increase pressure on Russia “to stop the violation of human rights” in the Crimea and to release Ukrainian prisoners. 

     According to Russian court, Enver Mamutov was sentenced to 17 years, and Rustem Abiltarov, Remzi …