Contents tagged with Germany

  • German ambassador: Elections can be held in Donbas even with Russian forces present

    According to the German Ambassador to Ukraine, Ernst Reichel, holding elections in the occupied territory of Donbas is possible before Russian military forces are withdrawn, Korrespondent.net reported.

    “It’s not necessarily the case that elections in Donbas can only take place when there are no Russian forces there, or when the Ukrainian flag is flying at every city hall. Without a doubt, this is quite hard to imagine – holding local elections without ensuring safety. However, I am convinced …

  • German Foreign Minister: Rapprochement between the United States and Russia would be useful for Ukraine

    Following the visit to the United States, the German Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sigmar Gabriel, expressed confidence that the Administration of the U.S. President, Donald Trump, is still just developing its strategy towards Russia. Gabriel stated this on the air of the ARD TV Channel, Deutsche Welle reported. The Minister welcomed the possibility of rapprochement between the United States and Russia.

    “We must all hope that the United States and Russia will reach an agreement but not at the …

  • Two individuals working for Ukrainian oligrarch Firtash were found guilty of large-scale corruption in Germany

    In Germany, the former Commissioner of the Land police and a private detective who worked for the Ukrainian businessman, Dmytro Firtash, were found guilty of large-scale corruption. This trial has been called one of the biggest corruption scandals in Germany, Deutsche Welle reported.

    "On Friday, January 27th, the Land Court in the town of Schwerin in northern Germany delivered its verdict in the case of the former Chief Commissioner of the criminal police of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Heinz-Peter …

  • Media: Italy discusses return of Russia to the G8

    Italy, which currently holds the presidency of the Group of Seven (G-7), favored the return of Russia to the summit, which would once again make the group the G8, Corriere della Sera reported.

    The G-7 summit will take place on May 26th-27th, in Taormina. The number of the forum members hasn’t been confirmed yet. However, according to the edition, the Italian authorities are discussing Russia’s participation in this forum.

    This issue was also raised at the meeting between the Head of the …

  • US, Swedish and German aircraft conducted reconnaissance missions near Russia's borders

    According to websites that track the flights of military aircraft , planes of the U.S. Air Force, Swedish Air Force and the German Navy conducted reconnaissance missions near the sea borders of the Kaliningrad region on January 18, as reported by Russia’s Interfax news agency.

    According to their information, an RC-135W strategic reconnaissance aircraft of the U.S. Air Force with tail number 62-4138 and call sign LAVIC45, took off from an air base in Mildenhall, UK. It approached the coast of …

  • German intelligence: Russia seeks to spoil relations between the EU and the US

    Russia is using manipulation in an effort to sow discord between the U.S. and Europe and to spoil the close EU-US cooperation, as stated in a joint report by the Federal Intelligence Service of Germany (BND) and the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution of the German government, Der Spiegel reports.

    According to the newspaper, German intelligence agencies were tasked by the Chancellor to investigate the activities of the Russian security services after a cyber-attack on the …

  • German regulator reduced Gazprom's access to the OPAL system

    The German energy regulator, Bundesnetzagentur, has reduced the limit of use of the OPAL gas pipeline for Russian Gazprom to the same level that was installed before, to 50%. As stated in the press-service of the company on Facebook, "The German regulator reduced the limit for Gazprom to use the OPAL pipeline to its former 50% but the actual amount of this reduction has not yet affected the actual volumes."

    In late October, the European Commission allowed Gazprom to increase its pumping gas …

  • Berlin invites Russian minister to attend G20 agriculture meeting in Germany despite sanctions

    Through a series of diplomatic maneuvers, the German government hopes to circumvent the EU’s travel ban for Russian Minister of Agriculture Aleksandr Tkachov, the DPA news agency reported.

    Tkachov is on the list of Russians who are subject to sanctions and is thus prohibited from entering the EU due to Russia’s annexation of the Crimea in 2014. However, according to the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND) the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs plans to host the Russian minister on January 22. …

  • Interior Minister of Germany was asked to protect the country from Russian hackers

    After the report by the USA’s Intelligence Service regarding the cyber-attacks from Russia, the chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Germany of the Parliamentary Group in the Bundestag ,Thomas Oppermann, addressed the Federal Minister of the Interior, Thomas de Maiziere, calling for the strengthening of cyber protections by the Federal Security Agency from possible hacker attacks, as was stated by the politician during an interview with German newspaper, Süddeutsche Zeitung, published on …

  • German security agency found Russian link to cyber-attack against OSCE

    A Russian trace in December’s cyber-attack against the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) was discovered by the German Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution. Following the attack, OSCE representatives admitted that it is possible for hackers to have gained access to the organization’s secret documents.

    Experts hired by the OSCE blamed the attack on the hacker groups ART 28 and ART 29. ART 28 is also known as Fancy Bear and the ART 29 as Cozy Bear. It is …