The head of the Russian State Duma Defense Committee, Vladimir Shamanov, announced plans to spread out the first battalion of the Airborne Troops (VDV) division in the occupied Crimea, as reported by TASS

According to Shamanov, the decision has already been made and the battalion will be deployed in the city of Dzhankoy in 2017.

"In accordance with the decision of the board of the RF Ministry of Defense, the formation of a separate battalion of the 97th Airborne Assault Regiment in Dzhankoy, …

The European Union member countries will decide on the extension of anti-Russian sanctions early next week.

According to a high-ranking EU official in Brussels, this will be done “in accordance with the proposal of the President of France, François Hollande, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.”

As was confirmed by TASS, citing a source in the German Government, sanctions will likely be extended immediately after the meeting. “If the leaders make this decision, it will be possible to extend …

The US administration called the aggravation of the situation in Aleppo an atrocity, blaming President Bashar al-Assad and the countries supporting him. The White House demanded an immediate ceasefire to allow civilians to get access to humanitarian help.

As Urkinform reported, the White House Press Secretary, Josh Earnest, said at a press conference on Wednesday that, "I think Assad's regime has demonstrated that they have crossed all lines to achieve their goals. And this obviously involves …

Weapons captured in Palmyra by militants of the so-called Islamic State pose a threat to the military coalition led by the United States. This, as reported by the BBC, was said by the US Army Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend, commander of the forces of the international coalition against the so-called Islamic State.

According to Townsend, the militants, when capturing Palmyra, allegedly seized armored vehicles and air defense systems.

He added that there is information that indicates these …

The Commanding General the United States Army in Europe, Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, announced that 4,000 U.S. soldiers will be relocated to Poland as part of the NATO Atlantic Resolve mission in January 2017. During his visit to the Bundeswehr Academy in Osterholz-Scharmbeck (Lower Saxony), General Hodges said that the port of Bremerhaven in northern Germany is going to serve as a crossing base.

At the NATO summit in Warsaw in July 2016, it was decided to place four of the Alliance’s …

Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov stated that the Russian Federation wants to restart its relations with the United States, including dialogues on sensitive issues.

“As for Donald Trump, we hope that we will have the opportunity to hold a dialogue with him. The President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin repeatedly stated that we would like to have a dialogue with the United States, restart relations with this country in different areas including sensitive issues,” …

Since 2014 Ukraine has received $1.85 billion in assistance from Japan, and these funds were allocated both for the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other areas not associated with defense and security sectors, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense stated, Interfax-Ukraine reported.

"Despite the fact that our countries are far from each other, relations between Ukraine and Japan is an example of building effective relations. We look forward to the further development and deepening of Ukrainian-Japanese …

The President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, and the Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel, had a telephone conversation during which both leaders discussed the supply of Russian gas to European consumers via Ukraine, as well as the Ukrainian crisis, the Kremlin’s website reported.According to the report, Putin stated that he is concerned that Ukraine has been evading the coordination of agreements on purchases of gas from Russia during this winter season. The Russian President …