American hedge funds are continuing to get rid of investments in rubles, while, at the same time, the price of the Russian currency stays in one place, ignoring the drop in oil prices.

One week before May 30, major traders at the Chicago exchange reduced bets on the ruble’s growth by 3% on the futures market, Finanz.ru web site reports.

The number of open contracts on the ruble has been decreasing for five consecutive weeks. Such a prolonged sell-off was last observed on the market in …

The NATO troops deployed in Lithuania and Poland next week will conduct training on the defense of the so-called Suwalki Gap, through which allied forces might arrive in the event of a military crisis in the Baltic countries, Interfax-Ukraine reports.

About 1,500 Lithuanian, Polish, British and American servicemen will take part in the maneuvers that will be held on June 17 to 19 and will involve heavy military equipment and helicopters. This operation is part of the international exercise …

Su-27 fighters of the Southern Military District (SMD) were put in the air and flew in pairs, being put on alert in the Crimea and tested for combat readiness, said Colonel Vadim Astafyev, head of the press service of the SMD.

“Pairs of Su-27 fighters from the 4th Army Air Force unit and Air Defense of the Southern Military District, stationed in the Republic of Crimea, were put in the air by a snap order,” Astafyev said.

The combat readiness of the pilots of the fighter planes was checked by …

Lithuania's President Dalia Grybauskaite called the existence of Russia and Belarus in the east a major threat to the Baltic States and Poland. She made this announcement to the local press on June 5 before setting off on a state visit to Estonia.

The head of the Lithuanian state reminded journalists that the Baltic countries and Poland are the "eastern border area of NATO" and that having Russia and Belarus in the same neighborhood is a threat. The militarization of Kaliningrad region plus …

First Deputy Chairwoman of the Verkhovna Rada Iryna Herashchenko hopes that Ukraine will become the 30th member of NATO. She expressed her views on Facebook while commenting on Montenegro entering the alliance.

Herashchenko believes that in 2008, Ukraine lost its chance to get the Action Plan on NATO membership because Russia’s coercion prevented any unity in this issue among political elite.

“We must wash away this guilt and do everything possible to make Ukraine a NATO member. We must apply …

ISIS militants were able to push through the defense lines of the Syrian army units in the city of Deir ez-Zor, as reported by Russia’s Federal News agency, citing sources on the ground.

A source in Syria told the news agency that ISIS reportedly managed to capture strategic heights on the outskirts of the city, namely al-Sanouf, Al-Syriatel and Um Aboud Hills as well as Panorama roundabout. The agency reports that the military base in the city is still under the control of the 137th brigade …

St. Petersburg authorities rejected all four applications for holding an anti-corruption rally on June 12, which were filed by supporters of the founder of the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), Alexey Navalny. On Monday, June 5, Interfax reported this with reference to the head of the St. Petersburg Navalny campaign headquarters, Polina Kostyleva.

"We filed four different applications, including for holding the rally on Marsovo Polye and the square near the Bryantsev Youth Theatre. The number …

On Monday, Lithuania started the construction of a protective fence, nearly 45 kilometers in length, on the border with the Kaliningrad region of Russia. The ceremony of laying the first pillar of the border structure took place in the village of Ramoniskiai, in the Sakiai district.

The cost of work will be 1,335 million euros. Money will be allocated from the budget of Lithuania, reports Delfi news website.

A metal segment fence with supplemental equipment, approximately two meters in height, …