• Russia to build two helicopter carriers

    Russia will build two amphibious assault ships with diesel-gas turbine power plants by the end of 2026. This was reported by TASS, citing a source in the defense structures of the country.

    According to the interlocutor, research and development work on helicopter carriers will begin in 2018; the beginning of construction is planned for 2020. "Production of the only serial ship is scheduled for 2022, with delivery in 2026," the agency source said. The source also added that the helicopter …

  • Russian Foreign Ministry believes that relations with Ukraine will eventually be restored

    The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia has no doubts that Ukraine and Russia will eventually come to the restoration of full-fledged ties between the two countries and peoples. The Ministry made the statement on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of signing the Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation and Partnership between the Russian Federation and Ukraine.

    "Concluding this treaty in 1997, the leaders of Russia and Ukraine were determined to have close cooperation and a deeper relationship. …

  • Russia intends to upgrade Strategic Missile Troops’ weaponry by 66% by the end of 2017

    The proportion of latest weaponry and technology of the Russian Strategic Missile Troops (RVSN) will reach 66% by the end of 2017. This was announced by Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu in a session of the Ministry of Defense board, as reported by RIA Novosti.

    According to him, active rearmament is currently underway for four Yars missile system compounds, both mobile and ground based.

    Shoygu said in April that the proportion of modern technology in the RVSN is reaching 60%. The …

  • Russia: Unidentified aircraft helping ISIS in Afghanistan

    The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on the flights of an unidentified aircraft which provides assistance to ISIS in Afghanistan.

    The ministry drew attention to reports of regular flights of an aircraft without identification marks in various regions of Afghanistan. In particular, the reports contain information about instances where boxes with weapons and other supplies were dropped for ISIS units.

     “This naturally raises a question to the above-mentioned representatives of NATO …

  • Ukraine confiscates Gazprom’s joint venture shares

    Ukraine seized the shares of Gaztransit (Kyiv), Private Joint-Stock Company owned by the Russian Gazprom, as reported in Gazprom’s quarterly report.

    “On May 12, 2017, Gazprom PJSC received through the representative office of Gazprom PJSC in Kyiv resolutions of the Department of the State Executive Service of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine on the opening of the enforcement proceedings in the amount of UAH 189.13 billion ($7.20 billion USD), including the amount of the execution fee of UAH 1 …

  • Poroshenko: This is the first time that Russia is unable to use gas as an instrument of political leverage and blackmail

    Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko welcomed the judgment of the Stockholm Court of Arbitration in the case of Naftogaz of Ukraine against Gazprom.

    Earlier, the Stockholm Court of Arbitration fully satisfied the claims of Naftogaz to Russia's Gazprom under the gas supply contract with Ukraine from 2009 on a ‘take or pay’ basis. The Ukrainian state company won the largest commercial dispute.

    The head of state noted that according to this judgment, the "take or pay" provision was cancelled and …

  • Ukraine is building its own ammunition factory

    Two ammunition production lines have already been built in Ukraine. The construction of these production lines was completed by the TASKO Corporation, which united more than 25 military companies and design bureaus, as stated by the Corporation President, Valeriy Pavlyukov.

    "We are building an ammunition factory, we have been working on it for 10 years, fully funding it at the expense of our current assets. We have just finished two production lines where we can manufacture ammunition. Before …

  • Russia expelled Estonian Consul General in St. Petersburg

    The Russian authorities sent a letter to Arti Hilpus, Ambassador of Estonia in Moscow, in connection with the expulsion of two Russian diplomats from the country and declared two members of the diplomatic mission of Estonia persona non grata, as published on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia.

    The Foreign Ministry ordered the Consul General of Estonia in St. Petersburg, Jaanus Kirikmäe and the head of the Pskov Chancellery of the Estonian Consulate General in St. …

  • The Stockholm arbitration tribunal rejected the claims of Russia's Gazprom against Naftogaz of Ukraine

    The claims of Gazprom against Naftogaz of Ukraine regarding the take-or-pay condition were completely abolished, as reported to Interfax-Ukraine by the press service of the Ukrainian state-owned holding company citing the head of Naftogaz, Andriy Kobolyev.

    The press service also reported that the arbitral tribunal under the auspices of the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce satisfied the demand of Naftogaz of Ukraine concerning the price revision in the contract for gas …

  • Montenegrin Prime Minister and leading politicians banned from entering Russia

    Montenegrin Prime Minister Duško Marković, former head of state and leader of the Democratic Party of Socialists Milo Đukanović, parliament spokesperson Ivan Brajović and a number of other Montenegrin politicians were placed on the Russian sanctions list. This was reported by the newspaper Pravda with reference to a source in the republic’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

    The restrictive measures were introduced against a total of 70 people, 46 of them being members of the Montenegrin parliament. …