Putin’s ratings plummet due to unpopular pension reform
In under a year, Russians’ faith in their president Vladimir Putin has fallen by 20 percentage points, Levada Center reports. In November last year before the start of the presidential election campaign, this figure was 59%, but by September 2018 it had dropped to 39%. In the period between June and September, he lost 9 percentage points. The distrust rating simultaneously grew from 7% to 13%.
The pension reform and socio-economic issues have affected the population’s faith in all office- …
Russian politician: Chechnya and Ingushetia on brink of war
The conflict between the Russian republics of Ingushetia and Chechnya, which arose due to the establishment of administrative borders between the regions, could escalate into a war, but the Russian government is turning a blind eye to the situation, said Leonid Gozman, president of the Union of Right Forces political movement, in a blog on the Echo of Moscow radio station.
According to Gozman, thousands of people have amassed in Magas, the capital of Ingushetia, to protest against the handing …
Israeli Air Force resumes flights near Syrian borders
On Monday, October 8th, four Israeli F-16 fighter jets flew near the borders of Syria through the airspace of Lebanon, reported by Interfax with reference to the data provided by Western aviation resources.
It is noted that the Israeli fighter jets were seen near the Lebanese city of Tripoli.
After approaching the borders of Syria in the sky over Lebanon, they made a U-turn and left in the opposite direction, towards Israel.
At the same time, as indicated by Interfax, the air traffic …
Kremlin claims Russians accused of hacker attack in Netherlands were testing embassy's computer systems
The Russians detained in April in the Netherlands were supposed to test the embassy's computer systems, stated the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Intexfax reports.
“The technical equipment confiscated from the Russian representatives were intended for testing the embassy’s information systems for analyzing the security of computer networks in connection with the frequent attempts of cyber-penetration into Russian state institutions,” the statement reads.
The Russian Foreign Ministry …
Media: Syria received S-300 missile systems from Russia for free
Russia provided the advanced S-300PM air defense system to Syria’s military free of charge, transferring three battalions with eight launchers each, TASS reported citing a military-diplomatic source.
The source clarified that on October 1st, three S-300PM battalions with eight launchers each were delivered to Syria. He added that previously the equipment was in service of the anti-aircraft missile regiments of the Russian Air Force, now re-equipped with the S-400 Triumf system.
“It underwent …