Russia is no longer a superpower as its deteriorating economy is ranked "somewhere behind Spain", White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters and stressed that Moscow's influence is limited compared to the erstwhile Soviet Union.

"Russia is no longer a superpower. Observed in the last couple of weeks that the condition of Russia's economy is weak and further deteriorating,"

"They are now the 15th-largest economy in the world, and they rank somewhere behind Spain," he said. …

At least two people have been killed in the Ukrainian town of Svatove after a series of blasts at a ammunition depot.

Local media has said the Ukrainian security forces were investigating and claimed it could be a terrorist act.

The town lies in a government-controlled part of the Luhansk region. In addition to the two casualties, four civilians and four servicemen were wounded.

According to Ukraine's Defence Ministry statement, the fire was started by "the release of a flare that fell onto …

FIFA president Sepp Blatter says there was a deal in place for Russia to host the 2018 World Cup - before the vote took place.

The 79-year-old Blatter is serving a 90-day ban alongside Uefa chief Michel Platini.

Asked whether it was a mistake to hold voting for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments simultaneously, Blatter replied that before the ballot: "It was agreed inside the group that we go to Russia because it has never been to eastern Europe, and for 2022 we go back to America.

"And so we …

Penny Pritzker, US Commerce Secretary and Hyatt Hotel heiress, visits her great-grandfather's birthplace in central Ukraine.

This is the first time Pritzker is visiting the small town of Velyki Pryts'ky, 50 miles southeast of Kyiv, with a population of just 800. Pritzker's great-grandfather emigrated from Ukraine to the US over one hundred years ago

After the informal press conference she was whisked off on a tour of the town by a rabbi.

Local residents were in awe of the high-profile …

As reported by Ukrainian TSN news service, a monitor from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine in the town of Sievierodonetsk in Luhansk region, who has been suspended for misbehavior apparently involving alcohol, has turned to be an officer from Russia's GRU Main Intelligence Directorate.

A TSN journalist once heard an OSCE SMM monitor who later introduced himself as Maksim Udovichenko promoting Russian propaganda among locals in Luhansk region while being not on OSCE …

Ukraine's ranking has risen over 13 positions in the annual ranking on the status of doing business published by the World Bank’s  Doing Business-2016. Ukraine holds the 83rd place in the ranking.

Results of a new study, which covers the second half of 2014 and first half 2015, was published on the Doing Business website.

A key reform that bolstered a raise in the Ukraine rating is simplification of Ukraine business registration.

Ukraine has been rising in the ranking for the second …

As reported by StopFake.org, Russia has been concealing its military casualties as part of propaganda war.

In the four weeks since Russia entered the conflict in Syria, Moscow has waged a fierce campaign for the hearts and minds of ordinary Russians.

Public support for the Syria intervention was initially limited. But as Russian war correspondents have filed patriotic reports from the urban front lines, and the defense ministry has posted bombing videos on social media, support has increased, …

As reported by a military spokesman Oleksandr Zavtonov, a Ukrainian soldier was killed by fire from Russia-backed separatists near the Donetsk airport on October 26.

It is the first reported Ukrainian military death since mid-October, as the fragile cease-fire negotiated in Minsk in February has generally held.

At the same time a separatists spokesman accused the Ukrainian military of launching an attack on the airport. Officials in Kyiv denied that claim.

AFP reported that local residents …