The former republics of the Soviet Union breached their agreements to give Russia their assets abroad, said Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday while meeting with the work group for drafting amendments to the constitution.

According to Putin, when the Soviet Union collapsed, Moscow undertook to repay the debts of all the former Soviet republics, in exchange for which they agreed to give Moscow their foreign property.

“The whole world was very happy” when Russia undertook to pay …

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has signed a decree which once again authorizes the Aerospace Forces to shoot down civilian aircraft that violate the country’s airspace.

The ban on using lethal force against passenger planes was introduced after the international scandal of 1983, when the Soviet Union Air Force shot down a South Korean Boeing 747 with 269 people on board.

In post-Soviet Russia, this ban has been enshrined in a government decree from 1994 titled “On the manner of …

Damascus and Ankara have both been amassing forces in Idlib, deploying reserves on the front line in the northwestern part of Syria. Heightened deployment activity was noted on February 22.

For the first time, the reinforcements dispatched by Ankara to the front line have included Leopard 2A4 battle tanks, the primary strike force of Turkey’s infantry. All of the battle tanks in this family are in the active army, which indicates their prominence in the Turkish Armed Forces.

According to the …

The Kremlin’s press service said on Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin has no plans to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss the situation in Syria's Idlib province, despite the Turkish leader's claims that such a meeting is likely.

Turkey's president said earlier that he is likely to meet Putin in Istanbul for talks on Idlib next week.

"At the moment, there is no such a meeting in President Putin's schedule for March 5. President Putin has other working …

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that a new summit in the Normandy Format can only take place after the decisions made at the previous summit have been implemented, especially the enshrinement of the “special status of the Donbas” in Ukrainian law, Interfax-Ukraine reports.

“I have not heard about a meeting of ministers in the Normandy Format being planned for one month’s time. Our colleagues are saying that another Normandy Format summit should be scheduled for as early as …

During the opening of the Age of Crimea 2020 forum, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Ukraine will have a new national date – the Day of Resistance to the Occupation of Crimea and Sevastopol.

The head of state noted that on this date six years ago, the largest gathering in support of the integrity and unity of Ukraine was held in Simferopol.

“In recognition of the bravery and heroism of all the rally’s participants, I am signing a decree today on the Day of Resistance to …

After missed Israeli strike on the Syrian capital, China called the Russian S-300 "Favorit" air defense missile system the most useless air defense system in the world. According to the Chinese newspaper Sina, contrary to Russia's statement that the S-300 can track even "stealth" fighters, for a year and a half S-300s have been beaten by Israel so much that these systems should not be trusted at all.

"Syria stated that after several Israeli missile strikes, Russian S-300, S-200, SA11 and …

The Wagner private military company (PMC) has withdrawn completely from Libya due to a truce between the Government of National Accord (GNA) and the Libyan National Army (LNA), InterRight reports.

A letter from one of the Russian mercenaries has been leaked online, and indicates that all of the Wagner PMC mercenaries who were in Libya have been sent home before the scheduled end of their trip. The source of the information boasts that he was already back in Russia by February 23 to celebrate …