• Belarusian President Lukashenko: conflict in Eastern Ukraine cannot be resolved without the USA

    During a meeting with US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale in Minsk, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said, that the United States could contribute to the settlement of the conflict in Eastern Ukraine, reports BelTA news agency.

    "Speaking about the problems of Europe, and especially Eastern Europe, in particular, Ukraine, I am convinced that it would be impossible to resolve this conflict without the participation of the United States," said Lukashenko. …

  • China promises Kremlin $2.6 billion to accelerate Russian economy

    The Russia-China comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation has reached a new level, said Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev after meeting with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in Moscow.

    Medvedev said that after the meeting he and Mr Keqiang signed a set of agreements consisting of nearly twenty documents, including commercial agreements and investment agreements.

    Overall, China plans to allocate roughly $2.6 billion to projects that form part of the plan to accelerate the Russian …

  • Putin: Israel is a Russian-speaking country

    Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Israel is a Russian-speaking country, and Russians and Israelis are one family with a shared history, reports Channel 24. According to the Russian President, the two countries are linked by family, kinship, and friendship ties.

    "I say that without any exaggeration. There are almost two million Russian-speaking citizens of Israel in the country. We consider Israel a Russian-speaking state," said Putin.

    The statement was made during the conference of …

  • Russia authorizes Syria to use S-300 missile systems against Israel

    After repeated incidents of Israel attacking targets in Syria despite certain agreements with Russia,  the Syrian military has received permission to use its Russian-made aerial defense systems against Israel, provided that Syria takes responsibility for the consequences, reports Russian news outlet Avia.pro citing its source.

    “Russia has authorized the Syrian military to bring the S-300 to full combat readiness and attack Israeli aircraft if there is the slightest threat,” the source claimed. …

  • Kyiv: Russia using passports to strengthen Donbas bargaining position

    Russia has expedited its issuance of Russian passports to inhabitants of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said in a statement, citing intelligence data.

    According to the statement, the command of the Russian Armed Forces is “taking measures to expedite the so-called passportization of the population”. Ukrainian intelligence believes that this is so that, as of October 1, the armed divisions in the Donbas will contain “only soldiers with …

  • Head of OSCE: Free elections impossible in Donbas until control returned to Ukraine

    Free and fair local elections cannot be held in the Donbas until Ukraine regains full control over the territories, said OSCE Chairperson Miroslav Lajcak in an interview with BBC.

    “I think that free elections could only take place in a free situation, and, of course, in accordance with Ukrainian laws and with observation by international observers – the OSCE, other international organizations, that is, within the Ukrainian jurisdiction system. Only afterwards, when we attain such a situation, …

  • Belgian fighter jets intercept Russian Tu-160 bombers over Baltics

    Belgian fighter jets intercepted two Russian TU-160 strategic bombers and two Russian SU-27 fighers over the Baltics on Tuesday, September 18, reported the Belgian Air force.

    “Two Belgian Air force F16 of NATO's BAP mission intercepted two Russian TU-160 Blackjack and two Russian SU-27 Flanker above the Baltic Sea. It was the first scramble for the Belgian detachment which is safeguarding the Baltic airspace since the 3th of September,” reads the message of the Belgian Air Force on Twitter.

    A …

  • Russia demonstrates bulletproof barrier at Khmeimim airbase in Syria

    The MAKHAON-Praktika bullet-scattering fence was tested in Russia during the filming of the “Military Acceptance” TV program. According to the Russian TV channel Zvezda, the fence is already being used at the Khmeimim airbase in Syria.

    The barrier is designed to protect particularly important facilities that are likely to come under terrorist attack.

    The effectiveness of the fence was reportedly demonstrated during the test. Control shots were fired at targets behind the prototypes, and the …

  • Russia pays Ukraine 3.5 million euros in compensation for dirty oil

    Ukrainian oil company UkrTransNafta received from the Russian oil giant Transneft  compensation of 3.5 million euros for the supply of low-quality oil to the Ukrainian section of the Druzhba pipeline, reports UkrTransNafta's press-service.

    "This is not the final amount, as Transneft continues to reserve the capacity of UkrTransNafta [pipelines]," reads the message of the press-service.

    The amount of compensation is determined within the framework of existing contractual relations and depends …

  • Ukrainian film director Sentsov says he hasn't noticed significant changes in Ukraine after his release from Russia

    Director Oleg Sentsov, who was released from Russian captivity, wrote on his Facebook page that, while he was in prison, not so many changes took place in Ukraine as he expected.

    "A week has passed since my release. It was interesting to see what changes have happened to the country and people because I feel like as a person who arrived on a time machine from 2014," wrote Sentsov.

    Ukrainian Director also added that a week is quite a short time, but he managed to visit a lot of places and …