The Director of the Center for Analysis of Middle East Conflicts at the Institute for U.S. and Canadian Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Alexander Shumilin, stated in an interview with Rosbalt that John Kerry’s mission will probably fail. The U.S. Secretary of State is trying to reach new agreements with Russia on Aleppo in the remaining month and a half before the withdrawal of the current U.S. administration.

“Everything that Kerry attempts to do today is being undertaken merely …

NATO knew even before 2012 that Russia was planning to deploy Iskander missile systems to Kaliningrad because the previous-generation Tochka missile systems had become obsolete. However, Moscow is now describing the deployment of the missile systems as a response to the expansion of the alliance.

Russia deployed the Iskander missile systems to Kaliningrad last month. The official representative from NATO negatively assessed the deployment of the Russian missile systems, stated the vice …

Russia has begun testing hypersonic missiles to be used for long-range aviation. The prospective weapons are being tested from the Tu-22M supersonic bomber. This was reported by Lenta.ru, citing a source in the Defense Ministry.

According to this source, the new missiles, which can develop speeds of five to six times the speed of sound, could be used to destroy ground targets and to combat enemy ships.

The source added that the testing of these possible weapons will last several more years, …

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko met with Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallström to discuss, and agree with, Sweden’s position on sanctions against Russia.

According to the press service of the President, the issues of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU, and the introduction of the EU visa-free regime for Ukrainians, were also discussed during the meeting.

Wallström spoke about the need to extend the sanctions against Russia, while Poroshenko thanked Sweden for …

Ukraine's representative to the Trilateral Contact Group, Leonid Kuchma, doubts that it is possible to deploy an armed OSCE police mission in the Donbas, as he stated during a briefing in the Zakarpattia region.

"Hope is the last to die. 57 countries hope that they will vote for a police mission. There is no precedent... I see no solution for such a problem," he said.

Kuchma emphasized that the current OSCE monitoring mission does not monitor the withdrawal of forces in the agreed upon area …