Contents tagged with crimea

  • Donbas negotiations fail as Russia amasses 150,000 troops on Ukrainian border

    Negotiations in the "Normandy format" on the situation in southeastern Ukraine ended inconclusively, Interfax, Kommersant and RIA Novosti reported, citing a source in the Russian delegation.

    The three-hour video conference, which was attended by advisers to the presidents of Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany, failed to reach any agreements on the Donbas amid the ongoing transfer of Russian troops to the borders.

    “At the initiative of the Russian side, the issues related to the ceasefire …

  • Russia builds new military camp in annexed Crimea

    Russia continues to deploy equipment to the annexed Crimea and has built a new military camp there, reported the German newspaper Der Spiegel.

    Der Spiegel published satellite images showing a military base 30 kilometers from the village of Maryivka in the Leninsky district, with more than a thousand trucks stationed in the fenced sections. Satellite photos show that on March 15 the field was empty, and as of April 13, the territory is completely jammed with Russian military equipment.

    As the …

  • Russia deploys 50 fighter jets to annexed Crimea

    Russia has moved more than 50 fighter jets from Stavropol to the annexed Crimea, TASS reports with reference to the press service of the Southern Military District of the Russian Federation.

    The crews of the Su-25SM3 aviation unit of the 4th Air Force and Air Defense Army of the Southern Military District, stationed in Stavropol, are relocated to the military airfields in Crimea.

    At the same time, the Su-25SM3 Squadron stationed in Crimea was relocated to the Ashuluk test site in the …

  • Ukraine begins large-scale military exercises near Crimea

    The command of the Ukrainian Joint Forces Operation reported that Ukrainian Armed Forces have begun large-scale military exercise near the border of the annexed Crimea. According to the scenario of the exercises, Ukrainian military will train to repel an invasion of a hypothetical enemy.

    Tank and artillery units will be taking part in the exercises.

    According to the Commander of the Joint Forces Operations, General Naev, the exercises will be held in real-life conditions.

    He noted that the …

  • Russia begins snap readiness check of its forces in Crimea

    The Russian Black Sea Fleet command has begun a "readiness check" of forces stationed in Crimea and the Krasnodar region, reports Krym.Realii, citing the press service of the Black Sea Fleet.

    During the inspection, the Russian command plans to assess combat training and coherence of navy units, the state of weapons and military equipment.

    "On the orders of the commander of the air defense forces, Alexander Dvornikov, the battalion tactical groups will conduct exercises together with the ship …

  • Ukraine conducts military drills with Bayraktar TB2 drones

    The Ukrainian Air Force conducted drills using Turkish attack drones Bayraktar TB2. According to the Ukrainian news agency Armyinform, the drones, which took off from the airfield near Mykolaiv, flew towards Tendrovsk Bay, located in the southwestern part of the Black Sea coast. The drones later returned to the same airfield.

    "Drones have worked out various training tasks," the agency said in a statement. It reminded that Tendrovsk bay is often used by Ukrainian military to practice sea …

  • ‘Delegation of Chinese investors to Crimea’ reported by Russian media turns out to be a group of small vendors from Moscow market

    A delegation of Chinese investors, who visited Crimea in early March and held talks with the government of the peninsula, discussing the tourism potential and prospects for economic cooperation, turned out to be a group of small vendors from Moscow wholesale and retail markets, reports the news website Meduza citing representatives of the Chinese diaspora in Moscow.

    Chen Shanwen, Chen Yong and Zhao Kai visited Crimea on March 11. They visited wineries and resorts, and participated in a …

  • Russia prepares $20 billion lawsuit against Ukraine for ‘water blockade of Crimea’

    By the end of April, documents are expected to be ready to sue Ukraine for damages caused to the peninsula by the water blockade, said the first deputy chairman of the Crimean State Council, Yefim Fiks. According to him, the amount of claims is 1.5 trillion rubles ($20 billion USD).

    "We have documents for 1.5 trillion rubles at the moment. It's the direct damage. But the amount may increase. I assume that the number can go up to 10 trillion rubles ($130 billion USD)," Fiks was quoted as saying …

  • Putin sends warning to those living on ‘historic Russian lands’

    During the Soviet era and the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia "lost enormous territory," said Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking at a concert marking the anniversary of the annexation of Crimea.

    "In the 1920s, the Bolsheviks, forming the Soviet Union for reasons still incomprehensible, gave away significant territories, geopolitical spaces to quasi-state entities," the Russian president said during an event at Luzhniki Stadium.

    Then, according to Putin, the Bolsheviks "broke …

  • Kremlin: Crimean referendum did not violate Ukrainian Constitution

    Any referendums on self-determination of Russian regions are prohibited by Russian law, but the "referendum" in Crimea in 2014 did not contradict Ukrainian and international laws, said Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

    "This "referendum" was legitimate in essence, from the point of view of international law and in terms of the laws of Ukraine," Peskov said, as quoted by TASS.

    According to him, the referendum was allowed, as Crimea, as part of Ukraine, has a special status, …