Russian President Vladimir Putin has been invited to Israel to take part in commemorative events dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp by Soviet troops, Russian Ambassador to Israel Anatoly Viktorov stated in an interview with TASS.

The Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp was liberated on January 27, 1945. The UN set this day as International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

The Russian diplomat said that, at the end of last year, Putin received …

On February 7th, Admiral Craig Faller, head of the Southern US armed forces command stated during the hearing of the Armed Services Committee of the US Senate that the United States is familiar with reports that “Russian security forces” allegedly were transferred to Venezuela. The American authorities are trying to confirm this information.

“I am not aware of the details of this situation, but we are closely monitoring it. We saw media publications that the Russian security forces have been …

On 31 January, a Russian contract soldier was killed “while carrying out a combat assignment” in Syria. The 24 year-old, Maxim Pletnev, was a resident of town of Tikhoretsk in Russia’s Krasnodar Krai, Radio Liberty reports.

The fact that he died in the Near East was confirmed by Sergey Zakharov, deputy head of the Tikhoretsk region. Journalists discovered that Pletnev had also served on the Russian-Ukrainian border at the height of the conflict in the Donbas.

Pletnev’s death was reported by …

On February 6, the Lithuanian Government adopted a decree providing Ukraine with free ammunition worth €255,000, reported the press service of the Lithuanian Defense Minister.

The ammunition was originally meant for Soviet-made assault rifles and machine guns that are no longer used by the Lithuanian Armed Forces.

“The transfer of assets is a part of Lithuania's consistent and comprehensive support of Ukraine for strengthening its defense capabilities and ensuring independence, sovereignty …

In the Almany Mires nature reserve in Belarus’s Brest Oblast, which borders with Ukraine, operations are underway to upgrade the roads, which could be used for military purposes, Charter 97 reports, citing a source in one of Ukraine’s ministries.

The source explained on condition of anonymity that the road infrastructure being built in Belarus will make it easier for border guards to reach their service locations, and will also provide an additional way to move Belarusian military equipment to …

Shipments of Russian oil to Europe through the Black Sea and Mediterranean Sea continue to face difficulties due to Turkey’s decision to change the rules for ships passing through the Bosporus and the Dardanelles, finanz.ru reports.

The congestion of Russian oil tankers and grain carriers departing from Novorossiysk keeps growing, and is reaching all-time records.

On 6 February, 55 ships were waiting for permission to enter the Turkish straits, including 26 Aframax-class and 21 Suezmax-class …

Russia has tested the reactor of the Poseidon, the unmanned underwater vehicle which Russian President Vladimir Putin boasted of last year, reported TASS with a reference to its source in the Russian military-defense industry.

According to the source, the test was carried out at sea and confirmed “the previously declared specifications of its unlimited range of use and speed of over 200 kmph”.

Thee information has not been officially confirmed by the Kremlin.

Putin first spoke about the …

On Wednesday, a Russian court found a Jehovah's Witness guilty of extremism and sentenced him to six years in prison, stated a representative of the Christian Denomination.

The United States and the European Union called the case of Danish citizen Dennis Christensen “a litmus test” for religious freedom in Russia and a new spiral in the intensifying confrontation with the West.

Christensen, the first Jehovah’s Witness arrested for extremism in Russia, pleaded not guilty.

“Unfortunately, this …