Contents tagged with Russia
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European Parliament sees no reason to lift sanctions on Russia following release of Savchenko
The Member of the European Parliament for Alliance 90/The Greens, Rebecca Harms, stated in her interview with Deutsche Welle that the European Parliament sees no reason for lifting sanctions against the Russian Federation following the release of Ukrainian pilot, Nadiya Savchenko. According to Harms, the exchange of prisoners and hostages is only a part of Minsk Agreements and isn’t the most essential part.
Harms noted that the restoration of Ukraine’s control over certain areas of Ukrainian- …
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Court acknowledges lawsuit filed by relatives of MH17 victims against Russia
The Secretariat of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) officially received a claim from the relatives of the deceased passengers of MH17 flight from Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand which was filed against Russia. UKRINFORM quoted this information from the Press Attaché of the ECHR, Nina Salomon.
"We can confirm that a statement against Russia on the crash of MH17 flight was received by the Secretariat of the Court on May 9, 2016. There are 33 applicants who are relatives of the …
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John Kerry welcomed the release of Nadiya Savchenko
The United States Secretary of State, John Kerry, welcomed the release of the former Army pilot in the Ukrainian Ground Forces, Nadiya Savchenko, and her return from Russia to her homeland. In his statement, he called Savchenko’s release an important element of Russia’s implementation of the Minsk Agreements.
Secretary Kerry called on Moscow to meet its other obligations to these agreements, namely the release of prisoners and hostages, withdrawal of troops and restoration of Ukraine’s control …
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New evidence emerges in Nemtsov murder investigation
Evidence in Boris Nemtsov’s murder indicate that those accused of the crime made phone contact three times before the murder, and destroyed their phones after it was committed.
A source close to the case told Rosbalt that after studying mobile phone calls made in the area surrounding Nemtsov’s house, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation (Sledcom) were able to identify the phone numbers used by the accused. Up until the 14th of February 2015, the suspects were using two SIM …
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Putin noted the fragility of the ceasefire in the Donbas
More and more cases of ceasefire violations have been noted, and the Kremlin says the frequent violations are a threat to the continued truce in eastern Ukraine, Radio Liberty reports.
"The issue is very serious. More and more cases of violations are being noted. Unfortunately, this threatens the ceasefire. This truce is a cornerstone of the Minsk Agreements. And of course, this concern was expressed by Russian President Putin," the Press Secretary of the Russian President, Dmitry Peskov, said. …
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General Pavel: NATO will respond to future Russian aggression in Ukraine
The Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, General Petr Pavel, has said that if Russia takes any aggressive action against NATO members in the East, the Alliance will have to respond. Pavel was referencing Russia’s actions against Crimea and Ukraine.
On the 24th of May, Pavel told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that the increase of the Alliance’s military forces on its eastern flank is in direct response to Russia’s military actions towards Georgia, Ukraine and Syria.
General Pavel, who …
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Russian Supreme Court signs bill making it illegal to dishonor the national anthem
The Russian Supreme Court approved a bill criminalizing any dishonor of the national anthem. The document indicates that insulting the Russian anthem is equated to insulting the national coat of arms or the flag. According to the bill, any violation is punishable by up to one year in prison.
“As specified in Article 9 of the Federal Constitutional Law ‘On the National Anthem of the Russian Federation’, it contains a direct stipulation for punishment in accordance with Russian legislation in …
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Lawyer: Pressure is being exerted on imprisoned Crimean Tatars
Enver Mamutov, an imprisoned Crimean Tatar, lives in unacceptable conditions and is subject to psychological pressure, according to his lawyer, Emile Kurbedinov.
“Enver Mamutov has said that he is being held in solitary confinement. He has also not received pen and paper to write a statement, or approved books from the library. Just imagine spending all of your days in solitary confinement. To be imprisoned in such conditions and without any communication amounts to psychological pressure,” …
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Portuguese spy arrested for passing NATO secrets to Russia
In Rome, state security officials arrested a Portuguese citizen who provided Russian intelligence officials with secret documents from NATO. A Russian citizen was also arrested, as reported by Expresso on May 23rd.
The arrested person was a Portuguese citizen, Frederico Carvalhão, who is a member of Portugal’s SIS intelligence service. He was accused of selling sensitive information relating to NATO and the European Union.
It was mentioned that Carvalhão had been leaving Portugal in order to …
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The Kremlin: NATO is a tool for confrontation
Dmitry Peskov, the Press Secretary for Russian President Vladimir Putin, stated that NATO is a tool created for confrontation. RIA Novosti quotes Peskov as saying “NATO is a product of confrontational times. It is a tool created for confrontation.”
“What valuable contribution to ensuring pan-European stability and security can be made by a tool created exclusively for confrontation? This issue is controversial,” Peskov believes. “As before, we note with greatest regret the expansion of NATO’s …