The Military Commission of the Bakhchisaray district of the annexed Crimea demanded a conscript-follower of the Jehovah’s Witnesses to provide “documentation of his change of belief”, as stated on the Russian Jehovah's Witnesses’ website.

It was reported that in early June, the Military Registration and Enlistment Office denied the young man the right to alternative services, stating he must change his beliefs.

The organization's website has also published a copy of the draft notice, in which …

Servicemen of the Chinese and Iranian Navies will hold joint exercises in the Strait of Hormuz, Mehr agency reports. It was reported that the destroyer Chang Chung, the supply vessel Chao Hu, the Jin Zhou rocket frigate and a helicopter will take part in the exercises that will be held on June 19.

According to Mehr, the parties intend to demonstrate their military potential and share their experience.

At present, the Chinese fleet is located in the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas with the …

Almost 750,000 children in Eastern Ukraine could be cut off from clean drinking water as a result of military actions in areas where important facilities of civil infrastructure are located, a representative of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said, as reported by the UN News Center.

“Nearly 3 million people in eastern Ukraine rely on water infrastructure that is now in the line of fire. We expect more families will be cut off from safe drinking water, putting children at severe risk of disease, …

A long-term plan of support for Ukraine (the so-called “Marshall Plan for Ukraine”) will be presented at the Eastern Partnership Summit in November, Lithuanian MP Andrius Kubilius told the newspaper Segodnya in an interview.

“We will present the ‘Marshall Plan for Ukraine’ at the Eastern Partnership Summit in November, where, we hope, mention of this document will appear in the final declaration of the summit,” he said.

“We are working towards there being not only a declaration, but also real …

The total number of military personnel from the Russian Armed Forces who are active in the separatist-held territories of Eastern Ukraine is currently 5-6 thousand, wrote journalist and military expert Yuriy Butusov on ZN.UA news website.

“Nominally assigned to the command posts, the local separatists carry out, in the best case, the functions of students and ‘advisers’, or are otherwise ‘talking heads’ for propaganda. Russian mercenaries are the linchpins in all the military subdivisions of …