Contents tagged with Russia

  • Naftogaz's claim against Gazprom exceeds $8 billion

    The total claim amount made against Gazprom by Naftogaz has reached 8.2 billion dollars.  This claim is in regard to a contract between these two companies for the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine.

    The head of Naftogaz, Andrew Kobolyev, reported this during a conference in Kiev.

    “The total amount of claims made against Gazprom has reached an amount of 8.2 billion dollars,” Kobolyev said.

    According to him, this amount had accumulated during the duration of the contract, which began in 20 …

  • Column of Russian military vehicles entered eastern Ukraine

    Column of Russian tanks, circa 2014

    A column of Russian military vehicles entered separatist-controlled territory in Ukraine, as reported on Tuesday by the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

    “On the 29th of February, a column of military vehicles came from the Russian Federation into Ukraine through the Novoazovsk checkpoint, which is not controlled by Ukraine.  The column included six armored combat vehicles, four ammunition trucks and two mobile …

  • Russia sends more equipment to Syria

    The Russian Ministry of Defense indicated that new surveillance equipment has been deployed to the Syrian airbase, Hmeymin. According to the press service of the Agency, three complexes with unmanned drones and two radar stations for the detection of small targets were sent to Syria in the past three days.

    “In the past three days, the Russian Ministry of Defense deployed an additional three modern complexes with unmanned drones, two radar stations for the detection of small targets, which …

  • EU Commissioner of Energy doubts the necessity of Nord Stream II

    The European Union doubts the economical necessity of Gazprom’s Nord Stream II project, as stated by the European Commissioner for Energy, Maroš Šefčovič, during the Ukrainian Energy Forum, as reported by a European Pravda correspondent.

    “It is a private project which provides for the expansion of Russian gas transit through the Baltic Sea. However, why does the European Union need the additional gas transit capacity if the current gas transportation system is only running at 50% capacity? …

  • Russian representative to the EU hopes that sanctions will be lifted this summer

    A scenario where sanctions against Russia will be ‘eternal’ is contrary to the basic economic interests of the countries of the European Union, said Russia's Permanent Representative to the EU, Vladimir Chizhov.

    Russia's permanent representative to the EU, Vladimir Chizhov, expressed hope that sanctions against the Russian Federation will be lifted in the summer 2016.

    "I think at some point, the sanctions will be simply lifted, hopefully in the summer.  To expect a solution that would allow …

  • Pavlo Klimkin: Russia carries out large-scale human rights violations against Crimean Tatars

    According to Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Pavlo Klimkin, Russia is violating the rights of the Crimean Tatars.

    This was stated by Klimkin during his speech on Tuesday, March 1st at the 31st session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva, as reported by Evropeiskaya Pravda.

    According to him, Russia, as an occupying power, carries out large-scale human rights violations on the Peninsula, especially in regards to the indigenous population- the Crimean Tatars.

    “They carry out a …

  • General Breedlove recommends providing Ukraine with weapons

    Speaking at a hearing of the US Senate’s Armed Services Committee, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander for Europe, General Philip Breedlove, said that he had recently recommended that the US provide Ukraine with lethal weapons.

    On Tuesday, March 1st, Breedlove stated that Europe is facing a "resurgent, aggressive Russia" that is seeking to reestablish a leading role on the world stage.

    "Russia has chosen to be an adversary and poses a long-term existential threat to the United States and to our …

  • Russia to build five military complexes along border with Ukraine; one in Crimea

    In 2016 and 2017, the Russian Defense Ministry plans to replace 330 military bases and warehouses with 24 transshipment and logistics complexes.  One of these complexes will be located in Crimea, and five will be situated near the border with Ukraine.

    The Russian newspaper, Kommersant, published a map showing the planned complexes.

    The Ministry of Defense has said that these plans will reduce the spending of the military department by almost half, which would be 14.8 billion rubles.  They …

  • UK Representative to the UN: Sanctions will not be lifted until Russia withdraws its weapons and troops from eastern Ukraine

    Today, at a UN Security Council session, the British Ambassador, Matthew Rycroft, stated that sanctions against Russia would remain in effect until Moscow removes their weapons and personnel from the Donbas and influences local militias to cease hostilities.

    “Now we need a sustained ceasefire in The Donbas,” he said. According to him, the Russian Federation should “show political will” in order to restore Ukraine’s sovereignty and fulfill its international obligations, UNIAN reported.

    “Russia …

  • Bertelsmann Foundation: Russia is becoming increasingly autocratic

    Political and social conflicts are increasing around the world and as conflict escalates, the influence of religion on politics is growing and authoritarian tendencies are intensifying.  This is evidenced by the publication of the Bertelsmann Transformation Index (BTI) for 2014-2016 on Monday, February, 29th. The BTI is a survey of political and economic developments in 129 developing and transitional countries.

    Russia is currently at 81st place in the BTI ranking, dropping four positions …