After becoming one of the primary “laundromats” for laundering shady capital from Russia, the Latvian banking system is now facing the threat of international isolation.

Due the scandal surrounding the country’s second largest bank, ABLV, which was caught transferring billions of dollars from Russia and former Soviet states into offshore accounts, Latvia risks being blacklisted by the FATF, observed the US ambassador to the country, Andris Teikmanis.

This blacklist includes governments that …

The US Senate has called for a “tough operation” to liberate the Kerch Strait for navigation, with nearly half of senators urging President Donald Trump to take such a step, BBC reports.

The authors of the resolution, which was signed by 39 Senate members, believe that this is a necessary response to Russia’s actions in the Kerch Strait on November 25, when it captured three Ukrainian vessels and their crews.

The resolution was drafted by Republican Ron Johnson, head of the Homeland Security …

On December 20th, The National Archives of Latvia opened access to the KGB archives containing lists of agents of the Soviet special services.

 The files in PDF format can be found at kgb.arhivi.lv.

The files of KGB agents in the Latvian USSR (a total of 10,612 files) have been published in alphabetical order. The archive includes the names of both active agents in the late 1980s and the excluded ones.

In this archive, there is also general information, which was entered by the First …

The international arms deterrence system is on the verge of collapse, and this will lead the world to the “danger line” of a nuclear catastrophe, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at an annual press conference on Thursday.

In 2002, the US withdrew from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, which had previously restricted the production of defense systems against nuclear missiles.

In response, Moscow “has been forced to respond by creating new weaponry systems” capable of bypassing the anti- …

The Ukrainian state-owned concern Ukroboronprom, the leading arms manufactured and exporter in Ukraine, plans to switch to the standards of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) starting 2019, stated Ukroboronprom press service.

Starting 2019, companies that are part of Ukraine's military-industrial sector will begin implementing NATO principles and standards. Besides, practical implementation of NATO technical standards in the production of weapons and military equipment in Ukraine …

The official representative for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova commented on the statement made by the Secretary of the National Security Council Oleksandr Turchynov that Ukraine is preparing another passage of ships through the Kerch Strait.

According to her, this can “aggravate the situation.” The spokeswoman for the MFA said that Turchynov’s statement is “provocative.”

“It [the statemen]) is absolutely irresponsible, and it is intended to aggravate the situation. …

The territories of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions that are not under the Ukrainian’ control will soon be returned to Ukrainian jurisdiction, stated Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko during a meeting with students.

“I thank those who have come and who continue to be engaged in science and education even when their homes are occupied by the aggressor country. Yes, they are now doing this in Vinnytsia, Lviv and Kharkiv where we moved the educational institutions. They are the anchor that …

According to Istvan Grezsa, the Ministerial Commissioner for cooperation of the border regions of Hungary and Ukraine, the Hungarian government is opening Ukrainian language courses in the city of Berehove, in Transcarpathia, for local Hungarians. The news outlet European Pravda reported that Grezsa emphasized that the courses would be free, and that the purpose of the project is to reduce tensions between the two countries.

"Given the state of the relations that has developed between our …