• Latvia: Russia is practicing blocking the Baltic Sea during Ocean Shield exercises

    During the Ocean Shield military exercises Russian army practices drills to block the sea routes to complicate NATO’s access to the Baltic Sea, reports LETA news agency, with reference to the Latvian Defense Ministry.

    The Russian military exercises are taking place from August 1 to August 9 in the Baltics, Norwegian and North Seas. More than 10.5 thousand soldiers, 49 warships, 20 support ships, and more than 50 military aircraft are participating in drills. Some of the ships that were …

  • US is ready to sell new batch of Javelin anti-tank missile systems to Ukraine

    Chargé d'Affaires of US in Ukraine William Taylor said that Washington and Kyiv are discussing the possibility of supplying Ukraine with a new batch of anti-tank Javelin missile systems, reports Interfax-Ukraine.

    "We are ready to sell these weapons to Ukraine. The two governments are working on the agreement," the diplomat said.

    Besides, Taylor commented on a call of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky to Putin after the death of four Ukrainian soldiers in the Donbas during a …

  • EU develops guidelines for Russian passports issued in Donbas

    The EU official representative stated that the European Union is developing "unified guidelines" to "help identify and prevent the use" of Russian passports issued to residents territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine controlled by pro-Russian militants, reports Deutsche Welle.

    The European Commission works on the instructions for EU member countries and their consulates in cooperation with the European External Action Service, as well as EU delegations in Kyiv and Moscow. The …

  • Russia to build nuclear submarine base in Iran

    Russia is preparing to expand its military presence in the Middle East by collaborating with Iran, which the US imposed a complete oil embargo on in 2019.

    Two Iranian ports – Bushehr in the south and Chabahar in the south-east – will become forward bases for the Russian Navy that will even be used by nuclear submarines, OilPrice reports, citing high-ranking sources in Tehran.

    Bushehr will also serve as a base where the Russian Aerospace Forces can station Su-37 and Su-57 fighters. There are …

  • Ukraine lets Russian passenger plane enter its airspace

    Ukraine has allowed a Russian aircraft to enter its airspace for the first time since 2015, reported the press-service of Ukrainian State Air Traffic Services Enterprise (UkSATSE) on August 8.

    A passenger liner of the Globus Airlines, flying from Italy back to Russia, had to fly over the Ukrainian territory because of the massive storm front.

    "On August 7, 2019, the pilot of the Boeing-738 REG-VQBMG aircraft, carrying out the flight number GLP636 from Bari (Italy) to Moscow (Russia), received …

  • Russia to open naval shipyard in Syria

    By the end of August, Russia’s Black Sea Fleet will have an operational shipyard at the Russian naval logistics point in Tartus, Syria,  TASS reports citing a source in the ship repair industry.

    “In Syrian Tartus at the end of August, the Black Sea Fleet’s ship repair complex will start operating to provide minor repairs to the ships and submarines of the Russian Navy’s permanent operational units in the Mediterranean Sea,” the source said, noting that modern machinery has been purchased for …

  • Poland could finally get rid of Soviet-era MiG-29 fighters

    Poland could finally retire its obsolete Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jets, reported the Polish newspaper Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.

    The Polish Air Force has not used MiG-29s since the start of March, when one of the aircraft crashed. The pilot was able to eject himself, but usage of the planes has been suspended since then.

    This is not the first time that the Polish military has suspended the use of MiG-29s in connection with a crash.

    Poland is already in possession of post-Soviet Su-22s and …

  • Russian Tu-95 aircraft intercepted by US Air Force fighters over Bering Sea

    “Two Russian Tu-95 strategic missile carriers flew over the neutral waters of the Bering Sea. They were accompanied by the American F-22 and F-18 fighter jets of US Air Force in some sections of the route,” reads the statement of the Russian Defense Ministry.

    The Russian Defense Ministry said that the flight was carried out within the Ocean Shield 2019 military exercises. The duration of the flight of strategic bombers was more than ten hours. "All aircraft flights are carried out in strict …

  • Russia classifies information about explosion at coastal missile testing ground

    At nine in the morning on Thursday, there was an explosion at a coastal missile testing ground not far from the town of Nyonoksa in Russia’s Arkhangelsk province. Shortly thereafter, there were reports of a fire on board a nearby ship, and the local authorities announced that medical aircraft had been dispatched to the site of the incident.

    “At a Russian Defense Ministry testing ground in the Arkhangelsk province, during the testing of a liquid rocket propulsion system, there was an explosion, …

  • Israel, Cyprus and Greece to collaborate on natural gas pipeline to EU

    Israel, Cyprus and Greece are determined to transport natural gas from the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea to Europe. After a trilateral meeting in Athens on August 7, Greek Energy Minister Kostis Hatzidakis confirmed that the three countries will be collaborating closely.

    “We hope that we will soon be able to sign the relevant agreement,” said Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz. He emphasized the importance of the project for Europe.

    Several years ago, large natural gas reserves …