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Stoltenberg: Russia would not have captured Crimea if Ukraine had been in NATO in 2014
The Russian Federation would not have annexed Crimea if Ukraine had been a NATO member as of 2014, because other members of the Alliance would have stood up for Ukraine, said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in his speech at the College of Europe in Bruges, RBC-Ukraine reports.
"My short answer is that this would not have happened, because the purpose of NATO is to protect every ally," Stoltenberg said.
He added that NATO uses a "one for all and all for one" rule if one of the Allies …
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Construction of Nord Stream 2 pipeline delayed by half a year
The completion of the Nord Stream-2 pipeline continues to be postponed.According to Interfax, the operator of the project, Gazprom's Swiss-registered subsidiary Nord Stream 2 AG, has postponed the completion date in Danish territorial waters by another five months. About 160 km of pipe remain to be laid there.In a new Notice to Mariners published by the Danish Maritime Authority, the company says it plans to continue work until September 2021. Two months ago, in a similar document, the deadline …
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German banks refuse to open accounts for Russia Today news agency
According to RT itself, Ruptly GmbH (RT video agency) and RT DE Productions GmbH (RT's Website in German) received notices on February 26 about the closure of accounts in Сommerzbank from May 31 this year. This happened a month after the announcement of the upcoming launch of Ruptly’s German TV channel scheduled for December 2021.
Ruptly has sent dozens of requests to other German banks, as well as to European banks with branches in Germany, asking to open an account. But none of them agreed. …
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Two people convicted in Germany for violating sanctions against Russia
A court in Hamburg has sentenced two German citizens for violating an arms embargo on Russia imposed after the annexation of Crimea in 2014, reported the newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung.
One of the convicts is a 41-year-old businessman from Augsburg in southwestern Bavaria. He was sentenced to 3 years 9 months in prison, as fine of almost €8 million.
The first of the accused, Alexander S., was detained in February last year. According to investigators, from January 2016 to January 2018, …
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DPR gives permission to its troops to fire on Ukrainian positions in Donbas
The self-proclaimed Donetsk Peoples Republic allowed the militants to open "warning" fire on the positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Donbas, reported the publication Ostrov.
"Due to the lack of response from international observers to the shelling of the settlements of the Republic, in order to protect the population from Ukrainian terror, the units of the People's Militia have been given permission to open fire to suppress and destroy the enemy's firing positions," said the "people' …