Contents tagged with Russia

  • US attorney wants to sue Putin for downing of MH17

    Jerry Skinner, a US attorney, hopes to lay out a case against Russian President Vladimir Putin with the European Court of Human Rights. He wants to sue Putin for $330 million in compensation for relatives of the victims of the MH17 disaster. He wants Putin to be held accountable for shooting down the Malaysia Airlines plane while it was flying over the Donbas region in July 2014.

    According to Reuters, Skinner, through the Australian LHD law firm, represents the relatives of the victims. …

  • NATO jets were scrambled to intercept Russian aircraft 9 times in a week

    Last week, aircraft from the NATO air policing mission in the Baltic States were scrambled to identify and escort Russian military aircraft nine times. Estonian daily newspaper Postimees referred to the Estonian Ministry of Defense as their source. On the 16th of May, Russian IL-20s  and AN-26s flew in the international airspace over the Baltic Sea towards the Kaliningrad region.

    On the 17th of May, fighter jets were scrambled to identify and escort more IL-20’s and two Su-27 fighters. The IL-2 …

  • Polish Foreign Minister: Sanctions against Russia will be extended

    The largest EU states have agreed that sanctions against Russia should be extended.

    This was said by the Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Witold Waszczykowski, before the start of the European Council meeting in Brussels.

    “It seems that the sanctions will continue,” he said.

    According to Waszczykowski, the leaders of the largest EU states agreed on this at an informal meeting held in Hannover two weeks ago. The sanctions will be extended as Russia has failed to comply with the Minsk …

  • Latvian court brings charges against organizer of tours to Crimea

    The Riga District Prosecutor's Office has indicted one person who is accused of organizing tourist trips to Crimea as reported by the Latvian news portal, Delfi, citing the press center of the Prosecutor General of Latvia.

    As it was previously reported in late April of this year, the Security Police (SP) of Latvia appealed to the Prosecutor of the Riga Judicial District to prosecute a person who organized a tourist trip to Crimea. The criminal process was initiated based on the violation of …

  • Despite sanctions banning his entry, Russian Agricultural Minister was admitted to the EU

    Even though the Russian Minister of Agriculture, Alexander Tkachyov, is on the EU sanctions list, French authorities have issued him an entry visa. The press service of the Ministry reported this on the 23rd of May.

    Tkachyov was placed on the list in mid-2014 in connection with Russia’s annexation of Crimea. At that time, he was the governor of the Krasnodar Krai.

    French authorities have not yet given a reason as to why they issued a visa to Tkachyov.

    Tkachyov headed the Russian delegation …

  • The U.S. Defense Attache in Moscow was summoned to the Russian Ministry of Defense

    On the 23rd of May, the U.S. Defense Attaché from the Embassy in Moscow was invited to the Russian Ministry of Defense in connection with an allegedly dangerous flight of U.S reconnaissance aircraft over the Sea of Japan near the Russian border. According to the agency, there was a risk of collision with passenger aircraft because the U.S. aircraft flew at the height designated for civil aircraft.

    The plane, an RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft, allegedly turned off its transponder and the crew …

  • Media: Disputes surround possibility of police mission in the Donbas

    According to an article written by the deputy chief editor of ZN.UA, Serhiy Rakhmanin, Kiev and Moscow have differing views concerning the amount of police required at the Donetsk and Luhansk local elections.

    The smallest possible police contingent will consist of 1,500 officers while the largest will consist of 11,000 officers. Kiev is firmly against the former, while Moscow does not approve of the latter. Members of the contingent will be armed with light weapons and will make use of armored …

  • NATO Secretary General: Crucial decisions will be made at the Summit in Warsaw

    NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated that “crucial decisions” will be made at the NATO Summit in Warsaw which is scheduled to take place on the 8 - 9 July, Polish Radio reports.

    According to him, the key positions on how to adapt to a new security situation given Russia’s recent actions will be identified at the summit.

    In particular, he noted the need to strengthen the presence of NATO in the eastern part of Europe to “give a clear message that an attack against one country will be …

  • Capital outflow from Russia continues

    According to Emerging Portfolio Fund Research (EPFR), in one week, May 12 - 18, 2016, the net outflow from funds investing in Russian equities totaled $17.4 million as compared to $137.1 million outflow in the previous week. The Emerging Portfolio Fund Research (EPFR) is an organization that provides fund flow and asset allocation data, RIA NOVOSTI reports.

    Earlier in May the Bank of Russia publicized statistics indicating that the net outflow from the Russian Federation totaled $12.8 billion …

  • US Deputy Secretary of Defense: Russia is on a path towards confrontation

    The United States Deputy Secretary of Defense, Robert Work, stated that Russia’s actions in Europe contribute to a changing international strategic landscape and represent a serious cause for concern. Europe and more generally NATO face different challenges in from all sides, Work noted. Russia is increasingly antagonistic and is gaining strength from the east, west and north, while terrorism and armed extremism are challenges from the south and from the inside.

    “We are at a turning point in …