US tanks arrive in Georgia for joint military exercises

More than a dozen US M1A2 Abram tanks have arrived in Georgia to participate in the Noble Partner 2016 military exercises, Radio Svoboda reported.

The exercises involving American, Georgian, and British soldiers will begin on May 11th.

The Abrams tanks and Bradley M2 infantry fighting vehicles arrived in Vaziani, a suburb of Tbilisi, on Thursday, at a former Russian army base.

"Exercise Noble Partner is a bilateral effort focused on enhancing U.S. and Georgian NATO Response Force …


OSCE reiterates that military parades in the Donbas on May 9th will violate the Minsk Agreements

The OSCE has once again stressed that the presence of heavy weapons during military parades in Donetsk and Luhansk on May 9th will be a violation of the Minsk Agreements, Interfax-Ukraine reported.

According to Alexander Hug, the Deputy Chief Monitor of the OSCE's Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, "historical heritage is important, but [the presence of] heavy weapons in the cities of Luhansk and Donetsk is a violation of Minsk and a threat to the people".

As previously reported, on April …


Poroshenko issues indefinite moratorium on payment of 'Yanukovych's debt'

The President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, signed the law adopted by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine that placed an indefinite moratorium on the repayment of Eurobonds on the loan provided by Russia to Ukraine in December 2013.

The corresponding law amending Article 4 of the Law of Ukraine “On specific features of dealing with sovereign and local debt guaranteed by the state” was signed by the President on the 29th of April.

The law excluded a phrase "and will remain in force until the 1st of …


Media: Russia blocked the UN's condemnation of nuclear testing by North Korea

Reuters reported that Russia has amended the statement of the U.N. Security Council condemning the nuclear tests of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), effectively blocking the adoption of the document. Last week, Pyongyang tested two ballistic missiles, which prompted British Deputy U.N. Ambassador Peter Wilson to say “The Security Council should respond quickly. We don’t understand why Russia has blocked the statement but the other members of the Security Council must accept …


Scaparrotti: NATO should provide Ukraine with weapons

NATO's new Supreme Allied Commander, U.S. Army General Curtis Scaparrotti, plans to identify what weapons Ukraine needs to better protect itself.

Scaparrotti addressed the issue on Wednesday at a press conference at the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) in Mons, Belgium.

"I do believe that we should support the Ukrainians with what they need to successfully defend their territory and their sovereignty," Scaparrotti said.

"I'll take a look at that as the SACEUR [Supreme Allied …