During a broadcast of Channel 5, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said that he believes that Kyiv may be able to get Moscow to consent to the release of political prisoners and a hostage exchange while Russia is hosting the 2018 World Cup.

"A gesture is possible, though not a gesture of goodwill, but rather [a gesture] to improve the image of Russia during the championship. We must use the championship, but we must [also] continue to work," Klimkin stated. At the same time, he noted …

Two American planes and an unmanned aerial vehicle undertook reconnaissance flights along the Russian borders in the Black and Baltic Seas.

According to the PlaneRadar service, the P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol plane of the US Navy, and an unmanned (UAV) surveillance aircraft RQ-4B Global Hawk, carried out hours-long reconnaissance flights along Russian borders in the Black Sea.  

“RQ-4B-30 Global Hawk unmanned surveillance aircraft (UAV) of the US Air Force left Sigonella airbase and ,after …

Russian Federal News Agency reports, citing its sources, that Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which are supported by the US-led coalition, are planning to launch a large-scale military operation in the north-western province of Aleppo to drive Turkish troops and their allies out of the canton of Afrin.

According to the agency, the SDF plans a large-scale operation against the Turks in the settlements of Jarablus, Azaz and Al-Bab. SDF command has recently held several meetings with their …

The All-Russian Association of trade unions "the Russian Confederation of Labor," whose e-petition against raising the retirement age was supported by more than a million people, intends to expand the campaign against pension reform, announced the confederation President, Boris Kravchenko in an interview with RBC news agency, published on Sunday, June 17.

The petition was posted a week ago on the website change.org and had already collected nearly 1.2 million signatures. Kravchenko explained …

The Japanese government has expressed regret over Russia's missile exercises on the South Kuril island of Iturup, reported the Japanese newspaper Yomiuri.

After Russia notified Japan of the missile tests, Japan sent a corresponding statement expressing its regret through the Japanese Embassy in Moscow to the Russian authorities. Russia quickly dismissed Japan’s allegations. Japanese authorities also warned shipping companies and fishermen about the Russian exercises in the area.

On June 11, …

Renowned ship-spotter and international affairs consultant Yörük Işık reported on twitter that two missile corvettes from the Russian Navy’s Caspian Flotilla entered the Mediterranean Sea.

The report identified the ships as two Buyan M-class corvettes, the Veliky Ustyug 651 and the Grad Sviyazhsk 652, both armed with SS-N-30 Kalibr land attack cruise missiles. The ships passed through the Bosporus, bound for the Mediterranean.

Işık noted that the ships were likely headed to a Russian military …

Europe continues to cut back on its oil purchases from Russia due to the dropping quality of the Urals variety.

At the end of January-May, shipments to the EU through the primary ports of export fell by double-digit figures, Transneft vice president Sergey Andronov told Vedomosti.

European clients bought 24% less from Primorsk than last year (16.1 million tons). Shipments out of Novorossiysk fell by 17% (to 7.7 million tons), and shipments from Ust-Luga by 26%.

Only the export volumes to …

Another Russian pipeline to Asia, announced by billionaire and major Gazprom contractor Gennady Timchenko in May, will pass through North Korea.

Gazprom, which is already engaged in the construction of gas pipelines to Turkey, the EU and China with a total cost of $25 billion, is negotiating a new construction project with South Korea, Gazprom deputy chairman Vitaly Markelov announced on Friday.

The project in question was mentioned in a memorandum with the South Korean company Cogas in 2008, …