Contents tagged with Russia

  • Ukrainian Border Service observes two Russian drones flying over the Donbas

    The Ukrainian Border Service has observed two unmanned Russian drones flying over the Donbas region, Interfax-Ukraine reported. The Border Service also stated that a Russian Mi-8 helicopter was seen flying along the administrative border between Crimea and mainland Ukraine.

    "In the area of ​​the ATO [the Donbas region] two unmanned aerial vehicles were seen, and also on administrative border the Berdyansk squad observed a Russian Mi-8 helicopter, which carried out flights over the temporarily …

  • Media: Russian jets intercepted Israeli aircraft over Syrian airspace

    Over the past several weeks, Russian fighter jets intercepted Israeli military aircraft over Syrian airspace on at least two occasions, the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported.

    According to the newspaper, the issue of airspace violations was discussed during Israeli President Reuven Rivlin’s visit to Moscow in March.

    Meanwhile, at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that he intended to discuss the strengthening of …

  • Lukashenko: Russia should not consider Belarus its 'errand boy'

    Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko called on Russia to respect the sovereignty of his country. In his annual address to the Parliament and the people of Belarus, Lukashenko urged Moscow to not consider Belarus its ‘errand boy.’

    "I want Russians and especially the leadership of Russia to understand that we will not be their errand boy. We are an independent, sovereign state, which lives in the same house with them but has its own apartment. Maybe a tiny and small apartment, but still its …

  • Poroshenko signs law banning Russian films

    The President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, has signed a law banning films produced in Russia after 2013, as well as films which popularize authorities of an aggressor state.

    An amendment to the Ukrainian law "on cinematography", concerning the films of an aggressor state (No 3359), entered the Verkhovna Rada (the Ukrainian Parliament) with the President's signature on April 20, 2016.

    "Under part one of this article, a ban on the distribution and demonstration of films containing the …

  • NATO intends to strengthen its military presence in the Black Sea region

    According to NATO Deputy Secretary General Alexander Vershbow, the Alliance intends to strengthen its military presence in the Black Sea region, RBC-Ukraine reported, with reference to Deutsche Welle.

    Vershbow explained that the aggressive actions of the Russian Federation on the one hand, and the “instability and violence on the southern borders of the Alliance that threaten to spill over onto its territory in the form of terrorism and uncontrolled migration" on the other, pose a "challenge …

  • Latvia may open a criminal case against the organizer of tours to Crimea

    The Security Police (SP) of Latvia requested that the prosecutor's office of Riga initiate criminal proceedings against a tour operator that organizes trips to the Crimea, Delfi.lv reported.

    According to the SP, the criminal proceedings were initiated as a result of the violation of the EU ban on providing services directly related to tourism in the Crimea and Sevastopol. The SP believes that enough evidence was gathered to start criminal proceedings against one individual for an intentional …

  • Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs protests Litvinov's sentence

    As was reported by the MFA press service, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly protests the conviction of Ukrainian Citizen Sergey Litvinov who is being illegally detained in Russia and was sentenced to 8 years and 6 months imprisonment in a maximum security penal colony.

    "The illegal judicial decision was based on fabricated and false evidence received after he was subjected to psychological pressure and torture. It has become obvious that Russia wants to sentence all illegally …

  • Peskov: If Ukraine's European integration negatively affects Russia, we will take countermeasures

    If Ukraine's integration into the European Union negatively affects Russian interests, then Moscow will assume balancing measures, reported the Russian President's Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov.

    "It is a subject which concerns, most likely, the European Union and Ukraine. As much as it concerns Russian-Ukrainian relations and the economic relations of Russia, we will trace the possible negative consequences very attentively," RIA Novosti quotes Peskov.

    According to Peskov, Moscow is …

  • US concerned by Russia's transfer of weapons to Syria

    Deputy National Security Adviser, Ben Rhodes, stated that the White House is concerned by recent information indicating that Russia is transferring more weapons into Syria.

    “We are concerned that Russia is transferring military equipment into Syria,” Voice of America reported, citing the statement of Obama’s Deputy Adviser at the press conference in Riyadh.

    According to Rhodes, on March 14th, Russian President Vladimir Putin made a public statement regarding the withdrawal of Russian troops …

  • Russia promises to react to presence of US destroyer near Kaliningrad

    Moscow believes that the emergence of a U.S. destroyer vessel near its borders is an attempt to put military pressure on the state. Reuters reports that the appearance of the USS Donald Cook in the Baltic Sea near Kaliningrad marks what the Russians call an attempt of Washington to exert military pressure on Moscow. This was stated by Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to NATO, Alexander Grushko.

    Grushko made the comment after completion of the first session of the NATO-Russia …