Contents tagged with Russia
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Commander of the detained Ukrainian ship refuses to testify in Russian court
Ilya Novikov, the lawyer for the arrested Commander of the Ukrainian Navy boat Berdyansk, Roman Mokryak detained in the Moscow detention center, stated that his client does not intend to give any testimony in the court until his crew members are realeased.
“The Commander of the ship Berdyansk, Roman Mokryak, announced to the investigation today that he demands that he and his crew be treated as prisoners of war and that he will not give the Russian authorities any testimony until his …
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Austrian police accused Russian biathletes of violating anti-doping rules
Austrian police have accused several Russian biathletes, as well as coaches, doctors and massage therapists of violating anti-doping rules at the 2017 Biathlon World Championships, TV sports presenter Dmitry Guberniev said on his Instagram account on Thursday.
"A few hours ago, the Austrian police contacted the Russian national team. Here is the list of athletes, coaches, doctors and massage therapists who were accused of violating anti-doping rules during the 2017 World Championships in …
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EU fails to impose new sanctions on Russia over the Kerch Strait incident
Germany considers Russia’s claims to the Sea of Azov inappropriate, Chancellor Angela Merkel told Bundestag deputies on Wednesday. She stated that Russia’s seizure of three Ukrainian Navy ships in the Kerch Strait was “a cause for concern.”
“Let us call things by their proper names. We do not accept Russia’s actual claims to the Sea of Azov,” Merkel stated. Nevertheless, Germany rejected the idea of new sanctions for the Kerch incident. At the EU Summit on December 13, Berlin will advocate the …
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Russian Tu-160 strategic bombers fly over Caribbean Sea with Venezuelan F-16 fighter jets
The two Russian Tu-160 strategic bombers which arrived in Venezuela earlier this week have made a roughly 10-hour flight over the Caribbean Sea, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on Wednesday evening.
The Defense Ministry’s report notes that the Tu-160 missile carriers were accompanied at certain stages of the route by Su-30 fighters as well as F-16s from the Venezuelan Air Force. During the flights, pilots from both countries practiced cooperating in the air.
The Russian military …
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China wants to buy Siberian river water from Russia
China is hoping to solve its water deficit in a number of regions with Russia’s help. The Chinese Association for Exchanges and Collaboration between Russia, Eastern Europe, Central Asia and China has already sent the corresponding letter to Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.
One of the options proposed by China is an intergovernmental project to divert water from Russia’s Altai Krai to western China through Kazakhstan. The construction of the water pipeline would cost an estimated $80 …
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Putin expresses sympathy for Russian agent Butina detained in the US
At a meeting of the Human Rights Council in Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin commented on the case of the Russian woman Maria Butina arrested in the USA. According to Putin, Russian special services do not know anything about her.
“But this girl Butina, how unfortunate, she is in prison, she faces 15 years. For what?” stated the Russian President.
He added that after he heard about Butina’s arrest, he asked Russian special services leaders about her. “Who is she? Nobody knows anything …
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The US considers imposing sanctions on Russia for violations of religious freedoms
During a telephone briefing with journalists, United States Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Samuel Brownback confirmed that the US government may impose sanctions on Russia because of violations religious freedom. "They [ the Russian authorities] really… intensified their oppression," said Brownback while speaking of Russian authorities and religious freedoms, as quoted by TASS.
The briefing was held after US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo’s recent decision to assign …
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Ukrainian Intelligence withdraws from CIS Intelligence Services Cooperation Agreement
The Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine (FISU) reported on its website that it started the procedure for withdrawing from the Agreement on the principles and basic directions of cooperation between security agencies and intelligence services, which was signed by the CIS member states in 1992.
"The participation of Ukrainian intelligence in this agreement along with the Russian special services is absurd, given the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, which has been …
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US House of Representatives supports sanctions against Nord Stream 2 pipleline
On Tuesday, December 11, the House of Representatives of the United States Congress approved the resolution condemning the construction of Nord Stream 2, the main gas pipeline from Russia to Germany, and supported the imposition of sanctions to counteract this project.
Laying the pipeline would be "a dramatic step backward in the issue of European energy security and interests of the United States,” the document noted. “Russia’s geopolitical interest in Nord Stream 2 is not about increasing …
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Putin's ID found in German intelligence archives
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s identity card has been found in the archives of the Ministry of State Security of the GDR (Stasi), reports the Bild newspaper.
According to the newspaper, Putin was the Stasi employee until the end of the GDR’s existence. The certificate was discovered in the archives “personnel and qualification” department in Dresden. It was issued on December 31, 1985, and was extended quarterly until the end of 1989. The newspaper notes that this document has Putin's …