• 230 km of anti-tank ditches were dug by Ukraine along border with Russia in 2015

    In 2015, the Russian-Ukrainian border was equipped with 230 km of anti-tank ditches in the Kharkiv and Chernihiv regions.  This was noted in the government’s program performance report in 2015, which was sent to the Verkhovna Rada.

    “Taking into account the priorities of the development of the Russian-Ukrainian border, the regions of Chernihiv and Kharkiv were equipped with 230 km of anti-tank ditches,” the report states.

    It is also reported that a 72 km long metal barrier fence was …

  • DiCaprio to Star as Putin in new Film

    American actor Leonardo DiCaprio has preliminarily agreed to perform the title role in a film about the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, which is expected to be released in the spring of 2017, as reported by Dozhd, citing sources from the film company Knightsbridge Entertainment.

    According to the company, work on the film about Putin began last year and now the final draft of the script is being approved. Several Hollywood celebrities have been approached to appear in the film. Dozhd was …

  • For Putin, Merkel is the Main Obstacle to the Lifting of Sanctions

    President Vladimir Putin is convinced that the lifting of sanctions against Russia is dependent upon German Chancellor, Angela Merkel.

    This was reported by Deutsche Welle and was based on reports by German political scientist and an expert of the German Council on Foreign Relations, Stefan Meister.  Meister notes that Putin’s administration believes that Merkel has become the main obstacle to the lifting of these sanctions.

    “According to Putin, the main problem is Merkel.  In the event that …

  • EU urges Russia to Respond to Kadyrov's Statements

    The European Union Ambassador in Russia, Vygaudas Usackas, believes that the recent statements made by Kadyrov against members of the Russian opposition "are unacceptable in a democratic society."

    The Ambassador believes that authorities should immediately respond to the statement of the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, against the opposition and the politician Mikhail Kasyanov.

    According to the EU office in Moscow, during a telephone conversation between Usackas and Kasyanov, the Ambassador …

  • Russia issues travel ban on five US officials

    In response to the expansion of the U.S. Treasury’s ‘Magnitsky list,’ Moscow published a list of U.S. citizens "involved in the legalization and use of torture," who are now denied entry into Russia.

    The day after the expansion of Washington's ‘Magnitsky list,’ Moscow retaliated. On Tuesday, February 2nd, the Russian Foreign Ministry published a list of U.S. citizens who are prohibited from entering Russia. All of them are former high ranking officials of the Pentagon, the CIA and the Justice …