Lavrov: The war in Syria is becoming very crowded
Syria “has become very crowded on the land and in the air.”, stated by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov after talks with his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian, as reported by RIA Novosti.
“Indeed, it’s very crowded on the ground and in the air. There are many participants in the fighting: there are the Syrian armed forces and the forces that are called pro-government forces, including Hezbollah, and the forces supported by the Iranians. There are also armed opposition and terrorists …
The National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine unveils a draft law on de-occupation of Donbas
Oleksandr Turchynov, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC) presented an idea for the law on the de-occupation of the Donbas which supposed to become an alternative to the anti-terrorist operation (ATO), Hromadske reported.
The preamble notes that the legal regime of the ATO, introduced in April 2014, made it possible to stop the expansion of Russian aggression, and kept it localized in the Donetsk and Luhansk provinces. It also made it possible to hold …
Russia prepares retaliatory measures for US sanctions
According to the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, Sergei Ryabkov, Russia has begun to develop retaliatory measures after the latest expansion of sanctions by Washington, RIA Novosti reported.
"We regret this [step by the US]. And it is with this feeling once again of missed opportunities to move towards improving our bilateral relations that we begin to work out our response measures," Ryabkov specified.
According to Ryabkov, Washington "plays into the hands of the war party in Kyiv"; that is, …
Media: Questions during direct line with Putin were screened by Kremlin
All the questions that were broadcast on the screen during a live broadcast of a direct line with President Vladimir Putin, including questions about the possible resignation of the head of state and about the policy of Aleksey Navalny, were agreed upon in advance by the organizers of the program and the Kremlin's press service. This was reported by the BBC Russian Service, citing several employees who participated in the preparation of the program.
“First, they select one, then select others, …
Ukrainian Parliament proposes to call the military operation in the Donbas a ‘local war’ to further its integration back into Ukraine
A draft bill on the reintegration of the Donbas proposes to introduce a concept of “local war” in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions. This was stated by Verkhovna Rada Deputy from the Petro Poroshenko Bloc "Solidarity" Volodymyr Ariev, 112 Ukraine reports.
According to Ariev, the antiterrorist operation (ATO) that is being carried out in the Donbas now uses an "outdated format.” He said that according to Ukrainian legislation, in case of seizure of territories, either an ATO should be conducted …