Contents tagged with Russia

  • Belgium seizes 2 tons of cocaine with United Russia logo

    The Belgian Federal Police confirmed to the Russian BBC service that batches of cocaine were discovered in packages bearing the logo of the United Russia party.

    Two tons of cocaine, split into 1,900 packages, were hidden in the cargo of a ship which docked in the Belgian port of Ghent from Brazil. The trade value of the drugs is estimated to be in excess of € 100 million.

    Evegeny Revenko, deputy secretary of the United Russia general council, gave RIA Novosti a humorous explanation for how …

  • Russia sends two frigates to reinforce its Mediterranean flotilla

    Two frigates from Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, the Admiral Grigorovich and Admiral Essen, have set out from Sevastopol to join the Russian squadron in the Mediterranean Sea, the Russian Defense Ministry’s website reported.

    “Making the transition by sea, the ships performed a range of ship combat exercises at the fleet’s combat training sites in the Black Sea,” the report states.

    As part of the drills, Ka-27PL helicopters took off and landed from the frigates’ decks. The frigates also searched …

  • Russia warns the US and its allies against 'reckless steps' in Syria

    Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, commenting on the Bloomberg publication that if Syrian government troops would use chemical weapons, the United States is ready for a missile strike on Syria, warned Washington and their allies against "new reckless steps." The government official informed RIA Novosti.

    Ryabkov remarked that in Moscow, "they hear Washington’s ultimatums, including public ones." However, the Deputy Head of the Russian Foreign Ministry assured that this "does not …

  • Kremlin accuses Ukrainian Right Sector of preparing murders of 50 Russian officials

    Russia has opened criminal proceedings against the members of the far-right Ukrainian nationalist political organization, Right Sector accusing them of “serious crimes”, reported the press service of the Russian Investigative Committee.

    The Investigative Committee filed charges against Right Sector after the publication of a document named “the verdict of the Central National Court of the Right Sector”. According to the Investigative Committee, the members of the subdivision of Right Sector, …

  • Square named after Boris Nemtsov opens in front of Russian Embassy in Lithuania

    An opening ceremony in front of the Russian Embassy of the square named after Russian oppositionist Boris Nemtsov took place in Vilnius on Friday, August 24.

    “This square is named after Boris Nemtsov not just because he was Lithuania’s great friend, but [also for the] values for which he fought: peace, democracy, human rights, freedom. We all want to live in a world, where these universal values prevail,” said Vilnius Mayor Remigijus Simasius during the ceremony.

    He hopes that one day “the …

  • Serbia receives two Russian fighter jets

    The air force of Serbia received two Russian Mig-29 fighter jets, as reported by the Voice of America.

    According to the publication, at the ceremony at the military airport near Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, President Aleksandar Vucic thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin for Russia's assistance in the development of the Serbian Armed Forces.

    In October 2017, Serbia received 6 Mig-29 fighter jets from Russia. In addition, Russia promised to provide Serbia with 30 tanks and about 30 …

  • Russia loses its largest weapons buyer

    India, which has been the largest buyer of Russian weapons in the world market, suspended existing contracts payments to Russia’s arms exporter Rosoboronexport and refused to sign the new ones, including the purchase of fighters and S-400 missile systems.

    The newspaper Vedomosti reports, citing sources in the Russian defense industry, that the payments from the Indian government have not been received since April.

    Indian banks began blocking transactions after Rosoboronexport and most Russian …

  • US Secretary of State discusses the issue of Sentsov’s imprisonment with Lavrov

    The United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo held a telephone conversation with the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergey Lavrov, during which the two sides discussed the situation with the Ukrainian political prisoner Oleg Sentsov, reported the press service of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “Mike Pompeo discussed the issue of Oleg Sentsov’s imprisonment who is accused of involvement in terrorist activities. He was given the relevant explanations,” reads the message.

    The …

  • Kremlin announces new negotiations between Surkov and US special envoy Volker on the Donbas

    The new meeting on the Donbas between Kurt Volker, the U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine and Vladislav Surkov, the aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin is being prepared, stated the Russian President’s Press Secretary, Dmitry Peskov.

    He said that the forthcoming meeting will be held “to synchronize their watches” because there were no advance plans for resolving the situation in the Donbas. The details and time of the meeting remain unknown.

    Last week, Volker and Surkov failed to …

  • Deutsche Bank threatens to break ties with Russia

    On June 27, the London division of Deutsche Bank sent a letter to the Russian government, threatening to cut business ties unless it is provided with up-to-date information about clients, Vedomosti reports.

    The letter says that Deutsche Bank is analyzing the services rendered to the Russian government and the Know Your Customer (KYC) documents in its possession. KYC is the process of identifying and collecting information on a client in order to prevent money laundering and the financing of …