Contents tagged with Russia

  • U.S. aircraft conducts reconnaissance near Crimea

    A U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon anti-submarine patrol aircraft carried out a several-hour reconnaissance flight off the coast of the annexed Crimea, as well as near the Krasnodar Territory of the Russian Federation, reported Interfax, citing Western aviation resources.

    “The naval intelligence aircraft, with the tail number 168432 and the call sign PS156, departed from the Sigonella airbase in Sicily, made an approach to the coast of the Krasnodar Territory, and then flew in the area of Novorossiysk …

  • Lithuania releases list of Russians affected by Magnitsky Act

    On Monday the Lithuanian Department of Migration released a list of 49 Russian citizens who are banned from entering Lithuania due to rights violations and money laundering, Delfi news agency reports.

    The list was released last week on the basis of the so-called “Magnitsky Act”, which came into force on January 1 in Lithuania. The list which was published online mentions the names, surnames, dates of birth and nationalities of the people it affects. Notably, the list features the name of …

  • Lavrov: Ukraine violated the Budapest Memorandum not Russia

    By allowing the Maidan (Ukrainian Revolution of Dignity), the Budapest Memorandum was violated by Ukraine, not Russia, which “never used” nuclear weapons against the Ukrainian state, stated Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at a press conference in Moscow on Monday, January 15.

    “We have answered these questions many times, including those connected to the Budapest Memorandum of 1994, according to which Ukraine renounced nuclear weapons and Russia pledged not to use nuclear weapons against …

  • Russia has placed 72 Ukrainian soldiers under investigation over the past three years

    In an interview with Rossiyskaya Gazeta, the Head of the Investigative Committee of Russia, Alexander Bastrykin said that since 2014, agents of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation have initiated 146 criminal cases against 72 officials of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, including 20 persons from ranks of Ukraine’s highest military leadership.

    "For three years, Ukrainian military personnel have repeatedly fired at civilian objects, including houses, schools, and hospitals in the …

  • Putin compares Lenin’s body to the relics of saints

    In journalist Andrei Kondrashov’s documentary film “Valaam”, Russian President Vladimir Putin compared Communist attitudes toward Vladimir Lenin with the veneration of the saints in Christianity, and he compared the communist ideology to Christianity, Novaya Gazeta writes.

    "The Communist ideology is very much akin to Christianity, in fact. Freedom, brotherhood, equality, justice—it's all laid down in the Holy Scripture. It's all there. And the code of builders of communism, it's a sublimation, …

  • Ukrainian military shot down third Russian drone since the beginning of ceasefire in the Donbas

    Since December 23, when the New Year-Christmas ceasefire in the Donbas began, Ukrainian anti-aircraft defense units have shot down third enemy drone, the press center of the headquarters of the Ukrainian Military in Donbas reports.

    "In the area of the ATO (Anti-Terrorist Operation), the air defense unit shot down a Russian-made Orlan-10 UAV. Since the beginning of the ceasefire (December 23), this is the third downed UAV of this type," the report said.

    It was noted that Orlan-10 is an …

  • Russian political scientist detained at Berlin airport, refused entry into EU

    Russian political scientist Oleg Bondarenko has been refused entry into the EU. He was detained at the airport in Berlin, and claimed that he had been prevented from entering the territory of the European Union at the request of Poland, TASS reports.

    "At the request of Poland, I have been forbidden to enter the territory of the EU, without explanation. The ban lasts 3 years," he said.

    According to Bondarenko, he flew to Berlin at the invitation of the German Left Party to participate in a …

  • Russian parliament may refuse to recognize Ukrainian borders

    Konstantin Zatulin (United Russia), First Deputy Chairperson of the State Duma committee for CIS affairs, Eurasian integration and relations with Russian nationals abroad, proposed that the Russian-Ukrainian Friendship Treaty be renounced with respect to the section where the countries recognize each other’s territorial borders, RIA Novosti reports. The MP believes that the treaty favors Ukraine “one-sidedly”.

    “In an article of the treaty we recognize the territorial borders of Ukraine, and …

  • Ukrainian General: During the annexation of Crimea, Russia was ready to send Special Forces to Kyiv airports

    During the annexation of the Crimea, Russia planned to deploy commandoes in the airports of Kyiv, said Major-General of the Armed Forces Ihor Hordiychuk in an interview with ATR TV. "Tactical nuclear weapons of 152 mm caliber and above were ready. It was likely that as soon as we put up military resistance in the Crimea, neither NATO nor the US nor Europe would take our side. On the contrary, we would face accusations. We intercepted the conversations where they [the Russians] planned to land …

  • Kremlin: US trying to influence situation in Russia before Presidential elections by imposing new sanctions

    Introduction of new sanctions of the United States against some Russian citizens is an attempt to influence situation in the Russian Federation ahead of the presidential election, Deputy Interior Minister of Russia Sergei Ryabkov said in an interview with TASS news agency, adding that Moscow expected two reports about the sanctions to be released by the U.S. Presidential Administration in late January.

    “We approach this philosophically and see it, first of all, as another attempt to influence …