Russia considers withdrawal from the Council of Europe
At a meeting with Liliane Maury Pasquier, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Russian Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko said that the Russian Federation is seriously considering the withdrawal from the Council of Europe, TASS reports.
“We have an internal decision to leave the Council of Europe. I am telling you this sincerely,” she told the head of the Assembly.
Matviyenko said that the reason for this announcement was the ongoing crisis in the …
Syrian air defense that destroyed Russian Il-20 was not equipped with Friend or Foe System
The Syrian S-200 missile system, which destroyed the Il-20 aircraft of the Russian Air Forces over the Mediterranean Sea, was not equipped with the Russian identification friend or foe system (IFF) to distinguish their own from other aircraft, stated the chief spokesman for the Russian Ministry of Defense Igor Konashenkov, writes TASS.
The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that media reports that say the plane crash was caused by a malfunction of the IFF system are “amateurish fantasies” and “ …
US ramps up sanction pressure on Russia
On Thursday, the US announced that it is expanding the sanctions against Russia for meddling in US elections, as part of the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).
27 Russians have been blacklisted for “acting on behalf of the intelligence or defense sector of the Russian government,” the US State Department reported.
The blacklisted Russians include GRU chief Igor Korobov and Yevgeny Prigozhin, who started as a restaurateur in St. Petersburg, and is now believed by …
DPR finds a replacement for fugitive Minister of Revenues and Duties
Authorities of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) found a replacement for Alexander Timofeev aka Tashkent, the minister of Revenues and Duties who fled to Russia.
According to Russian media and separatist sources, Evgeny Lavrenov from Nikopol City has become the Donetsk People’s Republic’s new Minister of Revenues and Duties.
Lavrenov resides in Donetsk but is a registered resident of Pervomaiskaya street in the city of Nikopol. Ukrainian Myrotvorets website states that Lavrenov …
OSCE: Donbas has the most land mines in the world
The OSCE Special Representative Martin Sajdik said that the east part of Ukraine is the area with the biggest number of land mines in the world, reports Interfax-Ukraine.
"The working group on security issues discussed compliance with the ceasefire, raising of the forces and means as well as demining. Ukraine’s east has become the area with the most land mines in the world," said Sajdik at the briefing following the Trilateral Contact Group meeting on conflict resolution in Donbas.
In this …