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Russia begins military exercises in Black Sea
The military exercises of the Russian Black Sea Fleet have started in the Black Sea, reports RIA Novosti, citing the Russian Navy's press service.
Ships based in Sevastopol and Novorossiysk, the frigate Admiral Essen, a large landing ship Azov, and small rocket ship Vyshny Volochek are involved in the military drills. The support vessels and minesweepers Turbinist and Kovrovets are also participating in the drills, as well as Su-30SM fighter jets.
During the exercise, the ships' crews will …
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Berlin: gas transit through Ukraine should continue after 2019
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said that Germany believes that the transit of Russian gas through the territory of Ukraine should continue after 2019, reports Interfax-Ukraine.
During a joint briefing with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko in Kyiv, Maas said that "we [Germany] support negotiations on gas transit through Ukraine. We believe that transit should continue after 2019."
Maas stressed that he wants to dispel certain speculations around the "gas" topic that have recently …
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Ukrainian Foreign Minister: Kyiv is ready for 'reasonable compromise' on Donbas
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko said that the Ukrainian side expects real progress in settlement of the conflict in the Donbas after the Normandy Four meeting.
During a joint briefing with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas in Kyiv, Prystaiko said that "We [Ukraine] hope that at this meeting we will achieve the real progress that we have expected since at least 2016, when the last Normandy Four meeting was held."
Prystaiko said that the Ukrainian delegation will go to the Normandy …
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Russia to deploy additional forces in northern Syria
The Russian Defense Ministry is sending additional military police to northern Syria to “normalize the situation” along the Turkish-Syrian border, the military department announced.
According to Defense Ministry Spokesperson Igor Konashenkov, the additional Russian military police forces will be deployed along the border between Syria and Turkey. He did not clarify whether the reinforcements would come from divisions already stationed elsewhere in Syria, or whether another battalion of …
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Rate of theft by Russian officials reaches more than $7 million per day
The total damage in the corruption cases concluded in the first eight months of 2019 in Russia is approximately 102 billion rubles, around $1.6 billion at current exchange rates.
These figures were cited on Monday by Dmitry Sevastyanov, deputy head of the division for combating the misuse of budget funds at Russia’s Chief Directorate for Economic Security and Opposing Corruption, Kommersant reports.
The average rate at which money leaked from the budget on various levels was thus around $200 …