Contents tagged with Russia

  • Ukrainian Army Commander: Russian military threat highest since 2014

    The Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, General Victor Muzhenko, believes that Russia is increasing its military presence in the border areas, reports Reuters.

    Russia is increasing its military presence near the border with Ukraine since August, and now the military threat is the highest since 2014 when Moscow annexed the Crimea.

    Muzhenko refers to a series of satellite images, which according to him shows the Russian T-62M tanks stationed 18 kilometers from the …

  • Russian Foreign Minister denies the possible release of Ukrainian sailors before a court sentence

    Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated that the Ukrainian sailors captured near the Kerch Strait won’t be released until they receive a court sentence.

    “There will be a trial after the investigation. As soon as it is over, we can talk about how to facilitate their fate or agree on some specific steps. But this will be done after the trial is completed,” Lavrov said, as quoted by TASS.

    The Russian minister repeated that the Ukrainian servicemen are accused of illegal invasion of …

  • Austrian Foreign Minister reschedules visit to Russia because of spy scandal

    Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl rescheduled her visit to Russia. She explained that due to the scandal related to alleged espionage involving Russia, the visit was rescheduled to a later time.

    “Yes, it has been rescheduled. We intend to get the “Sochi dialogue” started but due to this case with espionage I have rescheduled the visit,” RIA Novosti cites Kneissl as saying. She did not specify a new date for the visit.

    Earlier, a former Colonel of the Armed Forces was detained in Austria  …

  • President of Belarus apologizes to Putin for the 'stormy' dispute over gas prices

    President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko commented on the public discussion with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the gas prices which took place on Thursday, December 6, at the summit of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) in St. Petersburg. Speaking on the Russia TV channel, the President of Belarus admitted that he had to apologize to Putin.

    "I spoke in a bad tone, so I had to apologize to the host of today's meeting. The discussion was very heated. You'd better not listen to it," …

  • Ahead of negotiations on Turkish Stream Greece asks Russia for money

    The Prime Minister of Greece, Alexis Tsipras stated in an interview with TASS news agency that Greece hopes that Russia will make strategic investments in its economy, including infrastructure, ports and energy.

    According to him, he plans to request these large investments during an official visit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, on December 7th.

    The Greek economy, with a debt exceeding 150% of the GDP “has good opportunities of a strategic nature,” stressed Tsipras.

    Tsipras …

  • Ukrainian Parliament supports termination of Friendship treaty with Russia

    The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine voted for the termination of the Friendship Treaty with Russia. The draft law that was submitted to Parliament by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko was supported by 277 deputies while 20 opposed. The treaty will be terminated on April 1, 2019, not immediately, according to the terms set for unilateral withdrawal from the treaty.

    Poroshenko stressed earlier that the matter was not about the termination of the agreement but that Kyiv refuses to extend it. …

  • Ukraine deploys air assault troops to Russian border

    The air assault units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are being redeployed to the most dangerous directions of the Ukrainian-Russian border, as stated by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko during a working visit to the Zhytomyr region. Poroshenko's statement has been published by the press-service of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC).

    The NSDC noted that the President and the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Oleksandr Turchynov visited one of …

  • Volker: Russian ships may be banned access to European ports

    US Special Representative for Ukraine Kurt Volker demands that Russia release the Ukrainian sailors captured in the Kerch Strait at the end of November before Christmas or New Year.

    During an interview with the Voice of America,  Volker explained that the US and its western allies are considering a number of ways to prevent new instances of Russia’s “unilateral control” of the shared waters of the Sea of Azov.

    “We do not accept or agree to the annexation of Crimea claimed by Russia,” he said, …

  • Lithuania intends to impose sanctions against Russia for aggression in the Black Sea and Kerch Strait

    The Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has proposed imposing individual sanctions against those responsible for Russia's aggressive actions in the Kerch Strait and the Black Sea, reports the ministry’s press service.

    "On December 6, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania appealed to the Migration Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania with a proposal to include in the national list of undesirable persons those who directly …

  • Berlin: fate of Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty depends exclusively on Russia

    “The Intermediate-Range and Short-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty) is of great importance for ensuring security in Europe, and the German government welcomes the fact that the United States once again gives a chance to preserve it," stated the deputy head of the Press and Information Office of Germany, Ulrike Demmer, at the press conference on the December 5.

    Berlin also believes that the continuation of the Treaty now depends solely on Russia. The spokeswomen of the German Ministry of …