The dollar’s status as the universal reserve currency “is becoming a problem” for the world economy, said Russian President Vladimir Putin at a press conference after the BRICS summit in South Africa.

According to him, the Kremlin “is well aware of what the dollar represents today”. “It is the universal reserve currency. To a greater or lesser degree the euro could aspire to this, but not entirely,” Putin observed.

The status of the dollar, for which there is no full-fledged substitute, is a …

In a statement published on the Ukrainian government web site, The Prime Minister of Ukraine, Volodymyr Groysman stated that his country will refuse to import Russian gas and will stop “bowing” to Russia now that Ukraine has its own reserves.

Groysman said he always wondered why Ukraine bought Russian gas despite the former having second and third natural gas reserves. “Once December used to come, the government bowed its head, bent a knee, and crawled to Moscow to negotiate the gas price and …

According to Deutsche Welle, German media companies ZDF and WDR were recently attacked by Russian hackers. The hacker group Sandworm attacked the IT networks of both media companies in early June, AFP reported on Friday, July 27, with reference to excerpts from Der Spiegel’s as-yet unpublished material.

According to AFP, its sources in security agencies said that ZDF confirmed that a hacker attack actually took place while WDR refused to comment due to safety issues. ZDF clarified that less …

The Ukrainian Navy, standing NATO maritime group and standing NATO mine countermeasures group carried out PASSEX joint military exercises in the Black Sea, reported Ukraine Naval Command’s press service. The goal of the training was to improve interoperability and to practice interaction as part of multinational tactical units in accordance with NATO standards.

Three tactical groups took part in the maneuvers: multi-purpose ships, mine countermeasures ships and gunboats.

At the beginning of …

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the American leader Donald Trump’s big advantage is his desire to fulfill pre-election promises, reported Interfax news agency.

“President Trump’s big advantage is that he strives to fulfill all the promises that he gave foremost to his voters, the American people,” Putin said. He explained that this is a “positive characteristic” of the US president. Also, according to Putin, you can criticize Trump’s actions, but it is quite obvious that he strives …

European companies participating in the “Nord Stream 2” pipeline will incur the serious risk of sanctions from the US stated Frank Fannon, US Assistant Secretary of State and Energy Resources, according to Voice of America.

“Companies that operate in the Russian energy pipeline sector are engaging in business activity that carries with it a significant risk of sanctions, this applies to Nord Stream 2 and TurkStream,” said Fannon.

He also expressed the opinion of the US government about the …

Germany calls upon Russian Federation to provide immediate medical assistance to the imprisoned Ukrainian film director Oleg Sentsov, stated the Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Aid of Germany, Barbel Kofler.

"The fact that the European Court of Human Rights has urged Russia to provide Oleg Sentsov with the urgent necessary medical care, emphasizes the widespread concern about his health condition. It has worsened again since the beginning of his hunger …

Moscow’s Basmanny District Court approved the arrest in absentia of three Syrian citizens involved in the destruction of the Russian Su-25 fighter jet in February 2018 and the death of its pilot Roman Filipov, the Court’s press office told RBC. Pre-trial restrictions in the form of two months’ confinement from the time of detention in Russia or extradition from another country have been instituted for Tarek Nawras, Amir Izzat Sohta and Srabi Murad Juma.  The three are also subject to …