Contents tagged with Russia

  • US will continue to purchase Russian rocket engines for another six years

    The United States Deputy Secretary of Defense, Robert Work, stated in an interview with Reuters on April 8th, that the Pentagon needs to buy 18 more Russian RD-180 rocket engines in order to launch military satellites into orbit. According to him, this need will continue to be in place until a similar American engine is developed. “We see no means by which to develop these engine types within the next six years. We need Russian RD-180 rocket engines during the transition period,” Work explained. …

  • Poland proposes making Ukraine the primary focus of the NATO-Russia Council meeting

    The Head of the National Security Bureau of Poland, Pavel Soloh, stated that the Ukrainian crisis should be the main subject of the forthcoming NATO-Russia meeting, Rosbalt reported.

    When Soloh visited Berlin, he noted that Russia violated international law by annexing the territory of another state, which led to an increase of tensions in relations between NATO and Moscow. According to the Head of the National Security Bureau of Poland, the decision on the council meeting was taken only after …

  • Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs concerned over Savchenko's health

    The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has expressed deep concern over the deterioration of Nadiya Savchenko’s health after 4 days on a dry hunger strike.

    "Ukraine strongly protests that Ukrainian doctors and consular officials are not allowed to visit the Ukrainian pilot, [and] that the Russian political leadership ignores numerous complaints of world leaders, [and] the Ukrainian MFA,  concerning this issue, [as well as the complaints of] human rights organizations and public leaders,” a …

  • Four tons of Turkish tomatoes destroyed in Crimea

    The Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance, Rosselkhoznadzor, reported that four tons of Turkish tomatoes were destroyed in the Crimea, according to the agency’s press service, RBC reported. The banned products were being smuggled into the Crimea using the Kerch Strait ferry.

    "An attempt to import four tons of tomatoes of Turkish origin to Crimea was prevented on the Kerch Strait ferry.  Products forbidden for import have been confiscated and buried in the …

  • Foreign Ministry of Belarus: Placing a Russian military base on Belarusian territory is meaningless

    Currently Belarus does not feel the need to place a Russian military base on its territory, as stated by the Head of the Belarusian Foreign Ministry, Vladimir Makei, Interfax reported.

    "As for the placement of the Russian military base on the territory of Belarus, nowadays it's meaningless to place additional bases on our territory. It won't improve security in the region. We have enough different military and air bases, which could be put to use at any moment, if the situation asks for it," …

  • Scheduled power cuts to occur in Sevastopol

    The authorities of annexed Sevastopol claim that they are preparing blackout schedules due to the repair work on the power bridge from neighboring Russia beginning on April 11th.

    "From April 11 to April 17 the repairs will begin in Crimea. As a result, the availability of electricity will significantly decrease again. We are preparing to introduce a schedule for temporary electric outages," said the commercial director of Sevastopolenergo, Vladislav Yakimovich as reported by the press service …

  • Member of the Russian Night Wolves motorcycle club expelled from Latvia

    State Border Guard representative Yevgeniya Pozniak told Latvia’s main information agency LETA that the State Border Guard deported Igor Lakatos to Russia. Lakatos is a representative of the Russian motorcycle club "Night Wolves" and is on the list of undesirable persons in Latvia. Richard Kozlovskis, the Minister of Internal Affairs, had blacklisted Lakatos on the basis of security services reports.

    The Night Wolves were responsible for organizing last year’s race from Moscow to Berlin in …

  • Poll: Nearly 80% of Russians live paycheck to paycheck

    About 80% of Russians, in one way or another, face a shortage of money before each payday. Nearly half (41%) of those surveyed by the Public Opinion Foundation (FOM) complain of a "frequent" shortage of finance.

    19% of the respondents have no problems with their pay. 39% face a similar problem but rarely so. Three-quarters of employed Russians are dissatisfied with their salaries. Only 23% of Russians believe that they have a sufficient monthly income. In contrast, 70% of Russian citizens were …

  • Polish media: Russia replaced the bodies of the victims of the Smolensk plane crash

    Five months after the disaster near Smolensk, the former Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, has been notified that the Russians put a different body in the coffin of the exiled President, Ryszard Kaczorowski, as reported by Gazeta Polska.

    "On the 24th of September, 2010 the leaders of the Polish government received information that would become the turning point in the investigation of the Smolensk catastrophe," the edition writes.

    It is reported that the then Ambassador to Moscow, Jerzy Bahr, told …

  • Russian Justice Ministry begins preparing documents for the transfer of Sentsov

    According to RIA Novosti, the Russian Ministry of Justice requested that the Federal Service on the Execution of Penalties prepare the documents for the transfer of four convicted persons to Ukraine, including noted Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov.

    On April 7th, the Russian Department of Justice received a request from Ukraine for the transfer of Sentsov and three others into Ukraine’s custody. Sentsov is in a quarantine cell of the Correctional Colony Number 1 in Yakutsk, Russia. He was …