Spring Storm 2017, a set of large-scale military exercises involving several NATO countries kicked off in Estonia with the participation of almost nine thousand troops.

"About 2.3 thousand foreign servicemen from 13 countries will take part in large-scale NATO exercises Kevadtorm-2017 (Spring Storm 2017) together with the Estonian military. In total, almost 9 thousand military servicemen will be involved from May 8 to May 26," the message of the General Staff of the Defense Forces of the …

President Vladimir Putin visited and congratulated his former boss from the State Security Committee of the USSR (KGB), Lazar Matveyev, under whom Putin worked in Dresden in the Ministry of State Security of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) in the second half of the 1980s, RIA Novosti reported.

Putin personally went to visit Matveyev, who lives in the Zhulebino District of Moscow, and congratulated him on his 90th birthday.

The president visited Matveyev with two of his former colleagues …

The ships of the Baltic Fleet which entered the Neva River on May 3 and left it three days later never returned, Fontanka news outlet reports. There will be no naval parade. The Victory parade in Saint Petersburg will involve only a show of equipment, aviation and personnel at the Palace Square.

The dispatcher of the Port Saint Petersburg announced that the military command has not submitted a request for passage on the night of May 9. “No participation of ships in the parade on the Neva is …

During his visit to the United States, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will meet with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

This was reported in a press release by the U.S. State Department.

According to the State Department, the meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 10th. The two will talk about Ukraine, Syria, and bilateral relations.

The main topic on the agenda will be the war in Syria, said the U.S. State Department on Monday, May 8th.

Tillerson intends to discuss with his …

On May 7th, the International Strong Europe Tank Challenge began, as the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported on Facebook.

These competitions, jointly organized by the command of the US Army in Europe and the German Army, are held for the second year in a row at the German Grafenwoehr Training Area. Tankmen from six countries will compete for victory this year: the USA, Germany, France, Poland, Austria, and Ukraine.

On Monday, May 8th, the first stage of the competition …

Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan warned Saudi Arabia that Tehran will leave only the Islamic sacred places Mecca and Medina untouched if Riyadh acts thoughtlessly, news agency Tasnim reported, citing the Lebanese TV channel “Al Manar”.

“We advise them (Saudi Arabia) not to do anything foolish. However, if they do something thoughtless, we will not leave even one place (in Saudi Arabia) intact except Mecca and Medina,” Dehghan said, cited by the Iranian news outlet Tasnim.

The Iranian …

Estonian border guards will destroy beaver dams along the rivers and streams bordering on Russia because these constructions facilitate the transit of smugglers, ERR reports.

Beaver dams are located in Southeastern Estonia on the Pededze and Piusa rivers, as well as on some small streams. A tender has already been announced to find a contractor for the task.

It would be necessary to cut the trees lying on Russian territory along the border line. However, the contractor's challenge is to avoid …

Construction of the TurkStream gas pipeline has begun in the Black Sea near the Russian coast, reports Interfax, citing a statement from Gazprom.

The pipeline is being laid by Allseas’ ship Audacia, which is contracted to lay both legs of the offshore gas pipeline. Audacia will subsequently pull the pipes from the shore through microtunnels.

In the deeper parts of the Black Sea, the pipelaying vessel Pioneering Spirit will lay the TurkStream pipeline.

“The project is implemented strictly …