The Russian Ministry of Defense began the final inspection after the winter training session of the coastal troops and naval aviation of the Black Sea Fleet. As a part of the command and staff exercises of the fleet, artillery units fired at the hypothetical gun posts on the coast of the Opuk training ground in the annexed Crimea. For this exercise Grad multiple launch rocket systems, self-propelled artillery systems, and towed howitzers were used. Also, the Forpost system of unmanned aerial …

A British battalion of NATO troops has arrived at a military base in the Estonian town of Tapa, a hundred kilometers from the Russian border, reports Russian service of BBC.

As part of the strengthening of the "Russian" flank of NATO, 800 British and 200 French soldiers have been deployed in Tapa. This is one of four NATO battalions stationed in the Baltic countries and Poland.

In speeches at the ceremony, Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid as well as the Defense Ministers of Estonia and …

On April 19, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree calling Russian citizens in reserve to two month service duty in 2017.

The decree was published on Thursday on the Garant legal information portal.

Putin decreed to “call up in 2017 Russian citizens who are in reserve, to carry out military service for a period up to two months in the Russian Armed Forces, in the national defense bodies and the Federal Security Service bodies”.

Two other sections of this decree are classified “for …

The Supreme Court of Russia has declared Jehovah’s Witnesses an extremist organization and determined that it be liquidated, as reported by Russia’s Interfax news agency.

The organization’s property will be turned over for use by the state. A representative of Jehovah’s Witnesses said that the decision of the Russian Supreme Court will be appealed to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

The lawsuit against the organization was filed on March 15th by the Ministry of Justice. The office …

Russian military adviser Major Sergey Bordov was killed in Syria as a result of an attack by militants on a military garrison of government troops. This was reported by Interfax, citing the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.

The serviceman was part of a group of Russian military advisers who were training a unit of Syrian troops. “When the militants attacked, the Russian officer directed the Syrian soldiers, not allowing the terrorists to enter the residential area. During the …

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko commented on a recent phone call in the “Normandy Format”. According to him, while talking to Russian President Vladimir Putin, he was once again convinced that the Kremlin does not need peace, but control.

He mentioned this during a speech at the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House) in London.

“The Russians are not interested in achieving peace. They are interested in gaining control. I felt it again on Monday, when, together with …

A new battalion of military police from Chechnya has been sent to Syria to replace Chechen servicemen who have returned from the Middle East. This was stated by Ramzan Kadyrov, head of the Chechen Republic, in an interview on the RT television channel.

According to him, servicemen who already have experience in counter-terrorist activities are sent to Syria. The Chechen soldiers will be sent to Syria on a rotational basis. “The battalions will replace each other every two to three months,” he …

On April 25 and 26, the Ramstein Alloy NATO Air Exercise will be held in Baltic airspace, predominantly over Lithuania. This was reported by the website of NATO air force command.

The exercises will be attended by Dutch and German fighters who take part in the NATO air patrol mission of the Baltic States, aircraft from Poland and Norway, as well as transport aircraft from Lithuania, the USA and NATO’s Airborne Warning and Control System or AWACS air reconnaissance aircraft.

The exercise …