Contents tagged with Russia

  • Number of western specialists coming to Russia drops by two thirds

    The temporary migration from developed western states to Russia continues to decrease, according to the February report of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA).

    Compared to the levels observed before western sanctions and the crash in oil prices, the flow of US and EU citizens into Russia has dropped by nearly two thirds.

    The influx of tourists and western specialists and business representatives traveling for business or service purposes is …

  • Kremlin: shipments of American Patriot air defense systems to Poland are a threat to Russia’s security

    The shipment of American anti-air and anti-missile defense systems to Poland can be considered a threat to Russia’s security, as stated by Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova at a press briefing.

    “We view the steps taken [by Poland] as an element to destabilize the military and political situation in Europe, and a threat to the national security of the Russian Federation. At the same time we note that the Russian defensive resources are adequate to ensure the inviolability of …

  • Defendant held in Germany in 'Russian Embassy cocaine case' refuses extradition to Russia

    The defendant in the recent “cocaine case,” Andrei Kovalchuk is in a Berlin prison awaiting his trial. It turns out that despite having a Russian passport Kovalchuk did not officially obtain citizenship of the Russian Federation, Rosbalt news outlet reports.  Kovalchuk considers himself a “citizen of the world”. He continues to maintain his innocence, insisting that he was the victim of provocation.

    According to Rosbalt, Andrei Kovalchuk is now being held in Moabit prison in Berlin that has a …

  • Russia and Ukraine terminate the agreement on mutual arms supplies

    According to the statement of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs published on the official portal of legal information, Russia and Ukraine terminated their 1995 agreement on the procedure for the mutual supply of arms and military equipment.

    In November 2017, the Ukrainian authorities unilaterally repudiated this agreement. According to the document, the states supplied armament and equipment in accordance with agreed standards and signed contracts. Such contracts, among other things, …

  • French President Macron to visit Russia

    French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian confirmed that the visit of President Emmanuel Macron to Russia in May will take place as planned.

    "At the moment the visit is expected," Le Drian said during an interview with the RTL radio station, commenting on whether Macron's visit to Moscow will still take place after the poisoning of Skripal.

    Sergei Skripal was the former colonel of the GRU (Russia’s Main Intelligence Directorate) who worked for the British secret services. He and his daughter …

  • Russia to conduct tests missile launches near Latvian Baltic Sea coast

    Russian naval forces will conduct training launches of missiles over the Latvian Exclusive Economic Zone in the Baltic Sea from April 4 to 6, as reported by the Russian Ministry of Defense, reports DELFI new agency.

    The report states that the missile launches will take place between 4 pm and 8 pm. The Russian Federation asked Latvia to close the airspace during this period to an altitude of 18 km in the missile launch zone and at a distance of about 40 km from the coastline of Latvia. The …

  • Russia gives US two days to vacate consulate building in St Petersburg

    The Russian government has given the US two days to completely vacate the US Consulate General premises in Saint Petersburg. This was reported on the Russian Foreign Ministry’s website on Wednesday, March 29.

    “The agreement on the opening and functioning of the US Consulate General in Saint Petersburg has been revoked. The American representatives must completely vacate the administrative building previously provided to them as premises for this institution by no later than March 31,” the post …

  • Russian Border Guard cadet asks for refugee status in Ukraine

    A cadet from the Russian Border Guard Institute asked Ukraine to grant him political asylum, as reported on Facebook by the assistant head of the State Border Service, Press Secretary Oleh Slobodyan.

    According to Slobodyan, several days ago, a citizen of the Russian Federation, born in 1997, arrived at the Hoprivka border crossing to enter Ukraine. He said that he was a serviceman of the FSB of the Russian Federation and asked to be recognized as a political refugee.

    "During the initial …

  • Kyiv: Russia should return Kuban to Ukraine

    At a recent briefing, Ukraine’s Minister of Infrastructure, Volodymyr Omelyan, stated that the Crimean Bridge will connect “Ukrainian Crimea” with “Ukrainian Kuban”, UNN reported.

    “From a political point of view, I see that this is a bridge that will connect Ukrainian Crimea and Ukrainian Kuban,” Omelyan said. He stressed that Ukraine’s losses from the construction and commissioning of the Crimean bridge are estimated at “tens of millions of hryvnias.”

    In May 2017, Omelyan stated that air …

  • Owner of Nord fishing boat detained by Ukraine is asking Russian Foreign Ministry for help

    The owner of the Crimean vessel “Nord” detained two days ago by Ukrainian State Border Guards at the Azov Sea sent a letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia pleading for help.

    As the Russian news agency Interfax reports, based on a copy of a document it possesses, the owner of the vessel, the Fishing Kolkhoz (communal economy) named after the First of May from the City of Kerch (Crimea), asked Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov “to help ensure safety of Russian citizens and …