• Russia conducts naval exercises in the Black Sea

    The military ships of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet carried out exercises and drills at naval training facilities, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on May 14.

    “The crew of the anti-submarine ship Muromets practiced searching for and monitoring a submarine. The diesel-electric submarine Stary Oskol acted as the hypothetical enemy, monitoring the anti-submarine vessel and performing a strike-avoiding maneuver. This newest submarine, acting as a rescue craft and supported by Epron rescue ship, …

  • US drone conducts reconnaissance over the Donbas

    On Sunday, May 14, the US Air Force RQ-4A Global Hawk, a strategic unmanned aerial vehicle or UAV made a 10-hour reconnaissance flight along the line of demarcation in the Donbas, as evidenced by the data of Western websites monitoring the movement of military aircraft.

    According to their information, a heavy US drone with call sign UAVGH000, which departed from US Naval Air Station Sigonella in Sicily, cruised for a day along the line of demarcation from north to south, collecting …

  • Foreign Minister of Ukraine: The U.S. is ready to exert pressure on Russia to settle the situation in the Donbas

    After a meeting with US President Donald Tramp on May 10, the head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Pavlo Klimkin, said that "there are very interesting ideas" but first they must be coordinated with all partners.

    Klimkin argues that regarding the process of settling the situation in the Donbas, the United States is ready to exert pressure on Russia. "One of the main political signals is a real desire to join the pressure on Russia. There are very interesting ideas, but I can only speak …

  • Poroshenko describes his last conversation with Putin

    Ukrainian leader Petro Poroshenko said that he spoke on the phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the arrest of Roman Sushchenko. The Ukrinform journalist is accused of espionage by the Russian authorities.

    “My last phone call with Putin had to do with Ukrainian citizens who are being held in Russian prisons. In particular, we spoke about the release of Roman Sushchenko… As a result of these negotiations, it was arranged for Roman’s family to meet with him in the prison,” …

  • Ukraine investigating more than 60 cases of human rights violations in the Crimea

    The Prosecutor General’s Office of the Autonomous Republic of the Crimea located in Kyiv has initiated more than 60 criminal cases of human rights violations in the annexed Crimea, in which the injured parties are more than 150 citizens.

    Prosecutor Hyunduz Mamedov of the Autonomous Republic of the Crimea (ARC) reported this in a broadcast on radio Krym.realii.

    “We are not leaving these facts unattended. The Prosecutor General’s Office of the ARC is currently carrying out the procedural …

  • Russia denies the Pentagon’s report that the North Korean missile fell close to its borders

    The missile launched by North Korea on Sunday night landed 500 kilometers from the territory of Russia, as state by the Russian Ministry of Defense.

    "The ballistic target was followed by a missile warning system for 23 minutes of its flight before the fall into the central part of the Sea of Japan (about 500 km from the territory of Russia)," the statement of the Russian Ministry of Defense reads.

    The Ministry states that the trajectory of the North Korean missile was not in the direction of …

  • 63 percent of Georgians said Russia is the biggest threat to their country

    In a poll published by the National Democratic Institute, 63% of Georgians consider Russia to be the biggest threat to their country, Georgia Online reports.

    "When asked which country poses the greatest threat to Georgia, 63% of the population named Russia while 6% chose Turkey and 5% said the United States of America," the report said.

    When asked which country would best ensure Georgia’s security, 35% answered the United States while 12% said Georgia itself and 10% believed Russia would be …

  • Media: Egypt does not allow Russian aviation security into its airports

    Flights between Russia and Egypt were postponed indefinitely after the Egyptian government refused to allow Russian aviation security personnel into its airports, Interfax news agency reported, citing a source familiar with the situation.

    "The Egyptians no longer demonstrate their readiness to seek a compromise regarding the presence of Russian aviation security specialists at local airports," the source said. According to him, Egypt said that it has "the ability to provide security on its own, …

  • Russia puts its air defense systems into a state of high readiness following North Korea’s missile launch

    The air-defense systems in the Far East region of Russia have been placed into a state of  high readiness  following North Korea’s missile launch. While Russia understands that it is not the target of the launch, it must protect itself from possible incidents, stated the Chairman of the Defense and Security Committee of the Russian Federation Council, Victor Ozerov, RIA Novosti news agency reports.

    On Sunday, North Korea fired a missile from its launch site near its border with China, in the …

  • S&P: Ukraine to pay $20 billion of state debt by 2020

    According to the assessment of experts from Standar & Poor’s, Ukraine must pay $20 billion of state debt by 2020.

    The agency notes that the large payments of the principal debt and interest on it in 2017-2020, amounting to more than $20 billion (nearly 21% of the GDP in 2017) is the primary negative rating factor for Ukraine.

    “We expect Ukraine to completely fulfill its short-term obligations regarding sovereign debt in 2017 ($2.7 billion) and in 2018 ($3.9 billion), taking into account the …