More than a quarter of the Russian diplomatic staff in Switzerland works for the foreign intelligence services of the Russian Federation, writes the newspaper Tages-Anzeiger after analyzing the Swiss government's report.

Back in March, the Bundesrat of Germany published a report on national security, which stated that "in relation to one country there is a suspicion that more than a quarter of the diplomatic personnel works for the special services."

The Bundesrat report did not mention the …

The Russian government’s hopes that China will help it to overcome western sanctions are gradually being dashed by the harsh reality, finanz.ru writes.

Despite the fact that de jure Beijing has not placed any financial sanctions on Russia, Chinese banks have effectively adopted the restrictions imposed by the US and EU.

China’s commercial credit organizations are delaying transfers to Russian banks’ accounts, or outright refusing to make payments, said Vladimir Danilov, head of the Central …

Russia intends to conduct major military exercises every five years, said Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu on Russia 1 TV channel, reported RIA Novosti.

He said that when the Supreme Commander-in-Chief [Putin] approves a plan for carrying out major maneuvers next year, a “main outline” of events is given. “The only thing that does not fall into this plan are unexpected inspections. Naturally, we have been planning these exercises and we plan to conduct them every five years,” the …

NATO warships from the second Standing NATO Maritime Group are currently patrolling the area of the Eastern Mediterranean, reported Interfax with reference to the data of Western marine resources.

It is noted that in the immediate vicinity of Syria, there are Dutch frigate HNLMS De Ruyter, Canadian HMSC Ville de Quebec and Greek frigate Elli.

In the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea, there are three missile destroyers of the US Navy: Carney, Ross and Winston Churchill, which are all …

By the end of this year, Ukraine plans to create a naval base for the armed forces in the Azov Sea, reported the press service of the Cabinet of Ministers.

“Two armored artillery boats of the Ukrainian Navy were floated off the shore of Berdyansk. Before the end of the year, we will create a new naval base for the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Azov Sea,” said the government in a statement on Facebook.

On September 6th, at a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council, a decision was …

RBC news agency reports that U.S. mixed martial arts fighter Jeffrey Monson, who was granted Russian citizenship three months ago, was elected to the council of the city of Krasnodonsk, near Moscow. Monson stated his intentions to become a Deputy in early June. He received a Russian passport on June 12. Monson became a Russian citizen by decree signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In his application Monson stated the he works as a fitness coach at the independent, non-commercial …

Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed the issue of director Oleh Sentsov during a meeting in Meseberg on August 18, stated Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov at a news conference following the talks with his German counterpart Heiko Maas, reported TASS.

“We have been informing people on his health condition. He is under the constant supervision of doctors. This question purely concerns the humanitarian sphere. There are legislative …

US Special Representative for Ukraine Kurt Volker recommends that Ukrainian authorities extend the law on the special status of certain regions of Donetsk and Luhansk areas.  

While speaking to journalists at the Yalta European Strategy forum (YES), Volker recalled that key sanctions imposed against Russia by the European Union are connected to the implementation of the Minsk agreements, which among other things requires the special status for the territories of the Donbas which are not …