• Lukashenko: Russia is afraid of 'losing Belarus'

    Russia will be the first to give a helping hand to Belarus because “they are still afraid of losing Belarus,” stated Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko during a youth meeting, BelTA news agency reports.  

    Lukashenko spoke about the history of Belarus, particularly the hundredth anniversary of the creation of the Belarusian People’s Republic that lasted less than a year. “A strong desire to make Belarus independent could push them even to Kaiser, or God knows who else. There were such …

  • Kyiv seizes all assets of Russia’s Gazprom in Ukraine

    All funds belonging to the Russian company, Gazprom, which were located in Ukraine, have been collected by the State, according to the Minister of Justice of Ukraine, Pavlo Petrenko, as reported by Ukrinform.

    "I can say that the Justice Ministry will collect $6 billion from Gazprom in accordance with the decision of a Ukrainian court regarding a fine in our favor initiated by the Anti-Monopoly committee. We have already recovered some of the funds - an inventory of everything that Gazprom had …

  • Romania joins countries that don't recognize Russian presidential elections in Crimea

    Romania does not recognize the annexation of the Crimea and Russian presidential elections on the peninsula, LB.ua reports, citing the press service of the Romanian embassy.

    "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania reminds that it [Romania] does not recognize the illegal annexation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol by the Russian Federation, and therefore does not recognize the elections in this territory, and shares the position of the European Union and its …

  • Ukraine considering the possibility of buying liquefied gas from Qatar

    Ukraine is continuing to study the prospects for the purchase of Qatar's liquefied gas. This issue, according to the Ukrainian Presidential Press Service, President Petro Poroshenko discussed this topic in discussions with the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

    "President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko met with Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani... The interlocutors discussed prospects for the Qatari liquefied natural gas (LNG) to enter the Ukrainian market," the report said. …

  • Ukrainian President will not cancel trip to NATO summit despite threats from Hungary

    Ukraine's ambassador to NATO, Vadym Prystaiko, confirmed that the meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission is in jeopardy because of Hungary's actions. However, according to the diplomat, President Petro Poroshenko will still take part in the July NATO summit, where he has been invited.

    Prystaiko broke the news to Ukrainski Novyny, commenting on the Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó’s statement on Hungary’s continued efforts to block Ukraine's European integration aspirations. Recently, …

  • Syrian opposition accuses Russia of conducting an air strike on a refugee camp

    On Tuesday, March 20th, the province of Idlib, which is part of the de-escalation zone in Syria, was bombed by Russian aircraft. The refugee camp in Khas was bombed, resulting in the death of 10 civilians and an additional 15 injured, the Anadolu news agency reported.

    A representative of the Syrian opposition, Abu Raed, told the agency that an air strike was carried out by a Russian Su-24 plane, which took off from the Khmeimim air base in Latakia.

    The head of the Syria Civil Defense (White …

  • Commander of US strategic forces: Russia increasing number of 'banned' cruise missiles

    General John Hyten, Commander of the US nuclear forces and the US Strategic Command said that Russia has increased its deployment of cruise missiles that violate the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty), Radio Liberty reports.

    During Senate Armed Services Committee hearings, Republican Senator Deb Fischer asked whether Russia is increasing production and deployment of cruise missiles. Hyten answered in the affirmative.

    It was reported in September that there were discussions …

  • Media: India disappointed with Russian Su-57 fighters

    The Russian-Indian program to develop and produce fifth-generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) is in danger because the Indian Air Force believes that the aircraft does not measure up to required characteristics. It would likely be out-performed by the American F-35 and F-22, reports Hindustan Times, citing its sources in the air force.

    According to them, the Indian leadership is not satisfied with the functionalities of the Su-57 but a political decision should be made regarding the continuation …

  • Russian media: Ukraine’s gas transit system indispensable for Gazprom

    Even in 2020, Gazprom will still need the Ukrainian gas transit system for transit to Europe, since the EU’s ground infrastructure will not yet be ready to receive the gas from Nord Stream 2. By the end of 2019, when the contract for transit through Ukraine expires, Gazprom will be able to pump at most 34 billion of the projected 55 billion cubic meters per annum. A new gas transit contract with Ukraine will thus be unavoidable, Russian news outlet Kommersant writes.

    Construction of the Eugal …

  • Putin gets almost 85% of the vote from Russians abroad

    Vladimir Putin received 84.99% of the vote from Russians who went to polling stations abroad, RIA Novosti reported, citing a member of Russia’s Central Election Commission (CEC), Vasily Likhachev.

    According to the CEC, almost 475,300 people voted abroad in the recent presidential election in Russia.

    “In first place was Vladimir Putin, with 403,942 votes. In percentage terms that is 84.99%. In second place was Pavel Grudinin (23,938 votes or 5.04%). In third place was Ksenia Sobchak (19,331 …