Contents tagged with Russia

  • Police in Crimea warned the Deputy Head of the Mejlis about holding rally

    The Deputy Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatars, Ilmi Umerov, has said that on the 17th of May 2016, he was visited by police who warned him that any activities planned for the 18th of May will not be allowed. The Mejlis had previously organized events to take place on Memorial Day in remembrance of the 1944 deportation of the Crimean Tatars.

    “I was referred to as the organizer of a public event. I then had to explain to members of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia that on the …

  • Media: Missile warning system will be returned to the Crimea

    Russia intends to restore the Dnepr radar station, which is situated near Sevastopol. This new facility will house a missile warning system which will be able to detect ballistic launches, cruise missile launches and hypersonic missile launches from the waters of the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. This was reported by the Izvestia newspaper, citing a source in the military-industrial sector.

    There are two ways to restore the station. The first option would be building it from the ground …

  • 5,000 tons of food destroyed in Russia since August

    According to the Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance, more than 5,000 tons of food has been smuggled to Russia since August 6th. The banned produce included 4,776 tons of plant products, generally vegetables and fruits, and 244 tons of animal products. Of these amounts, 4,630 tons of plants and 181 tons of animal products have been destroyed.

    From April 29th to May 5th this year, about 300 tons of plant produce and 26 tons of animal produce were seized.

    The …

  • Crimea is losing popularity with Russian tourists

    Tour agents recorded a significant drop in demand for flights by Russian tourists to annexed Crimea. Demand for flights to Simferopol via the Svyaznoy Travel Company declined by more than 25 percent, reported the newspaper Kommersant on Monday, May 16th. In 2015, half of Svyaznoy’s flight destinations went to Crimea. Today, the figure is not more than 35% of their bookings.

    Commercial director Andriy Osyntsev called it a predictable decline. "Infrastructure of the peninsula currently cannot …

  • Crimean authorities propose granting Russian citizenship to Jamala

    The Deputy Prime Minister of the Crimea, Georgy Muradov, stated in Beijing that the pro-Russian authorities recommend that singer Jamala exchange her Ukrainian citizenship for Russian citizenship and return to the occupied Crimea, TASS reported.

    “I emphasize that Crimean residents will always be glad to see Jamala perform. It is her motherland. That is why she only has to change her citizenship to Russian, return to her motherland and give concerts at home,” Georgy Muradov said.

    “The …

  • Chubarov: 18 Crimean Tatars are behind bars in the Crimea

    According to the chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, Refat Chubarov, there are currently 18 Crimean Tatars imprisoned in Crimea, Krym.Realii reported.

    “There are now 18 Crimean Tatars behind bars. Unfortunately, according to our data, this number will increase. The imprisoned Crimean Tatars include the deputy head of the Mejlis, Ahtem Chiygoz, as well has civil society activists, Ali Asanov and Mustafa Degermendzhi,” Chubarov said.

    According to their information, 14 Crimean …

  • Russia and Belarus agree on need for joint response to missile defense system in Europe

    Russia and Belarus have agreed on a joint response to the deployment of NATO missile defense systems near their borders. This was said by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus, Vladimir Makei. DW reports that he made these statements after meeting with the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Sergey Lavrov.

    “Because we are a union state[with Russia], we have agreed that we will jointly develop adequate response measures,” Makei said.

    Moscow and Minsk are planning to work closely …

  • Poland says NATO should not abide by its agreements with Russia

    NATO should not adhere to the agreement between Russia and NATO, believes the Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Witold Waszczykowski.

    "This document is a political commitment; it is not legally binding,” said the head of the Polish Foreign Ministry in Tallinn at the Lennart Meri Conference. “I do not think that we should implement this treaty."

    He reminded that the treaty was signed in 1997, but the situation with Russia has changed since then. The promises were made by the NATO of that …

  • Ukraine to discuss conditions of Russia's participation in Eurovision 2017

    Only Russian performers who “understand that the annexation of Crimea and the occupation of the Donbas is a crime” should be allowed to participate in the Eurovision contest in 2017, according to a deputy of the Verkhovna Rada of the Narodny Front, Anton Herashchenko. He said this on the 15th of May while at the Govorit Moskva radio station.

    According to him, Kiev “does not see any obstacles” for contestants who “do not speak out in support of Russia’s aggressive policies” and who “do not …

  • Estonian Defense Minister favors the deployment of NATO equipment near the borders of the country

    The Estonian daily newspaper Postimees reported that the Estonian Minister of Defense, Hannes Hanso, favored the deployment of NATO heavy military equipment near the country’s borders.

    “We want NATO heavy military equipment to be deployed closer to Estonia rather than a thousand miles away from it. For our part, in alliance with Latvia and Lithuania, we will do our best to ensure simplified transportation of the units across the state border and provision of weapons to our allies,” Hanso noted. …