Russia will increase arms supplies to sub-Saharan Africa, reported the press service of Rosoboronexport, Russia’s national export agency for defense products.

“Contracts totalling $1.7 billion were signed in 2020-21, and the number of African customers rose to 17. The Russia-Africa forum, held in 2019, provided a boost for deliveries of Russian weapons to the region,” said Alexander Mikheev, CEO of Rosoboronexport.

“The deliveries to the region will include helicopter equipment, air defense …

U.S. President Joseph Biden held a phone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, reports Interfax-Ukraine.

According to the US President's National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan, during the conversation, Biden invited Zelensky to visit Washington this summer.

"He told President Zelensky that he looks forward to welcoming him to the White House here in Washington this summer after he returns from Europe," Sullivan said at a briefing.

Biden also assured Zelensky of …

NATO is concerned over increased cooperation between Russia and Belarus, said NATO’S Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg,

In an interview with the German weekly Welt am Sonntag, Stoltenberg said that NATO member states were "seriously concerned" about the close engagement between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko in recent months.

According to Stoltenberg, Belarus is becoming "increasingly dependent" on Russia.

He warned Moscow and Minsk against destabilizing the situation on …

Russian Space Agency, Roscosmos, cannot launch some satellites due to the lack of chips that Russia cannot obtain due to sanctions, said Roscosmos CEO Dmitry Rogozin.

"We have more than enough rockets, there is no doubt," Rogozin explained, speaking at a parliamentary hearing in the State Duma on the topic of Western sanctions and measures to minimize their impact on the Russian politics and economy.

According to him, the manufacturers have satellites, but they are missing one specific chip, …

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed federal law No. 158-Fz, providing for Russia's withdrawal from the Open Skies Treaty.

The law was passed by the Russian State Duma on May 19 and approved by the Russian Federation Council on June 2 this year. According to the law, Russia ceases to be a participant in the Treaty when the law comes into force.

The Kremlin said that the U.S. withdrawal from the Treaty, which took place in November 2020, was the reason for Russia terminating its …

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said that the Nord Stream 2 pipeline will be fully completed by the end of 2021, TASS reports.

According to Novak, the construction is proceeding according to schedule, and if there are no new obstacles, the pipeline can be put into operation by the end of 2021.

Novak's words were indirectly confirmed by the CEO of the Austrian energy company, OMV Group, Reiner Seele. Speaking at St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, he said that only 50 km …

Russian President Vladimir Putin does not fully understand why sanctions are being imposed on Russia and does not consider the situation in the Russian economy to be a disaster amid rising unemployment and falling real incomes of Russians.

"We do not impose any sanctions. We only respond somehow, only where it is possible, not to harm ourselves, not to shoot ourselves in the foot. And why the American partners are doing what they are doing so far remains a mystery in many respects," Putin said …

The first phase of the Nord Stream-2 pipeline has been completed, announced Russian President Vladimir Putin during a speech at St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

"I am pleased to report that today, two and a half hours ago, the laying of the pipes of the first line of the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline was successfully completed . Work on the second line continues. The construction in its entirety, including the maritime section, is finished," Putin said.

Earlier, the Russian Energy …