• US sends Navy strike group with aircraft carrier to Mediterranean Sea

    Headed by the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier, a U.S. Navy strike group will depart from Norfolk, Virginia on April 11 and head to the Mediterranean for deployment in the Middle East and off the coast of Europe. This is the first combat mission of the aircraft carrier after undergoing ten months of repairs, reports the military newspaper Stars and Stripes.

    In addition to the aircraft carrier, the strike group includes the USS Normandy guided-missile cruiser, and the destroyers USS Arleigh …

  • Russia blocks UN Security Council resolution on chemical attack in Syria

    Russia blocked a draft resolution that was introduced in the UN Security Council by the United States regarding the establishment of a new mechanism for investigating chemical attacks in Syria.

    12 members of the Council voted for the resolution, and Russia and Bolivia voted against it. China abstained from voting.

    Vasily Nebenzya, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the Security Council, said that with the new U.S. resolution “they are trying to revive a joint investigation mechanism that ‘ …

  • Erdogan confirms that Turkey will go ahead with purchase of S-400 air defense systems from Russia

    President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan confirmed that Turkey will purchase Russian S-400 Triumph anti-aircraft missile systems, despite the new sanctions against the Russian Federation, RIA Novosti reports.

     “The S-400 topic worries some. Why? Turkey itself decides its fate. We will do what is profitable for the country,” stated Erdoğan.

    According to him, Turkey “should not need permission” to sign agreements.

    Turkey and Russia signed an agreement on the delivery of Turkey’s S-400 systems in …

  • Putin gives awards to two American generals

    Russian President Vladimir Putin has awarded the Russian Order of Friendship to two American generals "for their great contribution to the development of cooperation in the field of cosmonautics." A corresponding decree has been published on Russia’s official Internet portal for legal information.

    The Russian Order of Friendship was awarded to retired American Infantry Major-General Charles Frank Bolden, who participated in four space flights, totaling a duration of 28 days, between 1986 and 19 …

  • Kremlin intends to support Russian companies that fell under US sanctions

    At a governmental meeting with his deputies, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev called the new sanctions imposed by the U.S. Department of Treasury “unpleasant protectionism” against Russian companies and businessmen, The Insider news outlet reports. “Friday’s sanctions against our country are, no doubt, another manifestation of the protectionist policy only dressed up as sanctions,” Medvedev said.

    The PM stated that Russia considers the new sanctions unacceptable and unlawful, as they go …

  • Israeli general: Israel struck Syrian airbase to prevent consolidation of Iranian forces in the region

    Retired Israeli Air Force commander Eitan Ben-Eliyahu indirectly acknowledged that Israeli fighters caused the air strike on the Tifor (T-4) Airbase in the Syrian province of Homs, as Washington had no reason to hide the fact of the attack and had too little time to prepare the strike.

    In an interview with the newspaper Maariv, the general said that he had no doubt about the connection between "this attack and the use of poisonous substances in the city of Douma." He also added that Israel is …

  • Turkey ready to send peacekeepers to Donbas

    President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko discussed with the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Foreign Minister of Turkey Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu the situation in the Donbas, expounding on the idea of introducing the UN peacekeeping mission to the region.

    "President Petro Poroshenko informed Turkey about the situation in the Donbas. In addition, an exchange of views took place on the situation in the Crimea occupied by Russia. They discussed the release of Ukrainian political prisoners from …

  • Putin and Merkel speak about Nord Stream 2

    Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel confirmed during a telephone conversation the positions of Russia and Germany regarding the implementation of Nord Stream 2, the press service of the Kremlin reports.

    "The position of Russia and Germany on the implementation of a major, mutually beneficial project in the gas sector, Nord Stream 2" was confirmed.

    The Kremlin also noted that Putin and Merkel stressed the necessity of continuing efforts to ensure the exchange …

  • Ukraine is invited to the G7 Foreign Ministers meeting for the first time

    The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine was invited for the first time to attend the meeting of the Heads of Foreign Affairs Ministries of the G7 countries, which will begin in Toronto on April 22, Ukrainian Ambassador to Canada Andriy Shevchenko informed Ukrainian internet newspaper Evropeyska Pravda.

    According to Shevchenko, for the first time in its history, Ukraine will be present at a full-fledged, planned event of the G7 member states.

    "The time has come for serious, strategic …

  • Russian Su-27SM disintegrates in the air during tests

    Part of the tail came off the latest Russian Su-27SM fighter during flight tests in winter last year.

    The incident took place in the middle of December last year, but only came to light recently.

    As reported by the Telegram channel “Mash”, the plane was being flown by Kitaev, an experienced test pilot, who was supposed to test the strength of the fighter and push it to its top speed.

    As the aircraft’s speed approached its limit, Kitaev heard a loud bang and felt a sharp jerk in the hull. In …