• Media: Russia transfers tanks and other military hardware to Syria

    On Sunday, a KIL-158 Russian vessel, with cargo bound for Syria, sailed through the Black Sea. This was reported by Turkish newspaper, Hurriyet.

    The website uploaded a video showing the vessel passing Istanbul. The newspaper speculated that there were possibly two tanks on the deck under a camouflage net.

    The vessel was accompanied by a Turkish Coast Guard ship and a police helicopter.

    The media had also reported that the landing ships and auxiliary vessels of the Russian Navy were involved …

  • Putin did not congratulate Ukrainian and Georgian Presidents on Victory Day

    Russian President Vladimir Putin has congratulated the presidents of nine states, including the so-called republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, on Victory Day. He did not, however, extend these well wishes to the leaders of Ukraine and Georgia, but he did congratulate the citizens of these countries. This was reported on the Kremlin’s website.

    “Vladimir Putin congratulated leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, …

  • Gazprom may completely abandon the Baltic market

    As reported by Rzeczpospolita, after leaving Latvia and Lithuania, the Russian Gas monopoly, Gazprom, may abandon its work in Estonia as well. According to the daily, the Board of Directors of Gazprom has to make a decision on the termination of its participation in Eesti Gaas on May 11th.

    As of today, 51.38% of the shares of the Estonian company belong to Finnish Fortum, 37.03% of the shares are owned by Gazprom, and 10.02% belong to the Latvian company, Itera Latvija, which is part of the …

  • Savchenko pays fine as part of her sentence

    Nadiya Savchenko has paid a 30,000 ruble ($455) fine as part of the sentence that was issued by a Russian court in March, RBC-Ukraine reported. The payment of the fine was required for Savchenko to file the documents necessary for her extradition to Ukraine.

    According to Savchenko’s mother, her daughter at first refused to pay, as the documents stated that she had illegally crossed the border from Ukraine to Russia, a charge that Savchenko denies.

    The Ukrainian consulate reportedly provided …

  • In response to Moscow's criticism, Tbilisi says Georgia can carry out exercises with any partner on its sovereign territory

    The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia issued a statement in response to the Russian Foreign Ministry’s comments on the joint Georgian-American exercise “Noble Partner 2016.” Moscow stated that Washington “appeases revanchist ambitions of Tbilisi.” The Georgian Foreign Ministry replied that Georgia is a sovereign and independent state and has a right to carry out training on its territory together with any partner.

    “It is worth noting that the exercises are not aimed at any country. Such …