Four officers of the Special Forces Directorate of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) – Bulat Akhmatyanov, Ruslan Gimadiev, Dmitry Minov and Vsevolod Trofimov – were killed on February 1 not in combat near Aleppo, as reported previously, but on the outskirts of Latakia. It was there that senior leaders of Turkey and Syria were planning to meet, and Russia was assisting with security. Sources told Novaya Gazeta that the attack may have been provocative in nature.

According to the sources, …

After launching the most far-reaching constitutional reforms since the early 1990s, the Russian government appears to be starting a PR campaign in which citizens ask the current president Vladimir Putin to remain in power after 2024.

On Tuesday in an episode of the TV channel Russia 24, Alena Smyslova, deputy head of the Cherepovets State University, spoke about the idea of extending Putin’s powers.

During a meeting with the public, Smyslova asked whether there would be any point to holding …

The US is considering the possibility of imposing additional sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 project if Russia tries to complete its construction independently. The Senate and the House of Representatives has already prepared a new sanction bill which could target the European investors in the pipeline and the companies that buy gas, if it ever starts to arrive in Germany.

Citing sources in Washington, Handelsblatt reports that the sanctions could arrive very soon – in February or March. US …