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The President of the International Olympic Committee announced new sanctions against Russia
In his New Year’s address, the President of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, announced new sanctions against Russia. Bach also presented the measures that will be taken on the basis of the results of McLaren’s report on the use of doping in the Russian Federation. The President of the IOC called this report shocking.
According to him, two specially created Commissions, which will give all parties the right to express their positions, will prepare a response of the …
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Pro-Russian separatist leader says his battalion suffered heavy losses in 2016
The founder of the separatist Vostok battalion, Alexander Khodakovsky, stated during an internet conference that the Vostok battalion suffered heavy losses in 2016, as 200 people were killed and 300 were injured.
“We have officially acknowledged that 200 people were killed and 300 were injured in 2016 and that is almost 70% of the casualty toll that we suffered during the 2014-2015 war period. The year of 2016 has been a year of a very confusing truce that has led the Vostok battalion to [ …
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Board member of Davos World Economic Forum: Europe must reset relations with Russia
Philipp Rösler, a Managing Director of the World Economic Forum in Davos who was formerly the German Vice Chancellor and Minister of Economy, said that Europe must improve its relations with Russia.
In an interview with the German newspaper Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung, Rösler said that "in the current desperate situation" it is necessary for the EU to reboot its relations with Russia. According to him, welfare in Europe is only possible when there is unity. Therefore, both sides should send the …
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Trump again dismisses allegations that Russia was behind Democratic Party hacks
US President-elect Donald Trump once again dismissed allegations that Russia was behind the cyberattacks against the Democratic Party in the lead up to the presidential election, Reuters reported.
Speaking to reporters while entering a New Year’s Eve celebration at his Mar-a-Lago estate, Trump stated, "I think it's unfair if we don't know. It could be somebody else [who hacked the Democratic Party]. I also know things that other people don't know so we cannot be sure," Trump said.
When a …
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Syrian opposition will consider ceasefire invalid if government troops continue attacks
The moderate Syrian opposition has threatened to recognize the ceasefire agreement as invalid if the Syrian government continues to attack areas controlled by the opposition, Reuters reported.
According to representatives of the opposition, in some regions of the country, clashes and air strikes continued on Friday.
"The continuing violation [of the ceasefire] by the regime [Bashar al-Assad], bombings and attempts to attack areas controlled by the revolutionary factions will make the …
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Lithuania is considering purchasing combat helicopters
The purchase of combat helicopters for the armed forces is being discussed in Lithuania, as was stated by Lithuanian Defense Minister, Raimundas Karoblis, 15min.lt reports.
"The discussions are ongoing. We have to admit that, as with the Land Forces, we have some gaps in the Special Operation Forces as well," Karoblis said.
At present, Lithuania has no combat helicopters. The Lithuanian Army has only five helicopters available: three AS365 helicopters and two Mi-8T’s. All of the Dauphin …
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Herashchenko: I do not consider Kissinger’s and Pinchuk’s ideas about the Crimea realistic
The First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, and Ukraine's representative to the humanitarian subgroup of the Trilateral Contact Group, Iryna Herashchenko, has criticized a proposal by the a former U.S. Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger and Ukrainian oligarch, Victor Pinchuk, about the "exchange of the Crimea for the Donbas."
"Colleagues have asked about my attitude towards Henry Kissinger’s position on exchanging the Crimea for the Donbas. With all due respect to Henry Kissinger’s …
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Canada may minimize military assistance for Ukraine
The Canadian government may suspend some military assistance programs for Ukraine, as was stated by a deputy of the Federal Parliament, James Bezan, Ukrinform news agency reports.
According to the deputy, military assistance can be considered as "too provocative" towards Russia.
"The Ukrainian community in Canada, of which I am a member, is concerned about the restoration of relations with Russia. Minister Stéphane Dion says that he wants to hold a direct dialogue with Putin and Lavrov," the …
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Turkey will provide Ukraine with money for the purchase of military goods
On December 30th, Ukraine and Turkey signed an agreement for a military-financial cooperation.
"The agreement assumes the allocation of 3 million dollars annually for 5 years. The money, allocated by the Turkish side will be used for the acquisition of Turkish military and dual-use goods for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine," the report of the Ukrainian Embassy in Turkey read.
In July, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense publically released data about the logistical and humanitarian …
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As head of the OSCE, Austria will seek to ease the sanctions against Russia
Austria intends to take advantage of the chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in order to ease the European Union’s sanctions against Russia. "We must restore trust in Europe, and transform the sanctions from a system of punishment to a system of incentives," the Foreign Minister of Austria, Sebastian Kurz, said in an interview with Der Spiegel, excerpts of which were published on the website of the edition on Friday, December 30th.
Since the beginning …