• Ministry of Justice: Yanukovych knew about plans to annex the Crimea ahead of time

    Russia began to actively prepare for the occupation of the Crimea in 2013 and former President, Victor Yanukovych, knew about it, as was stated at a briefing by the Minister of Justice, Pavlo Petrenko, LIGA.net reports.

    "We clearly identified and provided documents in the form of written evidence to the European Court for Human Rights which indicate that an active preparation phase for the occupation of the Crimea began in 2013. We also understand that such plans were prepared earlier. We …

  • Lithuania: Russia is demonstratively preparing for war

    The Russian and Belarussian joint military exercises, called ‘West-2017,’ are a demonstrative preparation for a war with the West, the President of Lithuania, Dalia Grybauskaitė, said.

    "We see different threats, they are growing, we are anxiously waiting for the 'West-2017' exercises, during which numerous and aggressive forces will be concentrated, demonstrative preparation for a war with the West is being conducted," Grybauskaitė said.

    In addition, the 'West-2017' will take place in …

  • Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Russia aims to create a 'gray zone' in Eastern Europe

    Poland will never accept a Russian vision of the European continent and will not agree to the division of Europe into zones of influence, according to Witold Waszczykowski.

    Waszczykowski made the comment while addressing the Sejm.

    According to the minister, Russia is pushing for NATO to renounce its presence in Eastern Europe, and for the creation of a “gray zone” in this region.

    “Poland will not accept such a vision of political order in Europe, and will not agree to the division of the …

  • Russian Foreign Ministry called Romania a threat after US deployed missile shield to the country

    Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko, director of the Fourth European Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, stated that Moscow considers Romania a country which poses a threat to the safety of Russia, after the appearance of elements of a US anti-missile shield on its territory.

    “Romania’s stance and the stance of its leadership, who have turned the country into an outpost, is a clear threat to us. The Romanian side has been told this, even publicly,” Botsan-Kharchenko noted.

    According to him, …

  • A former FSB officer said Russia sent spies to Europe disguised as migrants

    A Russian officer-defector stated that the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation sent its spies to Europe disguised as migrants, Die Welt reported.

    “We managed to deploy spies disguised as migrants to Europe. The results were reported to the President and he approved them,” the former high-level FSB officer known only as “Igor” said in a documentary named Putin’s Cold War, which broadcasted on ZDF German TV Channel.

    The defector was a former Russian Colonel and served as the head …