The largest Swiss coal trader, Adelon AG, has been accused of buying coal from the Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics (LDPR) and reselling it to Ukraine, the Ukrainian news outlet Delo.ua reports. The Swiss company denied the allegations. The company specializes in supplying coal from the Kuzbass (Russia’s Kemerovo and Novosibirsk provinces) to a number of European and Asian countries, but it does not work with Ukraine.

Adelon AG does not accept Donbas coal, and this applies not only to …

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said that the Molotov—Ribbentrop Pact was initially a Union agreement between the USSR and Nazi Germany.

Morawiecki also accused the Russian authorities of supporting Stalinism.

"Russian citizens are the main victims of Stalin, one of the greatest criminals in world history, and therefore they deserve the truth. I believe that the Russians are a nation of free people, and they reject Stalinism, even if Putin's government is trying to justify it," wrote …

During a press conference with journalists, the Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov said that the US did not inform Russia about its strikes on several targets in Syria and Iraq over the weekend.

"No, [Washington did not inform Moscow about this]," said Peskov.

Speaking about the attacks of the US army, Peskov noted that "any actions aimed at eliminating terrorists are assessed positively. On the other hand, any actions that lead to the destabilization of the situation in …

The Syrian army’s offensive in the Idlib province in December, accompanied by the mass bombing of settlements by the Russian Aerospace Forces, has brought the Middle East to the brink of a new migration catastrophe.

The series of bombing runs which began on December 12 has forced more than 200,000 residents of the northern regions of Syria to leave their homes, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) told Reuters.

According to the department, by December 25 the …

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that a contract was signed for the transit of Russian gas to Europe from Russia through the territory of Ukraine for five years.

"This is the end of the year, but not the end of our achievements. Ukraine has signed a gas transit contract for five years, during which we will receive at least over $7 billion. The parties can extend the contract for another ten years," wrote Zelensky on his Facebook page.

"The Ukrainian gas transit system will be given …

Commander of Russian Long-Range Air Force Lieutenant General Sergey Kobylash said in an interview to the newspaper Moskovskij Komsomolets that Russia plans to create an unmanned sixth-generation strategic bomber by 2040.

According to Kobylash, in addition to the modernization of existing Tu-160, Tu-95MS and Tu-22MZ bombers, the Russian military is planning to create a new long-range aircraft. "We are also planning to develop a subsonic strategic bomber of the fifth generation," said Kobylash. …

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak said on Vesti Nedeli program on Russia-1 TV channel that Gazprom's $2.9 billion payment to Naftogaz of Ukraine was a difficult decision for the Russian side.

"There was a choice between bad and worse. But all of us together, we can lose much more, unprecedented amounts," said Kozak as quoted by TASS.

In mid-December, Gazprom and Naftogaz agreed on the terms and volumes of Russian gas transit to Europe. The parties also agreed to give up mutual claims. …

The Russian Energy Ministry has dramatically lowered its prediction of the country’s future liquefied natural gas (LNG) production, according to the Energy Strategy 2035, extracts of which were cited by Interfax.

In autumn, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak and Novatek co-owner Leonid Mikhelson said that in the next 16 years Russia could be producing up to 140 million tons of LNG per year. In October, the Energy Ministry set a target of 100 million tons by 2035 in its energy strategy. …