During Russia's annexation of the Crimea in 2014, the Ambassadors of several Western countries called on the Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People to avoid provoking the Russian military, as stated by Refat Chubarov, the Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People on the program "Svoboda Slova" (Freedom of speech) on the channel ICTV.

"All day long I was in touch with the ambassadors from the EU countries and the U.S.A. They all had the same request: do not provoke the …

Column of Russian tanks, circa 2014

A column of Russian military vehicles entered separatist-controlled territory in Ukraine, as reported on Tuesday by the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

“On the 29th of February, a column of military vehicles came from the Russian Federation into Ukraine through the Novoazovsk checkpoint, which is not controlled by Ukraine.  The column included six armored combat vehicles, four ammunition trucks and two mobile …

In case of war almost half of the Russian-speaking citizens of the country are ready to defend Estonia, as suggested by a survey conducted by the Turu-Uuringute AS, commissioned by the Institute for Social Studies in January 2016, according to the err.ee publication.

Of those surveyed, 71% of Estonian-speakers and 45% of the Russian-speakers in the country feel they have the skills and are ready to defend Estonia.  Furthermore, 90% of Estonian-speakers and 69% of Russian-speakers would agree …

The Russian Ministry of Defense indicated that new surveillance equipment has been deployed to the Syrian airbase, Hmeymin. According to the press service of the Agency, three complexes with unmanned drones and two radar stations for the detection of small targets were sent to Syria in the past three days.

“In the past three days, the Russian Ministry of Defense deployed an additional three modern complexes with unmanned drones, two radar stations for the detection of small targets, which …

The OSCE Mission continues to record a significant deterioration of the security situation in the Donbas, partially as a result of the use of artillery and mortars as stated in the report of the OSCE Mission for the 29th of February, published on the 2nd of March 2016. In particular, the representatives of the OSCE Mission noted 95 explosions from the west of the observers’ location on the 28th of February during their stay in the center of Donetsk; the next day, 174 explosions were recorded. …

The European Union doubts the economical necessity of Gazprom’s Nord Stream II project, as stated by the European Commissioner for Energy, Maroš Šefčovič, during the Ukrainian Energy Forum, as reported by a European Pravda correspondent.

“It is a private project which provides for the expansion of Russian gas transit through the Baltic Sea. However, why does the European Union need the additional gas transit capacity if the current gas transportation system is only running at 50% capacity? …

A scenario where sanctions against Russia will be ‘eternal’ is contrary to the basic economic interests of the countries of the European Union, said Russia's Permanent Representative to the EU, Vladimir Chizhov.

Russia's permanent representative to the EU, Vladimir Chizhov, expressed hope that sanctions against the Russian Federation will be lifted in the summer 2016.

"I think at some point, the sanctions will be simply lifted, hopefully in the summer.  To expect a solution that would allow …

According to Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Pavlo Klimkin, Russia is violating the rights of the Crimean Tatars.

This was stated by Klimkin during his speech on Tuesday, March 1st at the 31st session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva, as reported by Evropeiskaya Pravda.

According to him, Russia, as an occupying power, carries out large-scale human rights violations on the Peninsula, especially in regards to the indigenous population- the Crimean Tatars.

“They carry out a …