Mercenaries from the Russian private military companies that were previously involved in the conflicts in the Donbas and in Syria have gone to fight in Sudan on the side of dictator Oman al-Bashir’s government, reported the BBC Russian service with reference to Oleg Krinitsyn, head of the RSB Group private military company.

“I heard that people have gone there and have even come back with a severe form of malaria,” Krinitsyn said. According to him, the company he heads “has interests there”, …

Pentagon spokesman Eric Pahon said that the liberation of most of the territories in Iraq and Syria from Islamic State militants is because of the efforts of the coalition and its partners, not Russia, reported Russian news agency RIA Novosti.

“The Syrian regime and the Russian Federation have not demonstrated a serious approach or commitment to defeat ISIS. They carried out only a small part of the operations against ISIS, and most of the territory liberated in Iraq and Syria was liberated …

Prosecutor General of Ukraine, Yuriy Lutsenko, believes that all agents of the National Anticorruption Bureau (NABU) are conducting illegal acts, according to his statements on the TSN Tyzhden weekly news show.

“They are using illegal methods of provocation. None of them was sworn in to have access to state secrets, but they receive transcripts of wiretaps of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), which is a crime. Moreover, they use surveillance equipment imported and not registered in …

Two key principles Ukraine should adhere to if it wants to join NATO are transparency in the use of budget means and reforms, as stated by the United States Army Commander in Europe, Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, as reported by Ukrainian 24 TV.

He also noted that Ukraine has great potential for producing its own weapons.

"Firstly, the decision to provide lethal weapons is being made at the highest level.  We are now providing recommendations on this issue. Let’s see how the situation …

Andrei Kelin, Director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's Department of European Cooperation (DEC) has stated that the Russian Foreign Ministry is in favor of reforming the OSCE over bias in the organization’s work, reports Gazeta.ru.

"We are concerned about the way the specialized institutions of the OSCE work. The bulk of their activities are concentrated in the field of human rights, and are implemented in relation to countries east of Vienna," Kelin said.

According to Kelin, the …

Leonid Pasechnik, who replaced Igor Plotnitsky as head of the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR), has reported on "well-established" cooperation with Moscow.

Pasechnik said that "I personally, and the entire leadership of the LPR, have constructive interaction with all Russian structures that render humanitarian assistance to our Republic at such a difficult time. I am confident that our cooperation will continue in the future,” reports Luhansk Information Centre.

According to Pasechnik, the …

US Ambassador to Russia, John Huntsman, believes that it will be possible to talk about the withdrawal of US troops from Syria only after making sure that the war with the terrorists has been successfully completed, as he indicated in an interview with Vedomosti, which was published on Monday.

"You can drive out all of the terrorists from Raqqa and the surrounding Euphrates river valley, but they can regroup and restore their resources, which means that premature departure can simply render …

In an interview with the German publication Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung , Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Rebecca Harms has urged politicians and visitors to boycott the World Cup in Russia.

"Politicians and visitors should stay away from the 2018 World Cup," Harms said.

The MEP added that Russia is not a country where it is worth holding such competitions. She named former German President Joachim Gauck, who refused to attend the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi in 2014, as a model example. …