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Russia begins large-scale military exercises in annexed Crimea
Russia will hold exercises of the airborne forces in Crimea and the Krasnodar Krai, TASS reported, citing Russian Defense Ministry.
The drills will begin on December 23 at the Opuk training ground in Crimea. The paratroopers, artillery, chemical and nuclear defense units will conduct live firing drills. The military will also practice demining a section of the terrain and providing fire support to the troops using drones and air attack weapons.
"Military personnel will perform live firing …
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Dutch Prosecutor's Office demands life sentence for those accused of downing MH17 Boeing over Donbas
The Dutch Prosecutor's Office requested life sentences for three Russians and one citizen of Ukraine, accused of involvement in downing the Malaysian Airlines Boeing over the Donbas on July 17, 2014.
According to BBC News, the prosecutor requested a life sentence for Igor Girkin (Strelkov) - the former Minister of Defense of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, Sergei Dubinsky - the former commander of the DPR GRU and Oleg Pulatov - the ex-head of the DPR GRU department.
All three …
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NATO puts its European forces on high alert as Russia amasses troops on Ukrainian borders
NATO has increased the combat readiness of its Response Force in Europe as Russia continues amassing troops near Ukrainian borders.
Die Welt reports, citing a senior NATO representative, that a decision to put 40,000-strong NATO Response Force on high alert was made by the North Atlantic Council because of the buildup of Russian forces near the border with Ukraine.
At the same time, the level of combat readiness of the special forces and logistics services has been increased, and the …
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Russian Defense Minister accuses the U.S. of preparing chemical attacks in Donbas
Private military companies from the United States are preparing provocations using chemical weapons in the Donbas, said the Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu at the board meeting of the Russian Defense Ministry.
According to him, 120 employees of American PMCs arrived in the region and are training Ukrainian special forces soldiers.
"Tanks with unidentified chemical components were delivered to the towns of Avdiivka and Krasny Liman to carry out provocations," RIA Novosti quoted Shoygu …
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Lithuania calls on NATO to strengthen its military potential near Russia's borders
Lithuania called on NATO to deploy troops to Russia's borders, amid continued deployment of Russian troops near Ukrainian borders. "NATO must respond not only by deploying its troops to the eastern front, but also by strengthening its military potential. Strengthening the military potential is good, but we should have an algorithm, what to do in the case of scenario A, scenario B, scenario C," said Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda at a joint press conference with the presidents of Ukraine …