The Russian weightlifting team was barred from participation in the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) announced on their website on Friday, 29 July.

The Executive Committee has carefully reviewed the decision regarding the participation of Russian weightlifters in the Rio Olympic Games, says the statement. In particular, it reviewed a report by an independent expert, Richard McLaren, who, at the request of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) had …

The President of Russia can appoint a new ambassador to Ukraine only after Senate approval.

The Presidential Envoy of the Volga Federal District, Mikhail Babich, is likely to become a new Russian Ambassador to Ukraine. His candidacy was supported by the Federation Council, RIA Novosti reported. According to Russian legislation, the President should consult with the members of the Federation Council and State Duma Deputies before appointing a new ambassador.

After already having gone on leave, …

The inclusion of annexed Crimea into the Southern Federal District means that the peninsula has lost its special status, which, in particular, included provisions that excluded the enlistment of Crimeans into the Russian army. Now Crimeans will be drafted in the same way as citizens of the Russian Federation. This opinion was expressed by the coordinator of a Crimean human rights group, Olga Skrypnyk, Krym.Realii reported.

Before Crimea was included in the Southern Federal District, there was …

Latvian Armed Forces detected a Russian military ship near the country’s borders on Friday.

This was reported on Twitter by the National Armed Forces of Latvia.

“On July 29 at a distance of 2.5 nautical miles from the border of Latvia, a Russian Steregushchy-class corvette Stoykiy was found,” the statement says.

Since the start of the conflict in Ukraine and the aggravation of relations between the West and Russia, Russian warships and aircraft have been detected increasingly often near the …

Ukrainian soldiers of the 80th Airborne Assault Brigade will participate in NATO’s Flaming Thunder 2016 exercises in Lithuania, Evropeyskaya Pravda reported, citing the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense.

The annual Lithuanian-led live-fire exercise, which focuses on artillery and mortar fire training, will be held near Pabradė and will last from August 1st to 12th.

Military personnel from the US, Germany, Belgium, Latvia, Lithuania, and Portugal will also participate in the exercises.

“In two …

The Russian Foreign Ministry has stated that it is not attempting to carry out an assault on Aleppo under the guise of a humanitarian operation, RBC reported.

Washington has suggested that Russia could be preparing an assault on Aleppo by creating three humanitarian passages for civilians wanting to flee rebel-held eastern districts of the city.

"It has the risk, if it is a ruse, of completely breaking apart the level of cooperation," US Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters.

"On the …

Exports of Ukrainian IT services, particularly software development made more than $2 billion in 2015, making IT the third largest export in the country, as reported by Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration of Ukraine on Administrative, Social and Economic Reforms, Dmytro Shymkiv, UKRINFORM reports.

"Few people are talking about it, but in 2015, the export of IT services, in particular software from Ukraine, was $2 billion, which made this the third largest export," Shymkiv said.

He …

According to information posted on the state procurements website, the Russian Defense Ministry has announced a tender offer for the development of "Paritet,” a sophisticated tracking system that will track missiles will collect data on general characteristics of U.S. missile tests. This system will help to justify claims that the United States violates the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) during strategic weapons tests.

The tender offer was posted on July 26th. The year 2016 will mark …