A court in Genoa, Italy, has given prison sentences to three mercenaries who fought against Ukraine in the Donbas, the local news outlet La Stampa reports.

Antonio Cataldo (35, from Nola, Naples) was given 2 years 8 months; Olsi Krutani (39, an Albanian who relocated to Milan a long time ago) was also given 2 years 8 months; and Vladimir Verbitchii (26, a Moldovan who has lived in Parma for many years) was given 1 year 4 months in prison.

The three were found guilty of unsanctioned …

On Wednesday, July 3, Russia officially withdrew from the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree that makes it the president’s prerogative to decide whether to resume participation in the agreement. The law was passed by Russia’s State Duma on 18 June and ratified by the Federation Council on 26 June.

The INF treaty was signed by the US and USSR in 1987, and sought to eliminate an entire class of missiles. The document prohibits the …

The delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), which arrived in Ukraine to assess the pre-election climate, has left the country ahead of schedule. PACE representatives explained that the premature departure was based on Ukraine’s withdrawal of its invitation to PACE to send observers for the country’s upcoming snap parliamentary elections.

“The pre-electoral delegation has decided to cease its activity prematurely,” PACE said in a statement published on …

The Russian S-300 aerial defense systems delivered to Syria demonstrated their utter ineffectiveness during an attack by the Israeli Air Force in the early hours of 1 July, writes the Russian news site Avia.pro.

The ineffectiveness of Syria’s S-300 is most apparent in light of the fact that they are currently considered the most long-range anti-air systems in Assad’s army, the site notes.

The news outlet’s anonymous experts drew attention to the fact that Israel used long-range missiles in …

A spokeswoman for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Maria Zakharova stated that Israeli military actions against Syria threaten the stability of the whole region. Zakharova was referring to the attack on Syrian facilities, which is credited to Israel.

"The escalation of the conflict makes us very concerned. Forceful actions that violate the sovereignty of Syria, not only do not contribute to the normalization of the situation in this country but also carry a threat in which the interests …

Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Andriy Parubiy canceled the invitation for members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to observe the early parliamentary elections in Ukraine, reports the head of the Ukrainian delegation to PACE Vladimir Aryev.

Earlier, Ukrainian Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs recommended the Verkhovna Rada to suspend the participation of permanent Ukrainian delegation in the PACE.

Earlier, PACE removed all restrictions from the …

At a joint briefing after a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Toronto on July 2, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that peace in the Donbas is possible through political and diplomatic means, reports RBC-Ukraine.

According to Zelensky, the first issue that he discussed with Trudeau was the peace in Ukraine.

"I am sure that we will achieve real progress only through political and diplomatic means. So in the end, we will force Russia to stop the escalation, to …

Russia has resumed its payment of membership contributions to the Council of Europe’s budget, said COE Spokesperson Daniel Holtgen, as cited by Deutsche Welle. He expressed confidence that Russia would also repay what it owes for 2017 and 2018, which amounts to €55 million, as well as a penalty for late payment.

On 26 June, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) reinstated the Russian delegation through a resolution that did not include any sanctions.

The amendment to the …