Contents tagged with Russia

  • US expert calls for new sanctions against Russia during Senate hearings

    Ukrinform reported on Ian Brzezinski’s remarks during recent hearings in the US Senate. Brzezinski, the Senior Fellow in the International Security Program on the Atlantic Council’s Strategic Advisors Group, said that the acting sanctions against Russia weren’t sufficient to make them cease aggression against Ukraine. He added that was reason enough for the West to impose additional restrictions against whole sectors of Russian economy, instead of simply extending them.

    “The West should get to …

  • Obama urges Putin to release Nadiya Savchenko

    During a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on March 14th, US President Barack Obama urged the Russian leader to release Ukrainian pilot Nadiya Savchenko, Interfax reported.

    The news agency quoted the press secretary of the US Embassy in Moscow, Will Stevens.

    "President Obama also urged President Putin to release detained pilot and parliamentarian Nadiya Savchenko in accordance with the Minsk commitment to release all unlawfully detained persons," Stevens said. …

  • Operation in Syria could cost Russia up to $535 million

    According to the RBC media outlet, Russia could spend at least 38 billion rubles or up to $535 million on the military operation in Syria. Since the beginning of the campaign its costs could have grown by almost half.Costs per dayDuring Russia's 167-day military campaign in Syria the daily cost of operations could have grown by almost 50%, RBC estimates, basing its calculation on the data that was revealed by the Defense Ministry and the experts' evaluations.At the end of October 2015 the cost …

  • US State Department calls on Russia to implement Minsk Agreements and release Nadiya Savchenko

    According to Victoria Nuland, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs at the United States Department of State, Washington demands that Russia fulfill the requirements of the Minsk Agreements. The Assistant Secretary also called on Moscow to release Nadiya Savchenko.

    The US administration intends to uphold sanctions against Russia that were imposed due to the annexation of Crimea, stated Nuland on Tuesday, March 15th. "We will continue to cooperate with Ukraine on the …

  • Savchenko wins Jan Karski Eagle Award

    Nadiya Savchenko has become the winner of prestigious Polish Jan Karski Award. Savchenko was given the award for her tempered heart in the fight for human dignity and pride, Radio Poland reported.

    By Savchenko’s conduct in the face of trumped up charges, she provides a shining example of a person who can be deprived of life but can’t be broken. “Currently, Savchenko is on a hunger strike,” the jury of the award reported. Jan Karski established the Jan Karski Eagle Award in 2000, not long …

  • PACE is concerned over the possible ban of the Crimean Tatar Mejlis

    The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has expressed serious concern over the possible banning of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatars, Krym.Realii reported.

    “The Mejlis is an important tool for the representation and the emancipation of the Crimean Tatar people. It is absurd to label the Mejlis as an extremist organization just because they openly oppose Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea,” this was said by PACE co-rapporteurs, Axel Fischer and Jordi Xuclà.

    The PACE also …

  • Russian investigator: Wreckage of Polish plane will not be handed over until investigation is complete

    The wreckage of the plane that crashed near Smolensk that killed Polish President Lech Kaczyński in April of 2010 will not be handed over until the investigation concerning this criminal case is complete, as was reported by the official representative of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Markin.

    "Of course, the wreckage of the plane contains evidence of the criminal case and cannot be given back to Poland until all investigations have been completed, this is in …

  • EU Foreign Ministers agree on five principles for cooperation with Russia

    The EU Diplomacy Chief stated that member states support the five key principles for building relations with Russia. Italian and Hungarian Foreign Ministers spoke out against the automatic prolongation of sanctions against Moscow.

    On March 14, at the EU’s Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels, the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, discussed with the Foreign Ministers of the member states the five principles for cooperation with …

  • McCain fears that Russia will again focus on Ukraine after withdrawing troops from Syria

    US Senator John McCain is worried that Russia will turn its resources and attention to Ukraine following the Kremlin’s announcement that the main part of Russian troops will withdraw from Syria, Glavnoe reported with reference to Ukrainian TV channel “112”.

    According to McCain, Russia’s bombing campaign in Syria destroyed enough of the opposition to ensure that the al-Assad regime will stay in power.

    The US Senator and Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee also accused the White …

  • Russian court sentences opposition leader to community service for ‘insulting public officials’

    A Russian district court in Ryazan sentenced the leader of the local PARNAS branch, Yuriy Bogomolov, to 250 hours of community services for insulting judges on social media, RIA Novosti reported.

    According to investigators, in August of 2015, Bogomolov posted on the Russian social network site VKontakte, in which he “publicly insulted and degraded the honor and dignity of the authorities” of the judges of the Moscow District Court of Ryazan, as well as judges of the Ryazan regional court “in …