Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed 12 high-ranking officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Investigative Committee and the Ministry of Emergency Situations (EMERCOM).

As reported on the official information portal, those who lost their positions include Vladimir Artamonov, deputy minister of civil defense and emergency situations, and Rim Gabluddin, colonel of justice and first deputy head of the Russian Investigative Committee for the Republic of Bashkortostan. Yuriy …

Russia has proposed the creation of four zones to reduce tension in Syria: in the Idlib province, north of the city of Homs, in East Ghouta, and in the south of the country. This was reported by RIA Novosti, citing a source in the Syrian opposition.

“Security lines (lines of demarcation) will be created along the entire length of the boundaries of the zones to reduce tension in order to avoid coming into direct contact with fire between the different sides of the Syrian crisis,” said a …

South Korea only needs to provide the land for the deployment of the American THAAD missile defense system, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing sources in the South Korean military.

U.S. National Security Advisor Herbert McMaster, in a telephone conversation with his South Korean counterpart, confirmed that Seoul will not incur expenses in connection with the deployment of THAAD.

Earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump said that he wanted South Korea to pay one billion dollars for the THAAD …

Polish authorities reported on April 30th that they have arrested an Austrian suspected of committing war crimes in eastern Ukraine, as reported by Radio Liberty.

According to the Polish Border Guard, a 25-year-old man was detained at the Dorohusk Polish border checkpoint three days ago as he tried to cross the border into Ukraine. Austria is now requiring him to be extradited.

The detainee, the Polish border guards indicate, is suspected of "killing the wounded and prisoners," which is a war …

Former pro-Russian separatist commander Igor Girkin, also known as Strelkov, wrote on his page in Vkontakte social network regarding French Presidential Candidate Marine Le Pen. He claimed that in 2013, Le Pen visited the office of businessman Konstantin Malofeev, who became known in 2014 in connection with the war in the Donbas.

"They ask about my attitude towards Marine Le Pen, her chances of winning, etc. What to say? I saw her once, when she visited Malofeev's office in 2013. But I did not …

A new dam on the north Crimean canal has shut off water flow to the annexed Crimea. The stationary concrete dam was constructed on the border of mainland Ukraine with the annexed peninsula, the TSN news program reports. The water saved from the Kakhovka Reservoir is meant to irrigate the southern Kherson region.

If the canal is closed off several dozens of kilometers from the administrative border, where the last stationary dam is, the farms further south would be under threat of drought. For …

On April 30, TASS wrote that Latvia would purchase second-hand, 120mm mortars from Austria. This was reported by the local news agency LETA with reference to the Minister of Defense of the Republic Raimonds Bergmanis.

"The number of mortars to be purchased was not specified by the Ministry of Defense, however it was noted that their delivery is provided for by a bilateral agreement between the Latvian Defense Ministry and the Austrian Ministry of Defense and Sports for the supply of self- …

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced a possible expansion of Resolute Support mission within NATO. He spoke about this in an interview with the newspaper Welt am Sonntag published on Sunday, April 30. According to him, some members of the alliance advocate that the mission should be extended not once a year, as now, but once every few years. It is expected that the final decision on these issues will be made in June.

Mission "Resolute Support" started in early 2015, replacing a 13- …