Contents tagged with Russia

  • Four Ukrainian soldiers killed during shelling in Donbas

    On Friday, March 26, the pro-Russian militants attacked Ukrainian positions in the Donbas, reported the press-service of the Ukrainian Joint Forces Operation.

    The militants shelled the Ukrainian positions near the village of Shumy in the Donetsk region. As a result, four Ukrainian servicemen were killed and two others were wounded. The Ukrainian troops returned fire on the enemy.

    Journalist and editor-in-chief of the Ukrainian news website Censor.NET, Yuri Butusov, writes on his Facebook page …

  • ‘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 …

  • Russian Parliament passes law allowing Putin to run for fifth term

    The Russian State Duma passed in the third and final reading a law on bringing the electoral legislation in line with the amendments to the  Russian Constitution.

    According to the law, one person cannot be president of Russia more than twice. However, according to one of the amendments, this restriction no longer applies to those who held the post before the amendments to the Constitution came into force.

    Thus, Putin's term is "zeroed out", which allows him to run again in the presidential …

  • 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 …

  • U.S. Senators urge Biden to accelerate sanctions against Nord Stream 2

    U.S. Senators Robert Menendez (New Jersey) and Jeanne Shaheen (from New Hampshire) sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken calling for accelerated imposition of new sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

    "This pipeline must be stopped, and your leadership is required towards that end. We urge that the effort to build strong Nord Stream 2 sanctions packages be accelerated to meet the urgency of the moment," the Senators said in a letter.

    On March 18, the U.S. State Department …

  • Moscow warns Washington against creating ‘difficult days’ for Russia

    Moscow said that if the U.S. authorities continue to create "difficult days" in relations with Russia, they would have to answer for it. 

    "If they predict it, then they plan. And if they plan it, they can carry it through. But then, they will be responsible for the actions they have committed," said the Secretary of the Russian Security Council Nikolay Patrushev in response to the words of the US National Security Advisor Jacob Sullivan about the upcoming “difficult days” in relations with …

  • Norway to block sale of engines manufacturer to Russia

    The Norwegian government will block the sale of the manufacturer of diesel and gas engines Bergen Engines AS to the Russian industrial holding, the TMH Group (Transmashholding). This step is taken on the basis of national security considerations, announced on Tuesday, March 23, the Minister of Justice and Public Security of Norway, Monica Meland, speaking at a hearing in Storting, the unicameral parliament of the country.

    "The sale would strengthen Russia's military capabilities in a way that …

  • Russian consulate in Strasbourg turned into illegal stolen bicycles market

    French police have issued an arrest warrant for a man accused of mass theft and subsequent resale of bicycles. The case was brought in February after an electric bicycle belonging to the member of the French ruling party "Forward, Republic!", the municipal councillor of Strasbourg Alain Fontanel, disappeared. Fontanel's bike was parked outside the French office of the Council of Europe.

    A couple of days later Fontanel found it listed for sale on a classifieds website.

    Fontanel contacted the …

  • Lavrov: EU relations with Russia destroyed by ‘Brussels’ unilateral decisions’

    Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia has no relations with the European Union. According to him, the EU has destroyed all mechanisms and infrastructure with its unilateral steps, reports the Russian news agency Interfax.

    "We have a good neighbor China, and the European Union is also our neighbor We have always been interested in promoting our relations across all directions. Europe has severed these relations, simply destroying all the mechanisms that were created for many years. …

  • Putin’s friend Prigozhin accuses Washington of trying to abduct him

    Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, who is linked to the Russian private military company the Wagner Group, said that the U.S. authorities are planning to abduct him.

    "Evgeny Prigozhin appealed to the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation with a statement about his attempted abduction by U.S. citizens who are members of an organized criminal group," reads the statement of the Concord group controlled by Prigozhin.

    According to the businessman, the fact that Washington put him …