The annual large-scale exercises of the Finnish Air Force began on Monday, October 10, 2016 as reported by the Finnish Broadcasting Company, Yle.

The exercises, referred to as ‘Ruska,’ are the largest Air Force exercises of the year. They include 2,600 participants, as well as 1,600 reservists and thousands of Air Force soldiers and airmen.

For the first time, soldiers and aircraft from the Swedish Air Force will also participate in this five-day exercise. As stated by the Lieutenant Colonel …

Two months after the restoration of relations between Russia and Turkey, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed an agreement on the construction of the Turkish Stream gas pipeline. The agreement was signed by the Energy Ministers of both countries in the presence of the two presidents in Istanbul on Monday, October 10, 2016.

According to the head of the Russian Energy Company, Gazprom, Alexey Miller, the plan is to build two gas pipelines under the Black Sea. The completion of the …

The Ministries of Defense of the United States and Norway are discussing the possibility of deploying U.S. forces in Scandinavian countries bordering the Russian Federation, Deutsche Welle reported.

“The capacities for additional drills, stocks and such sort of things are evaluated in the Armed Forces,” the Ministry of Defense of Norway noted, adding that it was a long-standing wish of the United States. It is reported that the Pentagon wants to deploy 300 U.S. marines near Vaernes in …

Russia is taking steps to strengthen the Syrian army’s air defense, reported Izvestia newspaper, citing a well-informed source in diplomatic circles. Russian authorities are considering the possibility of sending a batch of Pantsir surface-to-air systems to Syria.

The deal was made several years ago but was only partially implemented because of financial reasons. It was decided to send the remaining Pantsirs to Damascus without demanding immediate payment for delivery.

The surveyed experts …

The President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Pedro Agramunt, has insisted that the Assembly should do all that they can to return representatives of Russia, who left PACE due to the sanctions, to the plenary hall.

Evropeyska Pravda reported that Agramunt said this at the opening of the autumn session of PACE in Strasbourg.

“It is not beneficial for Russia, the Assembly or one of the 46 member countries if Russia is not part of PACE,” he said.

Agramunt also …

Ukraine will not unilaterally withdraw troops from the demarcation line in accordance with the framework agreement. This was said on the 112 Ukraine TV channel by the Deputy Head of the Department of Information Technology of the Ministry of Defense, Serhiy Halushko.

"It is not just unilateral actions on our part. There is a control mechanism, and our intelligence sees what the enemy is doing. If we see that their party does not do something, or is trying to deceive us, then our units will not …

The European Union expects Ukraine to fulfill a number of conditions before granting a regular financial aid tranche of EUR 600 million, stated Hugues Mingarelli, head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine, in Kyiv on October 10.

The key conditions are a lifting of the 10-year moratorium on the export of timber imposed by Ukraine in 2015 and the organization of social security for internally displaced persons. Other conditions, according to a European official, have already been fulfilled by Kyiv. …

Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski believes that Russia’s deployment of Iskander missile systems in the Kaliningrad region is an unreasonable and absolutely disproportionate response to the strengthening of the eastern NATO flank. He stated this opinion during a meeting with his Belarusian colleague Vladimir Makei in Warsaw, TVN24 reported.

“We see no grounds for such strengthening of the Kaliningrad garrison,” Waszczykowski said when commenting on the deployment of Iskander …