The Kaliningrad special district division troops have been strengthened with the “Bastion” coastal missile complex, as reported by Russia's Interfax news agency citing a source familiar with the situation. The source stated that the Bastion complex was received by the Baltic Fleet’s missile unit.On November 19, the press-service of the Baltic Fleet reported that the missile units of the fleet "are conducting the preparation of the infrastructure and scheduled rearmament of the new onshore and …

NATO-member countries have to fill certain gaps in their defensive capabilities, stated the chairman of the NATO Military Committee, General Petr Pavel in an interview with the television station SVS.  

“We all realize that we should fill gaps, enhance deterrent capability and, when necessary, to defend. We know what these gaps are and should focus on filling them and maintaining the advantage in our military capabilities,” Pavel said.

He added that, to achieve this, appropriate funding is …

Last week, NATO fighter jets performing patrol missions over the Baltic States scrambled twice to escort Russian military aircraft, according to the website of the Lithuanian Ministry of National Defense. “From the 14-20th of November, NATO fighter jets patrolling the Baltic airspace scrambled twice to intercept Russian military aircraft,” the statement read.

On the 14th of November, NATO fighter jets escorted a Russian IL-76 through the international airspace over the Baltic Sea. The aircraft …

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the practice of decision-making in NATO is a cause for concern. Based on this, Russia will take countermeasures in response to the expansion of NATO.

RIA Novosti reported that Putin said this in an interview for the Oliver Stone film ‘Ukraine on fire’, which premiered on the 21st of November on REN TV.

“Why are we reacting so sharply to NATO’s expansion? We are concerned about the practice of decision-making. I know how decisions are made. When a …

Thirty years after the Chernobyl accident, two Chinese investment companies plan to build solar power stations (SPS) in the 10-km exclusion zone around the Chernobyl reactor. The construction is expected to start in 2017, as was reported on Monday, November 21 by Reuters. GCL System Integration Technology, a subsidiary of the GCL Group, said it would cooperate with China National Complete Engineering Corp. The planned location of future solar power stations was repeatedly checked by technical …

Russia plans to reach an agreement with Syria on the creation of a naval base in Tartus for a term of 49 years. “We came to Syria with serious intentions and for a long time. That is why, the improvement of infrastructure at the airfield as well as in the area of its deployment is a challenge that we will have to face in the foreseeable future,” RIA Novosti quoted the Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Defense and Security, Viktor Ozerov as saying.

Ozerov added that the base will …

US, Swedish, and German reconnaissance aircraft carried out simultaneous missions near Russia’s Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad, Interfax reported, citing websites that track the movement of military aircraft.

On Tuesday, a US Air Force RC-135W reconnaissance aircraft with tail number 62-4139 took off from Mildenhall Airbase in the UK and proceeded to monitor the coast of Kaliningrad. Two Russian Su-27 fighters reportedly took off to monitor the RC-135W’s activities.

At approximately the …

Russia has deployed its newest missile systems Bastion and Bal to Kuril islands, as reported by Russia’s Interfax news agency citing the newspaper of the Pacific Navy “Boyevaya Vahta” (Combat Watch).

According to Interfax, the Bastion missile systems were deployed to the island of Iturup while Bal systems were deployed on the island of Kunashir. “The newly deployed units are getting ready for test firing using the Bastion systems,” reports the newspaper

In March, the Russian Minister of …