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Iraq does not want Russian help.
According to the U.S. top military officer, Iraq is not planning to turn to Russia for airstrikes and other military assistance in its fight against Islamic State militants.
“Both the minister of defense and the prime minister said absolutely there is no request right now for the Russians to support them,” Marine Gen. Joe Dunford, chairman of theJoint Chiefs of Staff, said following his visit to Iraq.
“I said it would make it very difficult for us to be able to provide the kind of support …
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Ukraine ceasefire helps volunteers bring dead soldiers home.
As reported by Reuters,A ceasefire in eastern Ukraine means more work for the volunteer group Black Tulip, which can now collect remains of Ukrainian soldiers killed in action without the risk of being caught in crossfire between rebels and government troops.
The group used to locate and rebury soldiers killed in World War Two, but when hundreds of Ukrainian troops were killed in the battle of Ilovaisk last year, the volunteers decided their skills could help more recent victims of conflict. …
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First Russian casualties reported in Syria.
As reported by Reuters, at least three Russians soldiers fighting alongside Syrian government forces were killed and several more wounded when a shell hit their position in the coastal province of Latakia.
If confirmed, these casualties which occurred on Monday night would be the first known incidence of Russians being killed in Syria since Moscow began air strikes in support of President Bashar al-Assad on September 30.
The Russian embassy in Damascus declined to comment on the reported …
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Stalin portraits go on displays in Donetsk.
Portraits of former Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin emerged on displays in the center of Donetsk, the pro-russian rebel capital of eastern Ukraine. as the separatist authorities fuel a mood of Soviet nostalgia.The rebels revive Soviet customs to cement their Moscow-backed rule and fuel a mood of Soviet nostalgia.The horrors of Stalin's repressions and the deaths of up to five million Ukrainians in the 1930s due to famine caused by forced collectivization go unmentioned.The Donetsk rebel leader …
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Russian airstrikes killed commanders of rebel groups supported by US.
A monitoring group reports that several commanders of the “Free Syrian Army” have been killed by Russian air strikes in recent days.
The commanders are reportedly from the groups which receive support of US and other coalition allies.
The Syrian Observatory for Human rights reports that 45 people were killed by Russian airstrikes on Monday.
Among them were both civilians and rebel fighters. The airstrikes occurred in Jabal Akrad area.
This area is under control of the First Coastal Division …