The Japanese government has expressed regret over Russia's missile exercises on the South Kuril island of Iturup, reported the Japanese newspaper Yomiuri.

After Russia notified Japan of the missile tests, Japan sent a corresponding statement expressing its regret through the Japanese Embassy in Moscow to the Russian authorities. Russia quickly dismissed Japan’s allegations. Japanese authorities also warned shipping companies and fishermen about the Russian exercises in the area.

On June 11, …

Renowned ship-spotter and international affairs consultant Yörük Işık reported on twitter that two missile corvettes from the Russian Navy’s Caspian Flotilla entered the Mediterranean Sea.

The report identified the ships as two Buyan M-class corvettes, the Veliky Ustyug 651 and the Grad Sviyazhsk 652, both armed with SS-N-30 Kalibr land attack cruise missiles. The ships passed through the Bosporus, bound for the Mediterranean.

Işık noted that the ships were likely headed to a Russian military …

Europe continues to cut back on its oil purchases from Russia due to the dropping quality of the Urals variety.

At the end of January-May, shipments to the EU through the primary ports of export fell by double-digit figures, Transneft vice president Sergey Andronov told Vedomosti.

European clients bought 24% less from Primorsk than last year (16.1 million tons). Shipments out of Novorossiysk fell by 17% (to 7.7 million tons), and shipments from Ust-Luga by 26%.

Only the export volumes to …

Another Russian pipeline to Asia, announced by billionaire and major Gazprom contractor Gennady Timchenko in May, will pass through North Korea.

Gazprom, which is already engaged in the construction of gas pipelines to Turkey, the EU and China with a total cost of $25 billion, is negotiating a new construction project with South Korea, Gazprom deputy chairman Vitaly Markelov announced on Friday.

The project in question was mentioned in a memorandum with the South Korean company Cogas in 2008, …

Tensions between Russian and Iranian forces have started to spread to the Syrian army.

Russia, which wants members of Hezbollah and Iranian troops to withdraw from the Golan Heights, is not happy with the fact that not all have left the area, reports the blog bmpd.

It has been noted that some Shiite units have begun wearing Syrian army uniforms and have continued the hostilities. Specifically, they have donned the uniforms of the 4th Panzer Division, which is under the command of Maher Assad, …

Warplanes of the U.S.-led coalition have again struck the forces of Bashar Assad, reported the Syrian state agency SANA, citing military sources.

According to SANA, the planes that carried out the attack belonged to the U.S. Air Force. The attack took place in an area that is southeast of the city of Abu Kamal. This city is located on the Euphrates River in the province of Deir ez-Zor, near the border with Iraq.

The news agency reported that several people were killed in the air strike and …

The Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) has sent a letter to Internet providers requiring the blocking of 181 websites on the country’s territory. Strana, which has obtained a copy of the corresponding official document, has reported on this.

The list includes websites from the self-proclaimed DPR and LPR, web pages created for the Crimean authorities, many Russian news agencies, and all sub-domains of the payment service Webmoney. It also includes the largest Russian information site, ria.ru ( …

Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska’s company, UC Rusal, requested through Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to reduce costs for transportation of raw materials and finished products by rail, the Kommersant newspaper reports.  

According to the sources cited in the newspaper, Rusal asked to reduce tariffs of the Russian Railways company for transportation of raw materials and products, which was estimated by the company to be worth around 24 billion rubles (380 million dollars) from July 1. …