US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said that Turkey cannot have any US-produced F-35 fighters unless it calls off the contract to purchase S-400 aerial defense systems from Russia, Cumhurriyet reports. Esper said that Ankara cannot expect to be supplied by the US and Russia at the same time.

This was Esper’s response to Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu’s statement that the US is obligated to supply Turkey with the fighters for which it paid $1.4 billion.

Çavuşoğlu said previously that …

Russian and Syrian aircraft have conducted more than 15 airstrikes against the Syrian provinces of Hama and Idlib, even hitting a Turkish observation point, Al-Masdar News reports, citing its own sources.

The attacks caused significant damage to the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group and the Syrian Free Army, which are backed by Turkey. The Turkish observation point under construction at the town of Sheir Magher was also damaged in one of the airstrikes, although no one was reportedly injured or …

Russia has dispatched the components of a second S-400 anti-aircraft missile battery to Turkey. The cargo was expected to arrive by Tuesday, August 27, the Turkish news agency Anadolu reported on Monday, citing Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar. The first batch of components arrived in Turkey on July 12.

Turkey’s decision to buy the Russian aerial defense system has resulted in serious disagreements between Ankara and Washington. The US is afraid that if Turkey uses the Russian anti- …

For the second consecutive month, the Russian banking sector has experienced an outflow of foreign currency from the accounts of major corporate clients, who are rapidly spending or withdrawing the dollars and euros, reports finanz.ru.

In July, legal entities withdrew another $900 million from current accounts and emptied a similar amount from foreign currency deposits. A month earlier, the outflow was a three-year record: $4.4 billion flowed out of deposits and $3.6 billion from current …

The US-Ukraine Rapid Trident 2019 military exercise will be held sometime between September 13 and 28 and will involve 3,700 soldiers from 14 NATO states and partners, announced the US Army Europe, reports Ukrinform. The drills will last 25 days.

The drills will be conducted at the International Peacekeeping and Security Center of the Hetman Petro Sahaidachnyi National Ground Forces Academy.

The US will be represented at Rapid Trident by personnel from the 101st Airborne Division, the …

Between Friday and Saturday, Black Sea airspace will be closed to aircraft while the Ukrainian military performs missile tests, Korrespondent reports, citing the Ukrainian Defense Ministry news agency, Army Inform.

“Between August 30-31, 2019, at the Alibi state testing ground of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Odessa province, there will be additional missile launches. The relevant warning regarding the closing of the area to aircraft flights in connection with the danger associated with …

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ordered Russia to pay €34,000 to the widow and mother of Hermitage Capital auditor Sergei Magnitsky.

“The court has found Russia guilty of violating several points of the European Convention, including that it did not safeguard Magnitsky’s right to life and did not conduct a fair investigation of the circumstances of his death,” the court ruling states.

The court also ruled that Magnitsky’s detention in the Matrosskaya Tishina prison was …

At the end of a visit by the Turkish president to Russia on Tuesday August 27, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave a joint press conference. The leaders drew special attention to one of the key topics discussed in Zhukovsky.

“We believe that at this stage we need to focus on stabilizing the situation in Syria ‘on the ground’ and advance the political resolution process in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2254,” Putin told the press.

The Russian head of state said that …