• Spain terminates contract with Russian satellite company

    Spanish company, Hisdesat, is terminating their contract with the Russian Kosmotras on the launch of the first Spanish satellite, Paz. One of the reasons for the termination of the contract, which was signed in 2013, is that Russia has not fulfilled their required obligations. This, according to DW, was said on the 20th of July by a spokesman for the Spanish Defense Ministry, which runs Hisdesat. According to him, “the Spanish satellite was ready to launch in late 2013 but has, since then, been …

  • Bild will not include Russia on Olympic medals table in its newspaper

    The sports editor of Bild newspaper, Walter Straten, said on June 20th that the German newspaper would not include the results of Russian athletes in the medal table if the Russian team is allowed to participate in the upcoming Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. According to Straten, the International Olympic Committee and its President, Thomas Bach, have not yet decided on Russia’s participation in the Olympic Games.

    “We will not do so. If Russia is allowed in the Olympics, Bild will remove its …

  • Six countries join EU decision to extend sanctions against Crimea

    Six countries have joined the EU in their decision to extend sanctions against the Crimea and Sevastopol. This was said in a statement by the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini.

    The decision was joined in by candidate countries for EU membership, Montenegro and Albania; members of the European Economic Area, Liechtenstein and Norway, as well as Ukraine and Georgia.

    “They will ensure that their national policies conform to this decision …

  • Poland to spend $21 billion on new weapons and military equipment

    Polish Deputy Defense Minister Bartosz Kovnatsky announced that Poland plans to spend at least $21 billion on new weapons and military equipment for the country’s armed forces, Evropeyskaya Pravda reported.

    "The management of the Ministry [of defense] has defined its priorities, and the protection of the air space is one of those priorities," Kovnatsky said.

    Poland plans to spend about $10 billion on a medium-range missile defense system, and a further $5 billion on a short range system. The …

  • Ukraine's Deputy Culture Minister: UNESCO mission is not going to visit Crimea without Kiev's invitation

    Without providing access to Crimea for Ukrainian experts, the visit of the monitoring mission of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee will not be possible.  Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Culture of Ukraine Tamara Mazur said, while on Radio Krym.Realii, that Ukrainian authorities will not invite international experts to the annexed peninsula.

    “This monitoring mission can only come at the exclusive invitation of Ukraine.  UNESCO has said that Ukraine should invite them when an opportunity arises.  …