Russia took complete control over the Sea of Azov. During the past week, Russia did not allow any ships to pass through the Kerch Strait to reach the Ukraine ports. The ports of Mariupol and Berdyansk are almost empty, writes the expert of the Maidan of Foreign Affairs non-profit organization and reporter of BlakcSeaNews, Andrei Klimenko on his Facebook page.

"Between 07:00 (local Moscow time) on August 14, 2018, and 9:00 (local Moscow time) on August 21, 2018, the Russian Federation has not …

The German Government believes that it is premature to raise the question of providing assistance for the reconstruction of Syria because a political truce must first be established there, said Steffen Seibert, spokesman for the Federal Government and head of the Federal Press Office on Monday, August 20.

“The German federal government does not believe that the problem of Syria’s restoration should be addressed immediately’, dpa news agency quotes Seibert as saying.  He added that the Syrian …

The Russian billionaires who have been placed under US sanctions have been hit by massive audits of their offshore accounts.

Oleg Deripaska and Viktor Vekselberg, who were blacklisted by the US Treasury Department in April, have been cut off from their assets in Cyprus.

The island’s banks have frozen Deripaska’s and Vekselberg’s accounts since April 6, when the US sanctions were announced and came into effect. This was reported by RBC, citing the US Treasury Department’s report on opposing …

The political department of the UN Secretariat issued a “secret directive” that prohibits all bodies of the organization from participating in the restoration of the Syrian economy, Interfax reports  citing Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov.

“Only humanitarian aid, nothing else,” the Minister added. He said that this was an attempt by a group of countries to manipulate the UN Secretariat “for their own geopolitical benefit.” According to Lavrov, the directive stipulates that …

The President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko announced that the tests of 152-mm shells for the Giatsint artillery system have been completed and that the news shells will be sent to the Ukrainian Army. “Now, the state joint-stock holding company Artem will start serial production of 152-mm shells for supply to Ukraine’s Armed Forces,” Ukrainian President wrote on his Facebook page.

The next step will be the quick transition to the manufacturing of shells for other artillery systems, from 100-mm …

If the court passes a guilty verdict, the former president of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych could be returned to the country with the help of special forces, believes the prosecutor Ruslan Kravchenko, reports Hromadske.

According to the prosecutor, the law enforcement bodies of Ukraine need to do everything possible to ensure that the court enforces the decision on Yanukovych.

"It is possible to create a special unit, for example, like the Israeli Mossad. They can ensure that the special forces …

Major Russian businesses have started preparing for new US sanctions which, in addition to prohibiting investments into Russian government debt, will also block certain Russian government banks from transacting in dollars.

According to the Russian news agency TASS, such companies as Alrosa and Nornickel have already tried out the first deals without the dollar system.

Alrosa, the world’s leading diamond miner by volume, which has earned $3 billion in the first 7 months of 2018, has tested a …

Russia is prepared to lease out another million hectares of agricultural land in the Far East in the hope of attracting investments and increasing the region’s income.

According to the South China Morning Post, such a suggestion was put forward by Valery Dubrovsky, investment director of the Far East Investment and Export Agency.

Dubrovsky said that the land will be open to foreign investors, and that Russia is counting primarily on demand from Chinese farmers, who may be interested in …