• Turkey deploys Leopard tanks in Syria

    Damascus and Ankara have both been amassing forces in Idlib, deploying reserves on the front line in the northwestern part of Syria. Heightened deployment activity was noted on February 22.

    For the first time, the reinforcements dispatched by Ankara to the front line have included Leopard 2A4 battle tanks, the primary strike force of Turkey’s infantry. All of the battle tanks in this family are in the active army, which indicates their prominence in the Turkish Armed Forces.

    According to the …

  • Kremlin: Putin has no plans to meet with Erdogan for Syria talks

    The Kremlin’s press service said on Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin has no plans to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss the situation in Syria's Idlib province, despite the Turkish leader's claims that such a meeting is likely.

    Turkey's president said earlier that he is likely to meet Putin in Istanbul for talks on Idlib next week.

    "At the moment, there is no such a meeting in President Putin's schedule for March 5. President Putin has other working …

  • Russia: Next Normandy Format summit can only take place after Donbas special status is included in Ukraine’s Constitution

    Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that a new summit in the Normandy Format can only take place after the decisions made at the previous summit have been implemented, especially the enshrinement of the “special status of the Donbas” in Ukrainian law, Interfax-Ukraine reports.

    “I have not heard about a meeting of ministers in the Normandy Format being planned for one month’s time. Our colleagues are saying that another Normandy Format summit should be scheduled for as early as …

  • Ukraine to commemorate Day of Resistance to Occupation of Crimea and Sevastopol

    During the opening of the Age of Crimea 2020 forum, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Ukraine will have a new national date – the Day of Resistance to the Occupation of Crimea and Sevastopol.

    The head of state noted that on this date six years ago, the largest gathering in support of the integrity and unity of Ukraine was held in Simferopol.

    “In recognition of the bravery and heroism of all the rally’s participants, I am signing a decree today on the Day of Resistance to …

  • Chinese media: Russian S-300 air defense systems are useless in Syria

    After missed Israeli strike on the Syrian capital, China called the Russian S-300 "Favorit" air defense missile system the most useless air defense system in the world. According to the Chinese newspaper Sina, contrary to Russia's statement that the S-300 can track even "stealth" fighters, for a year and a half S-300s have been beaten by Israel so much that these systems should not be trusted at all.

    "Syria stated that after several Israeli missile strikes, Russian S-300, S-200, SA11 and …

  • Russian mercenaries withdrawn from Libya

    The Wagner private military company (PMC) has withdrawn completely from Libya due to a truce between the Government of National Accord (GNA) and the Libyan National Army (LNA), InterRight reports.

    A letter from one of the Russian mercenaries has been leaked online, and indicates that all of the Wagner PMC mercenaries who were in Libya have been sent home before the scheduled end of their trip. The source of the information boasts that he was already back in Russia by February 23 to celebrate …

  • Ukrainian President Zelensky has not been invited to Victory Day Parade in Moscow

    Russia has not sent Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky an official invitation to the celebration of the 75th anniversary of Victory Day in World War II, the Ukrainian Presidential Administration reported, as cited by Ukrayinska Pravda.

    “According to the results of an analysis of the registration and reference base of incoming official correspondence administered by the Documentation Department of the Office of the President of Ukraine, the document in question does not exist,” the …

  • Russia to pay Belarus more than $60 million for dirty oil

    Russia and Belarus have signed a protocol on compensation for the dirty oil which ended up in the Druzhba pipeline in spring 2019, based on a calculation of $15 per barrel, said Vladimir Sizov, deputy head of the Belarusian state oil concern Belneftekhim, as cited by BelTA.

    The compensation rate applies to 563,000 tons of dirty oil that was processed by the Mozyr refinery, Belneftekhim spokesperson Alexander Tishchenko explained to RBC. In this way, Belarus could receive $61.6 million from …

  • Russian airstrikes did not help Syrian army to retake Nayrab from Turkish forces

    The many airstrikes carried out by the Russian Aerospace Forces have not helped the Syrian government forces to regain control over the village of Nayrab in the Idlib province after fierce fighting with the pro-Turkish armed opposition, The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports.

    According to the organization, on February 24, the Russian Aerospace Forces carried out their first airstrikes against Nayrab in northern Syria, south-east of Aleppo, several hours after opposition forces …

  • MH17 case: Dutch prosecutors classify identities of 13 witnesses due to safety threats

    The identities of 13 witnesses in the case concerning the Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 catastrophe will be kept secret on account of threats to their safety, NOS reports. According to the documents from the Netherlands Public Prosecution Office cited by the news outlet, the health and life of the witnesses are at a “significant risk”.

    However, the motion to classify the identity of another witness was rejected by the investigative judge, citing the impossibility of guaranteeing his anonymity. …