On the 27th of December, the Dorogomilovsky Court of Moscow recognized the events of February 2014 in Ukraine as a coup. According to the court, the cessation of human rights in the country resulted in a coup d’état. As a result, the residents of the Crimea held a referendum to reunify with the Russian Federation, due to their spiritual origins, inextricable relationship with Russia, and alienation from Ukraine, Russia's Interfax news agency reported.

The former Deputy of the Verkhovna Rada, …

A Russian writer, who supports the activity of the Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics, Natalya Makeeva, stated that about 2,000 Russians are being held in a Donetsk detention facility. It is reported that they came to the Donbas in 2014 to join the illegally armed groups. According to Makeeva, she deals with issues related to prisoners of war in separatist-controlled areas and the territory controlled by Ukrainian Government.

Natalya Makeeva claims that the detained Russians came to the …

The European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy, Miguel Arias Cañete, stated that the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline project should be stopped, EUobserver reported. According to Cañete, the European Commission failed to prevent the construction of the gas pipeline on legal grounds. Miguel Arias Cañete noted that there is no reason to develop infrastructure for fossil fuels, when the European Union strives to switch to renewable energy after 2050.

In September, a group of European gas …

The Russian Embassy in Damascus has come under mortar fire, as reported by Russia’s RIA news agency citing the Press Service of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“One shell, which luckily didn’t explode, fell into one of the courtyards of the embassy’s compound. The second one fell in the close proximity to the embassy’s walls. Demining specialists had to be called in to neutralize the unexploded shells,” the Ministry of Foreign affairs stated.

The Ministry notes that the incident …

Two Members of the US Senate Armed Services Committee, John McCain and Lindsey Graham, will visit Ukraine on December 30th and 31st, Interfax-Ukraine reported.

The two Republican Senators will also visit Latvia, Lithuania, Georgia, and Montenegro.

Speaking in Estonia on Tuesday, McCain said US-NATO relations will not change once Donald Trump is sworn in as president.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry that supplying the armed opposition with man-portable air defense systems might lead to an exacerbation of the situation in Syria.

Lavrov noted, "the permission to supply the anti-government units with arms, including MANPADS,” which was included into United States Defense Bill, "may lead to further escalation of tensions and more casualties."

Kerry and Lavrov discussed questions regarding the settlement of the …

The Polish national gas operator PGNiG said that the new agreement between the European Commission and the Russian company Gazprom on the use of the OPAL gas pipeline is suspended as of Tuesday, December 27th. This is due to the fact that the European Court in Luxembourg accepted the lawsuit, filed by PGNiG, against Brussels’ new treaty with Moscow. Thus, the new agreement will be frozen until a court in Luxembourg decides on the case.

The European Court of Justice has not yet commented on the …

According to the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, John McCain, the election of Donald Trump as the president of the United States was a surprise, but this result will not affect the US - NATO relationship. According to McCain, who was speaking in the Estonian capital of Tallinn, NATO should prepare for Russia’s possibly aggressive behavior.

When he touched upon the issue of cyber security, he stated that, "there is no doubt that the Russians were engaged in hacking, but …