Contents tagged with Russia

  • Medvedev issues a decree to protect Russian companies from sanctions

    In a governmental decree published on the website of the Cabinet of Ministers, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev ordered measures to alleviate the negative influence of retaliatory sanctions against Russian companies.

    “The Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Economic Development should ensure a balance of commodity markets and eliminate the negative influence of the special economic sanctions on the activities of Russian organizations,” the document stated.

    The new …

  • Russia: Ukraine ‘went too far’ with unfriendly steps

    The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova stated at a press briefing that Ukrainian authorities went too far with their unfriendly steps and provoked retaliatory steps from Russia, TASS reports.

    “Russia restrained itself for a long time in order not to take such measures, but the current Kyiv regime went too far, and we cannot ignore such unfriendly steps,” she explained. When asked about a possible negative reaction from the west, Zakharova said, “People …

  • New russian MC-21 airliner 50% more expensive than Elon Musk rockets

    The project to develop the mid-range MC-21 aircraft, included in the Russian government’s innovative rebuilding of the economy plan in 2008, has become 130% more expensive over the course of its existence, reports finanz.ru.

    The completion deadline was missed, and instead of two models, a 300 and a 400, the project was downsized to one, according to a report published by Russia’s Accounts Chamber on Thursday.

    During the course of the project, the time needed to develop the plane grew to three …

  • Germany and France accuse Russia of the OSCE drone disappearance

    According to Ukrinform, Germany and France, as Normandy format participants strongly condemned the downing of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission drone in Eastern Ukraine on October 27 and accused Russia of being responsible for it.

    A joint statement by the two countries in the OSCE Permanent Council of November 1 stated, “Evidence collected by the SMM suggests that Russia and the separatists it backs bear responsibility for the targeting and downing of the LR UAV.” They emphasized that those …

  • Kremlin: Russia will need huge military expenses if Georgia joins NATO

    The accession of Georgia to NATO, which is expected to take place in 2021, will require “huge” expenses from Russia, stated Andrey Kelin, Director of the Department of European Cooperation of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

    According to Kelin, Georgia's decision to become a member of the North Atlantic Alliance is viewed by Moscow as a problem and to resolve it Russia would require additional investments in defense.

     “We will have to form a defense zone near Sochi,” Kelin said, adding that "it …

  • Russian politician proposes shooting down US planes over Syria

    The Russian military may shoot down more than just US-guided drones if there is another assault on its air base in Syria, warned Vladimir Shamanov, head of the State Duma Defense Committee. Russia may even target the American aircraft from which the drones are believed to be controlled.

    Shamanov stresses that Moscow’s accusations that Washington attacked the Khmeimim Air Base using drones controlled from a US Poseidon 8 aircraft are based on “reliably gathered information”.

    “Next time, this …

  • Investors refuse to lend to Russian government

    The Russian government continues to struggle to borrow money on the market due to the mass exodus of foreign investors and the reluctance of the major Russian banks to risk US sanctions, finanz.ru reports.

    At the auction which was held on Wednesday, the Russian Finance Ministry failed for the second consecutive week to raise the targeted capital through Federal Loan Bonds (OFZs).

    Investors were offered 15 billion rubles of 3-year bonds and 5 billion of 11-year bonds, but the budget was only …

  • Russia introduces sanctions against Ukraine

    The Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev signed a government decree introducing sanctions against Ukraine.

    Based on the document published on the Russian government’s website, the list includes more than 300 Ukrainian citizens and 68 companies.

    Starting November 1st, their funds, property and bonds will be blocked in the Russian Federation, and transferring capital out of Russia will be restricted.

    The imposition of sanctions is “aimed at countering unfriendly actions against Russian …

  • Ukrainian Navy Commander: conflict with Russia in Black Sea is highly probable

    During “Freedom of speech” program on ICTV, Ukrainian Navy Commander Vice Admiral Ihor Voronchenko said that Russia may resort to escalation in the Black Sea.

    Ukraine recently stated that it intends to establish a naval base in the Sea of Azov due to Russia's hostile activities in the region. Voronchenko believes that the situation in the Black Sea could become as tense as the situation in the Sea of Azov.

    “They [Russia] are already questioning the crews when ships flying our flag or other …

  • Representatives of Serbia and Kosovo meet in Minsk

    The meeting of the Prime Minister of Serbia, Ana Brnabić and the leader of the Kosovo separatists, Hashim Thaçi took place on October 31 in Minsk, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus, Vladimir Makei told journalists as quoted by BelTA news agency. 

    According to the Foreign Minister of Belarus, during the discussion devoted to the relations between Serbia and Kosovo, representatives of both sides frequently used the words “dialogue” and “compromise”.

    “Even this makes this meeting …