Contents tagged with Russia

  • US expels two Russian officials following attack on diplomat in Moscow

    The US has expelled two Russian officials in response to an attack on an American diplomat in Moscow.

    A representative of the US State Department, John Kirby, told journalists on July 8 that this step was taken on June 17, shortly after the incident, but he refused to disclose the details.

    Earlier, Kirby said at a briefing that a Russian police officer attacked an American diplomat in Moscow when he tried to enter the building of the US Embassy. “This action was unprovoked and it has …

  • Ukraine hopes to provide strategic air transport to NATO

    Ukraine’s leadership has decided to withdraw from the tripartite cooperation program between Ukraine, Russia and NATO, according to which the Alliance has used the capabilities of Ukrainian strategic aviation.

    The acting head of the Mission of Ukraine to NATO, Yehor Bozhok, said this in an interview with Evropeyskaya Pravda.

    He named Ukrainian strategic AN-124 Ruslan planes among the items that Ukraine offers to enhance the Alliance’s defense capability.

    “Until now we had a program, …

  • Former colonel of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service dies in the US

    A former colonel of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), Alexander Poteyev, who escaped from Russia in 2010, died in the US. This information was reported by the Russian Interfax news agency, citing informed sources. "According to some reports, Poteyev died in the US. Currently, this information is being verified," the agency wrote.

    According to Interfax, this information has been obtained from abroad, but it is possible that "it may be disinformation created to ensure that the ‘ …

  • Merkel: Russia has lost the West's trust

    Speaking in the Bundestag on the eve of NATO Summit, the Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel, accused Russia of losing the trust of Western countries, Die Welt reported.

    “If application of laws and inviolability of borders are in question, then of course the trust is lost,” Merkel said. The Chancellor noted that her government insists on the need to respect international law, territorial integrity, sovereignty of the States and their free choice of the Alliances. However, according to Merkel, …

  • Snowden criticized Russia's new anti-terrorism law

    Edward Snowden, a former contractor who worked for the US National Security Agency, has criticized the anti-terror law signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin. The laws were developed by MP Irina Yarovaya and the chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Defense and Security, Viktor Ozerov.

    This law mandates a life imprisonment for international terrorism; lowers the age of criminal responsibility to 14 years; and requires telecom operators, messaging apps and social networks to store …

  • Obama calls on NATO to increase its support for Ukraine

    In an article written for the Financial Times, US President Barack Obama called on NATO and the EU to increase support for Ukraine and to be consistent in confronting Russian aggression.

    “We need to bolster the defense of our allies in central and eastern Europe, strengthen deterrence and boost our resilience against new threats, including cyber-attacks. We need to deepen security co-operation between NATO and the EU and increase our support for Ukraine as it defends its sovereignty and …

  • Lithuanian President: Russia has to be deterred with military force

    The threats to the international security haven’t diminished, and that is why, according to Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė, NATO has to move from partial security measures to creating a real military deterrence, as reported by the Latvian Delfi news portal.

    “Unfortunately, after the meeting in Wales there haven’t been fewer threats. That is why the time has come to move from partial security measures to creating a real military deterrence. We expect that finally concrete security …

  • Russia to deploy two powerful radar systems in the Baltic and Black Seas

    Russian Interfax news agency reported that Russia may attempt to compensate for the increase in NATO’s military activity by placing two new radar stations in the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea, which would be able to control the 200-mile coastal zone.

    "It is expected that modified Podsolnuh (Sunflower) over-the-horizon radar units will start combat duty in the Baltic Sea in 2017," Interfax’s source said, adding that similar radar could be deployed in the Crimea in 2017. “It can see any warship …

  • Stoltenberg: NATO's practical cooperation with Russia is still pending

    The Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Jens Stoltenberg, announced the issues that will be discussed during the Russia-NATO Council meeting that will take place in Brussels on the 13th of July. The meeting, which will be held for the second time since 2014, will be devoted to the discussion of the crisis in and around Ukraine and the need for full implementation of the Minsk Agreements.

    “We will also consider military activity, putting special focus on …

  • NATO fighters were scrambled to intercept two Russian aircraft near Latvia

    NATO fighter jets patrolling Baltic State airspace identified and intercepted two Russian military aircraft, the Latvian Armed Forces reported on Twitter. “On the 5th of July, fighter jets serving in the Alliance’s air policing mission identified AN-26 and TU-134 aircraft belonging to the Russian Federation over the Baltic Sea near Latvian borders,” the report said.

    Russian warships and military aircraft have been increasingly spotted near the air and sea borders of the Baltic States since the …