• Russian military attaché expelled from Belarus for espionage

    Russian military attaché  Roman Spiridonov was expelled from Belarus for espionage, reports sprotyv.info news outlet.

    The publication writes that Roman Spiridonov "is not a diplomat at all." His main task is intelligence activities.

    "However, he doesn't carry out his functions professionally, because his track record already has a high-profile failure – his expulsion from France, also on charges of espionage," the newspaper writes.

    This is not the first incident this year, connected to the …

  • Western banks refuse to connect to Russia’s SWIFT alternative

    Major western banks have shown absolutely no interest in Russia’s alternative to the SWIFT payment system, which Russia created in 2016 after a sharp deterioration in its relations with the West, reports finanz.ru news outlet.

    In the three years that the Bank of Russia’s System for Transfer of Financial Messages (SPFS) has existed, only eight foreign entities have connected to it, said Alla Bakina, director of the Bank of Russia’s national payment system, on Wednesday.

    Of these, only three …

  • Putin: foreign countries attempted to prevent Russia's military operation in Syria

    Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the plenary session of the Valdai Discussion Club that some foreign partners tried to prevent the beginning of the Russian military operation in Syria.

    "Some foreign partners, with whom we work in the international arena, tried to interfere, and to impede[the operations of the Russian Armed Forces]," said Putin.

    The Russian President recalled that the decision to start the operation was made in 2015 and was discussed at the session of the Valdai Club. …

  • Russia helps China create missile strike warning system

    Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia has been helping China to create a missile strike warning system,reports RBC news agency.

    “Perhaps I won’t reveal to you the big secret, but it will still become clear. We are currently helping our Chinese partners to create a missile strike warning system. It’s a very serious thing, which will fundamentally enhance China’s defensive capability. Because at present, only the US and Russia have such a system,” the president said during a session …

  • Major leak at Russia’s largest bank: data of millions of customers leaked online

    Sberbank is investigating the leakage of customers' data to the Internet, the bank reported in a press release. The bank claims that it is studying the authenticity of the data that was put for sale on the Internet.

    The report says there's no possibility for the outside hacking, so data was leaked by one of the employees. Also, Sberbank's representatives assured that there is no threat to the clients.

    Russian newspaper Kommersant got access to a fragment of the database. The publication …

  • Putin fires Russia’s ‘chief jailer’

    Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree to dismiss a number of senior security forces personnel. One of them is Colonel-General Gennady Kornienko, Director of Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service.

    The Russian media reports that his dismissal is linked to his reaching the age limit for service – 65.

    In actual fact, Kornienko has not led the department since the start of September. He reportedly went on holiday on September 2, appointing his first deputy Anatoly Rudy as acting …

  • US State Department approves sale of another batch of Javelin anti-tank systems to Ukraine

    Ukraine may receive a new batch of portable anti-tank Javelin missile systems. This decision was made by the US State Department, reports the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA).

    The Department has decided to sell one hundred fifty Javelin missiles and related equipment for $39.3 million. Ukrainian authorities requested to buy 150 Javelin missiles and ten Command Launch Units (CLUs), report the DSCA.

    The Agency added that "the proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter …

  • Czech Republic identifies Russians linked to attempted coup in Montenegro

    Journalists from the Czech news outlet Denik N have spoken to several Russian citizens linked to the Czech company Sofbiz, which transferred half a million euros to the organizers of a failed coup attempt in Montenegro in October 2016. According to the investigation carried out by the Montenegrin authorities, these funds were intended as payment for the assassination of then Prime Minister and current President of Montenegro Milo Dukanovic.

    Sofbiz was established in the Czech Republic as a …

  • Zelensky: All of Ukraine will participate in writing of Donbas special status law

    The Ukrainian government will work alongside “the whole community of Ukraine” as it writes the new law on the special status of the Donbas, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a video message published by Radio LIberty.

    “There will be a new law. Will we draft it ourselves and pass it quickly? No. We will write it together, in cooperation and public discussion with the whole community of Ukraine, without crossing a single red line. So, there is no capitulation, no surrendering of …

  • Russian lawmakers admit that 2018 GDP growth figures were falsified

    No confirmation can be found for the 6-year record economic growth reported by the Russian Ministry of Economic Development and the Federal Statistics Service (Rosstat) last year, said Andrey Makarov, head of the State Duma taxes and budget committee, during a session of parliament on Friday.

    Instead of a 2.3% GDP growth, a figure that Rosstat plucked “like a rabbit from a hat”, Makarov said that three weeks after a change of management “completely different figures” are being arrived at.

    He …