According to Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart, Petro Poroshenko, have talked on the phone, but have not discussed the question of the a cease-fire in Avdiivka, as reported by Russia's TASS news agency.

"It is a fact that the cease-fire in Avdiivka was not discussed. What took place was an exchange of views and expression of mutual concerns at the escalation of the tension, " said Peskov.

Earlier on Thursday the media, citing …

Nearly 3,000 servicemen in the Crimea and North Caucus were called up on Thursday snap combat readiness inspection, the press-service of the Southern Military District, Russia's TASS news agency reported.

“Today in accordance with a decision by the Commander of Russia's Southern Military District Colonel-General Alexander Dvornikov for the purpose of a snap combat readiness inspection a number of units from Karachay-Cherkessia, Chechnya, Dagestan, and the Crimea were raised up on alert," the …

Russia and pro-Russian separatists in the Donbas have strengthened their position along the contact line, partially through the use of heavy weapons that had previously been kept in storage facilities.

The Chargé d'Affaires at the US Mission to the OSCE, Kate Byrnes, announced the development on Thursday during a meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna, according to Ukrinform.

"Russia regularly attempts to convince the Permanent Council that it bears no responsibility for the conflict …

The Swedish Government has decided to bring back its compulsory military draft, which was canceled in 2010. This was stated by the press-secretary of the country's Defense Ministry, Marinette Nyh Radebo, according to the BBC. One of the reasons for this decision is "Russian military activity."

Starting on January 1, 2018, about four thousand young men and women will be called up for service. They will be chosen from a pool of thirteen thousand people born in 1999 who will then be offered …

Vitaliy Kiselev, former deputy head of the Luhansk People’s Militia, known by his call sign “the Communist”, one of the accused for the attempted coup in the so-called “republic”, was killed during interrogation, Gazeta.ru reports.

The general public remembers Kiselev because of the old cap with a star which soviet officers wore during the Great Patriotic War. He was seen frequently in front of cameras with this headgear.

The local prosecutor accused Kiselev and a number of other persons in …

The Supreme Court of Transnistria approved the first reading of a government initiative in which the Russian Federation flag will be viewed as having the same status as the national flag of the country, reported the Parliamentary newspaper.

According to the bill, the Russian flag will be flown on all governmental buildings along with the national flag.

The authors of this initiative feel that this move will strengthen the statehood of the republic and mark a new stage of integration with …

Leonid Kravchuk, the first president of Ukraine, spoke about losses that have happened during Ukrainian confrontations with Russia, which, according to him, have continued for over three centuries. He expressed his views during an interview with Channel 112 Ukraine.

"If we talk about cultural and spiritual warfare, then it began during the time of the Pereyaslav Council; during which we, in fact, lost the Ukrainian Church and Ukrainian power. It is necessary to know history since it continues [ …

The repressions will continue in the annexed Crimea because that is the way the Kremlin maintains its hold on power in the peninsula. This was said by the People's Deputy of Ukraine, leader of the Crimean Tatar people, Mustafa Dzhemilev in an interview with Focus magazine, published on March 1.

"The basic strategy of Moscow is not just to punish those who have committed a “crime” but to intimidate the whole community; they quickly find grounds for oppression afterwards. Under the free …