• Ukraine suspends cargo traffic to and from Crimea

    Ukrainian authorities announced the temporary suspension of road and rail freight shipments to and from Crimea. Earlier, Ukrainian President, Petro Poroshenko, appealed to the Cabinet of Ministers to halt the movement of goods between Ukraine and Crimea. At the same time, the Prime Minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, began to work out the list of goods which will be allowed to import to the peninsula in future. On the one hand, the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers to stop freights to Crimea was …

  • Turkish embassy trashed in Moscow

    The embassy of Turkey in Russia was trashed on Wednesday as protesters hurled stones, eggs and paint in anger over downed Russian jet.Few picketers gathering outside the embassy building in Moscow carried signs that read: "Turkey, you stabbed us in the back" and "Hands off Syria". This happened a day after one of Turkey's F-16 jets shot down a Russian Su-24 warplane that breached Turkish airspace.A Russian pilot and a rescuer were killed. A second Russian pilot was rescued and safely returned …

  • US launches a new stage of Ukrainian Army combat training

    The Ukrainian Defence Ministry explained that military exercises, supported by American instructors, will last until the beginning of 2017. According to The Pentagon, Washington has pledged funding of more than $265 million for this purpose. On November 23, Pentagon official, Mr. Davis , stated that The United States has initiated the second stage of its program Fearless Guardian with the preparation and equipping of Ukrainian Army servicemen. In his interview to reporters, Davis explained that …

  • Putin,Khamenei and the Syrian crisis

    Experts express both consensus and disagreements about the Russian-Iranian relationship.

    Moscow – Before the start of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum in Tehran, Russian President Vladimir Putin had a meeting with Iran’s leader, Ayatollah Khamenei. The meeting between Putin and Khamenei was broadcast on Russian television. The President of the Russian Federation stated the two countries have similar positions regarding the conflict in Syria.

    “Nobody can or should impose any form of …

  • US special forces to be deployed to Syria very soon

    The President's Special Envoy spoke about the future plans against ISIS. 

    Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL said that "very soon" it will send dozens of soldiers of American Special Forces to Syria who will cooperate with the Arab forces attempting to isolate the self-proclaimed capital of the Caliphate and put an end to the terrorist groups` conspiracies.  As stated by Brett H. McGurk on Sunday, speaking on CBS, in recent weeks the coalition has managed to …

  • Der Spiegel: Is a New Revolution in Ukraine Inevitable?

    Hundreds of thousands of people gathered in protest on the streets of Kiev two years ago. It is not likely to be the last revolution that takes place in former USSR territory. The privileged elite and the intrusion of foreign countries prepare the ground for such uprisings. Benjamin Bidder, a correspondent for Der Spiegel wrote about it in dedication to the anniversary of the beginning of Euromaidan.Bidder noted that mass protests on the eve of Ukrainian Maidan don’t only concern the Ukraine. …

  • France shrugs off Russian objections over air strikes on ISIS oil facilities

    France denied the accusations of Russia, which blamed Paris claiming that the French Air Forces bombed the oil infrastructure of Islamic State on Syria’s territory. French authorities called the aerial attacks relevant and necessary retaliatory strikes on ISIS militants’ positions – reported Reuters. Paris intends to cut off the extremists’ main source of income.

    Russia explained its criticism by saying that the West has no right to attack ISIS without official permission of Damascus. At the …

  • Inside the Kremlin's propaganda machine

    Elizabeth Wal, a former reporter for the Russian international channel RT, delivered a speech at a recent defence conference in Vilnius. At the conference she gave a first-hand account of Russian propaganda practices.  Wal had the perfect opportunity to get to know how the international propaganda system within the Kremlin works from the inside during her time with Russian channel RT. According to Wal, the Russian tactic of distributing disinformation is just amazing.

    The former reporter …

  • Putin warns Turkey of significant consequences

    Russian President Vladimir Putin called the loss of the jet over Turkish and Syrian border “a stab in the back, carried out by the accomplices of terrorists”.

    Speaking in Jordan today, the Russian leader said: "This event is beyond the normal framework of fighting against terrorism. Of course our military is doing heroic work against terrorism... But the loss today is a stab in the back, carried out by the accomplices of terrorists. I can’t describe it in any other way. Our aircraft was downed …

  • Turkey downs Russian military plane

    A Russian Sukhoi SU-24 military airplane violated Turkish airspace and was shot down near Syrian border. As reported, one pilot has been killed and the other captured by Turkish forces in Syria. Turkey released a purported image of the flight path of the plane showing that it had violated Turkish airspace. Turkey said it issued 10 warnings to the aircraft before responding "within engagement rules" near the Turkey-Syria border.NATO has called an extraordinary meeting later Tuesday to discuss …