Russia and Turkey agreed to prepare an operation against the militant group al-Nusrah Front, in the Syrian region of Idlib, together with forces of the Syrian President, Bashar Assad, stated the Russian Minister of Foreign Affair, Sergey Lavrov, TASS reports. “I very much hope that our partners in the West will indulge in provocations and dramatizations, and will not oppose the antiterrorist operations in the de-escalation zone against the al-Nusrah Front,” he said.

Idlib, a refuge for …

The German concern Uniper, one of Gazprom’s five European partners participating in the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, will be forced to pull out of the project if it is placed under US sanctions, said Uniper board member Christopher Delbrück on Wednesday, as reported by Down Jones.

According to him, the risk of sanctions exceeds the possible losses for the concern if it withdraws from the collaboration with Gazprom.

“Of course, Uniper cannot risk US sanctions,” he said, “In …

The Russian Silok-01 and Zhitel anti-drone systems which were used in soccer stadiums during the FIFA World Cup 2018 have been put to use in Syria, press service of Russia’s Central Military District reported.

According to Central Military District Commander Lieutenant-General Alexander Lapin, the anti-drone systems “have successfully proved themselves during the operation in the Syrian Arab Republic”.

The systems were presented to the chiefs of general staff of the Shanghai Cooperation …

Denouncing the Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation and Partnership between Ukraine and the Russian Federation would be an unwise step for the Ukrainian state. At the same time, the countries’ relations are in a severe crisis, and it would be difficult to make them worse, said Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov, as reported by RBC.

“Bilateral relations are in a situation which would probably be very difficult make worse, [they are] in the most severe crisis, and there are not yet any …

On August 28, at the meeting with the leaders of foreign diplomatic institutions of Ukraine, the President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko announced on August 28 that he expects the President of Moldova, Igor Dodon to recognize Russia’s annexation of the Crimea as illegal.

“We now have very fruitful relations at the intergovernmental level. The Moldovan President is well aware of my expectations regarding clear support of the independence of our state, including the Crimea. We expect a firm …

Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed fifteen generals of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry for Emergency Situations, the Federal Penitentiary Service and the Investigative Committee of Russia. The relevant decree was published on August 28 on the official internet portal on legal information.

The more notable department heads that were dismissed include the Head of the Main Department of Ministry for Emergency Situations of Russia in the Tomsk Region, Mikhail Begun, the …

Deterioration of the situation in the Donbas before a ceasefire begins is cyclical, US State Department Special Representative for Ukraine Kurt Volker told Voice of America in an interview.

“This is part of the cycle: the situation escalates, then it calms down. A ceasefire agreement has been reached for the end of August. Often, before the ceasefire starts to come into effect, there are efforts to capture additional territory, to straighten the line,” Volker said.

On August 22, the …

The permanent representative of Ukraine to the United Nations, Vladimir Yelchenko, said that Russia should expect "unpleasant surprises" at the General Assembly September’s session in New York.

"We are preparing a large number initiatives for the General Assembly. It is not that I do not want to, but I simply cannot disclose them all, because our powerful northern neighbour is waiting for this ... There are some very unpleasant surprises waiting for them, “said the diplomat.

According to him, …