• U.S. prepares sanctions against Russian Defense Ministry, Aviation Industry, Space and Nuclear Agencies

    The United States has prepared new sanctions against Russia, which will include more than 30 state-owned companies, agencies and entities.

    Russian organizations will be subject to restrictive measures as part of the sanctions package against China, RIA Novosti reports citing a draft document that has not yet been published.

    The Russian Defense Ministry, as well as the subsidiaries of the Russian Nuclear Agency, Rosatom, and Russian Space Agency, Roscosmos, may fall under these sanctions.

    The …

  • Ukraine issues seizure orders for 50 ships for entering Crimea

    Ukraine has issued seizure orders for 50 ships which entered the ports of Russia-annexed Crimea, said the Ukrainian Prosecutor's Office for Crimea and Sevastopol, as cited by Radio Liberty.

    "Currently, the court has issued seizure warrants for 50 infringing vessels, 11 of them entered the closed ports of temporarily occupied Crimea under the Russian flag. Measures are being taken to establish the location of these ships in order to enforce the court ruling," the prosecutor's office said.

    The …

  • Putin refuses to congratulate Biden despite Trump's decision to hand over power

    Russian President Vladimir Putin still sees no need to congratulate Joe Biden on his victory in the U.S. election, said Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov during a press briefing.

    According to Peskov, Donald Trump's decision to launch a formal transfer of power to the new administration was "not enough" for Putin to acknowledge Biden's victory.

    "You know that the review and recount of votes in some states is still ongoing, without this the results of the elections cannot be officially …

  • U.S. prepares sanctions against specific companies involved in Nord Stream 2

    U.S. authorities have identified companies that will be sanctioned due to their involvement in the Nord Stream project, dpa news agency reported, citing a senior U.S. official.

    It is noted that not only companies but also individuals can be sanctioned if they do not stop their operations related to the pipeline.

    "We’re in the process of calling a number of these companies to make them aware that they’re likely engaged in sanctionable activity," the official said.

    At the same time, he did not …

  • German lobbyists ask Washington not to pursue sanctions against Nord Stream 2

    The Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations, an organization that lobbies for the interests German companies operating in Russia and Eastern Europe, appealed to prominent representatives of the U.S. Democratic Party with a request to abandon new, extraterritorial sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. The letter is addressed to the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi and other well-known Democratic politicians, reports the newspaper Handelsblatt. As the …