• Germany considers easing sanction on Russia

    German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier declared that the federal government has considered the possibility of easing economic sanctions against Russia if the latter meets a number of conditions. Steinmeier made the comment during an interview with Spiegel, part of which was published on Friday, May 27th, on the Spiegel website.

    "I always believed sanctions themselves are not the goal. Only when there is progress in implementing the Minsk agreements can we talk about easing sanctions," …

  • Putin: Russia will respond to the deployment of American missile systems in Romania

    Russia will respond  to the deployment of American missile systems in Romania, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated during a joint press conference with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsirpas.

    According to Putin, the anti-aircraft missile installations can be easily switched to an attack mode by changing the system's software.

    "But the worst is the fact that the attack missiles can be loaded into these systems right at the moment. And then they can reach a range of up to 2400 kilometers. And …

  • Kiev demands explanation from Germany after Minister suggested lifting sanctions on Russia

    Ukraine has demanded an explanation following the remarks of German Federal Minister of Economic Affairs and Energy Sigmar Gabriel about the gradual lifting of sanctions against Russia.

    German newspaper Tagesspiegel quotes the Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany, Andriy Melnyk as saying "We sent a request to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs asking to clarify whether this view is the position of the federal government.”

    He added that in Kiev "the words of Gabriel were received with bitterness and …

  • Estonia urges NATO to place Patriot anti-aircraft systems in the Baltic States

    Estonian news portal Delfi reported that Riho Terras, the Estonian Defense Forces Commander, stated that the Baltic countries need Patriot missile systems to deter Russia from attacking.

    He noted that insufficient air defense makes the Baltic region vulnurable to possible surprise attacks from Russia. According to Terras, NATO has the ability to increase the strength of the Air Force stationed in the region and form batteries of Patriot systems.

    "For our defense capability it is very …

  • Biden calls for the release of all Ukrainians held in Russian prisons

    During a phone call with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, US Vice President Joe Biden called for the release of all Ukrainian prisoners being held in Russia, according to a statement on the White House’s website.

    “The Vice President congratulated President Poroshenko on the release of Ukrainian pilot and Rada member Nadiya Savchenko and called for the release of all Ukrainians unlawfully detained in Russia,” the statement read.

    Nadiya Savchenko was released on Wednesday as part of a …