Contents tagged with Russia
-
Russian parliament passes 'sovereign internet' bill on first reading
Russia’s State Duma has reviewed and passed the bill “on the reliable Russian internet”, also known as the “sovereign internet” bill, on its first reading.
The bill is intended to “ensure the reliable operation of the Russian segment of the internet in the event of disconnection from the global infrastructure of the World Wide Web”.
The document was authored by Andrey Klishas, chairperson of the Federation Council’s committee on constitutional legislation, his first deputy Lyudmila Bokova, …
-
Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov warns Pompeo against sanctions for Skripals poisoning
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have recently spoken over the phone at the latter’s initiative, the Russian foreign policy department reported on Tuesday.
The officials discussed two main topics.
The first was the possible imposition of new sanctions on Russia due to the poisoning of former GRU agent Sergey Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the UK. Lavrov warned that this would cause further deterioration in the two countries’ relations and …
-
Expert: Poland foiled Russia’s plans in Baltic Sea
A Polish anti-ship coastal defense missile division has “buried once and for all” Russia’s hopes of controlling the maritime transport routes in the Baltic Sea. In an article for Defence24, Polish military expert Maksymilian Dura explained why he believes that Poland is the only regional power capable of influencing the development strategy of Russia’s Baltic Fleet.
“The most notable reaction of the Baltic Fleet was caused by the appearance of Polish NSM anti-ship missiles… which are capable …
-
Norway: Russia is jamming GPS signals and putting passenger flights at risk
Russia has blocked signals of the GPS navigation system near the Norwegian border, Norway's intelligence service stated.
Morten Haga Lunde, the head of the intelligence service, said that the actions of the Russian Federation are “not only a new challenge for Norwegian and Allied training operations, but also a threat to civilian air traffic, the police and health operations”.
In October and November 2018, NATO held large-scale military exercises, NATO Trident Juncture exercises, which …
-
North Korea asks Russia for 50 tons of free wheat
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has asked Russia for humanitarian aid in the form of 50,000 tons of wheat, claiming that it was needed because of damage caused by natural disasters in 2018, said the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Federation Council, Senator Konstantin Kosachev as quoted by TASS. According to Kosachev, Russia also intends to help North Korea overcome child and maternal mortality .
“Now, as I was informed, Russian authorities are working on the …
-
Estonian ex-army officer and his father convicted of spying for Russia
The former Estonian Defense Forces (Armed Forces) officer and his father were convicted on charges of espionage for Russia in Estonia. The court found them guilty of high treason, reports Radio Liberty.
Tallinn court has established that the 38-year-old Deniss Metsavas, a former major of the Estonian army, and his father, 65-year-old Pjotr Volin, were selling classified information to the Russian military intelligence, known as the GRU.
According to the Estonian State Prosecutor’s Office, the …
-
Kremlin: Russia will not accept responsibility for MH17 air disaster
The spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Maria Zakharova, stated that during the course of future consultations regarding the investigation of the MH17 flight crash in eastern Ukraine in 2014, Russia does not intend to admit its responsibility for the downing of the aircraft.
According to her, the focus of the consultations that are soon to be held in Vienna will not be Russia's recognition of the legal responsibility for the downing of the aircraft.
According to the …
-
Transnistria hopes to open embassy in Kyiv
Vadim Krasnoselsky, head of the unrecognized republic of Transnistria, has announced his intention to open embassies for his republic in Brussels and in Kyiv.
“The head of Transnistria’s government has instructed the ministry of foreign affairs to open official Transnistrian embassies in Kyiv and Brussels,” the republic’s foreign ministry reported.
However, the primary task of the Transnistrian foreign ministry is “to practically implement the national idea of Transnistria, which consists in …
-
Russian presidential aide: Putin’s political machine is only gaining momentum
Russian presidential aide Vladislav Surkov says that the Russia of today is “Putin’s state”.
Surkov wrote about the condition of the Russian government in an article titled “Putin’s long-lasting state” that was published in the Nezavisimaya Gazeta on Monday.
“Russian history has known four main models of state, which can be provisionally named after their creators: Ivan III’s state (The Grand Duchy/Kingdom of Moscow and all Rus, 15-17th century); Peter the Great’s state (Russian empire, 18-19 …
-
Russia warns of gas supply problems to Europe if Nord Stream 2 is stopped
The Russian Foreign Ministry warned the EU against hindering the Nord Stream 2 project, stated Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Alexander Pankin in an interview with RIA Novosti.
Pankin stated that if obstacles are created to force Russia to pump gas through Ukraine “on their terms, their tariffs and their legal uncertainties, then this would not work”. He pointed to possible difficulties that European consumers could have if Russia and Ukraine fail to reach an agreement on gas transit and “ …