European ambassadors urge US to lift sanctions from Deripaska’s companies

European diplomats in the US have called for En+ and Rusal, two companies belonging to the Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska, to be removed from the sanctions list, according to a letter to Chuck Schumer, leader of the democratic minority in the US Senate. 

The document, which was published by the European foreign policy service on Friday, January 11, was authored by ambassadors from Austria, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the UK, France and Sweden, Deutsche Welle reports. 

The authors believe that …


Russian astronomers lose control of Russia's only orbital telescope

Russian scientists cannot regain control over the Spektr-R, also known as RadioAstron, the only space telescope in the country. According to RIA Novosti, the device stopped receiving commanвы. There are no кreports regarding the reason for the accident. However, Spektr-R’s projected lifespan, which is part of the RadioAstron project, expired three years ago.

Specialists of the Astro-space center have been unsuccessfully trying to restore the connections. According to the head of the scientific …


Syrian opposition forces capture two Russians suspected of terrorism

Representatives of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced that they detained four terrorist suspects in northern Syria, two of whom are Russian citizens, Radio Liberty reports.

The names of the two Russian detainees are Usmat Attayev and Mohammed Jawad Khan. The SDF did not specify which militant group they belonged. According to the SDF representatives, they were captured after "long and thorough tracking".

The Russians are suspected of committing terrorist attacks in the city of Raqqa …


Russia sends a battalion of military police to Syria

The head of Ingushetia, Yunus-Bek Yevkurov reported on his VKontakte page that Russia sent a battalion of military police to Syria.

“It’s not for the first time that our guys are honorably fulfilling their duty, demonstrating the same high level of combat training and professional skills. Each time, of course, we hope that it is the last one and that terrorism as a problem in Syria will end,” said the head of Ingushetia.

Yevkurov said that the battalion was sent to Syria to carry out “special …


OSCE drone shot down in the Donbas

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), reports on their website, that an unmanned aerial vehicle that belonged to the monitoring mission was shot down in the area of Popasna village in the Donbas.

It is noted that the village is controlled by the Ukrainian government and is located 69 kilometers west of Luhansk. The mission team was using the drone to watch snow removal work on the T-0504 highway. At this time, the OSCE staff heard the sound of six shots. According to …