• Russia conducts aviation exercises in Crimea to counter reconnaissance aircraft

    The Russian Air Forces conducted a training exercise to destroy a foreign reconnaissance aircraft in the Crimea, which "violates the state border in the airspace over the Crimean Peninsula," reported the press-service of the Russian Ministry of Defense.

    It also reported that the so-called "the Wall" tactic was practiced during the training.

    "The joint command involved equipment of radio reconnaissance and air defense of more than 30 warships, six divisions of Coastal Missile Systems Bal and …

  • US State Department prepares second package of sanctions against Russia for Skripal poisonings

    The US Department of State sent a second package of sanctions related to the poisonings of a former officer of the Main Intelligence Directorate of Russia, Sergei Skripal, and his daughter which took place in the UK to the head of department, Mike Pompeo, and the president of the United States, Donald Trump.

    Deputy Secretary of State Andrea Thompson spoke on the issue at a Senate hearing, as reported by Radio Svoboda.

    Thompson called the new sanctions part of an expanded strategy towards …

  • Classified information on Russian satellites leaked online

    The administrative collapse of Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, is gaining momentum.

    Following the theft of billions of rubles from construction projects and the disappearance of a senior manager abroad to avoid the consequences of an audit, classified information about the agency’s upcoming satellite launches has now been leaked on the internet.

    The leak was reported to RIA Novosti by Saturn, a Roscosmos subsidiary that develops solar and rechargeable batteries.

    The published …

  • Media: Council of Europe paves way for possible lifting of sanctions against Russia

    The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe supported the draft decision to change the imposing of sanctions against countries that violate the Charter of the Organization. According to Ukrayinska Pravda, this decision allows Russia to return to the Council of Europe under an emergency procedure.

    The Committee met in Strasbourg on Tuesday, May 14. According to sources, 39 of the 47 Member States supported the draft of Ministerial decision.

    The central idea of the decision is to …

  • Iraq to buy S-400 missile systems from Russia

    Iraq intends to buy S-400 anti-air missile systems from Russia, announced Iraqi Ambassador to Russia Mansour Hadi on 15 May at a press conference, DW reports.

    The decision was made during a session of the Russian-Iraqi Commission for Trade, Economic and Scientific Cooperation held in Baghdad on 23-25 April.

    Hadi noted that, although the Iraqi government has stated its intention to purchase S-400s, no concrete agreements have yet been reached with Russia.

    This step by the Iraqi government …