Vega rocket with Ukrainian engine successfully launched
A Vega rocket powered by a Ukrainian made engine successfully launched from the European spaceport at Kourou, French Guiana on Thursday morning.The European Space Agency’s LISA Pathfinder mission launched atop a Vega rocket begins a year-long mission to demonstrate technologies that could be used for future missions to observe gravity waves.Ukrainian RD-869 engine was originally developed for the post-boost stage of the R-36M2 missile.
LISA Pathfinder was the sixth launch for the four-stage …
ISIS oil smuggled though Turkey is consumed in Israel
An Israel Business portal, Globe, reported that Israel is one of the biggest consumers of ISIS oil.According to Globes, Kurdish and Turkish smugglers buy oil from the Islamic State, transport it through Iraq and Syria and then re-sell to the third countries. Globe confirmed that Israel is one of the main consumers. Jihadists’ oil is extracted from fields in the Syrian province of Dayr al-Zawr and oil regions of northwestern Iraq. The fuel is transported through the Kurdish town, Zaha, which is …
Turkey plans to impose retaliatory sanctions on Russia
Turkey is responding to the sanctions imposed by Russia after the SU-24 incident with a list of its own sanctions against Russia, as reported by the Milliyet, a Turkish news outlet. Under the leadership of the Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey, Mehmet Şimşek, a meeting was held to discuss the type of sanctions that would be imposed. A bill specifying sanctions was developed at the meeting and will be submitted for approval to the Prime Minister of Turkey, Ahmet Davutoğlu.
The main provisions of …
Crimean Tatar activists promise a naval blockade of the Crimea
The coordinator of the civil actions to blockade the Crimea, Lenur Islyamov, said that the road blockade prohibiting the supply of goods, and the destruction of the supply of electricity to Crimea from mainland Ukraine will soon be followed by a “naval blockade” of the Peninsula, including the Kerch ferry, the main transport artery connecting the Crimea with the Krasnodar region of the Russian Federation.
In an interview with Open Russia, Islyamov stated, "We will go further. We will do the …
US and EU to continue sanctions against Russia until Ukraine regains control over its borders
The U.S. and the EU agreed to extend sanctions against Russia until full compliance with the Minsk agreements is reached. This information was confirmed by the Coordinator of Sanctions Policy at the U.S. Department of State, Daniel Fried.
The last defining element of all the Minsk agreements – the Minsk Protocol, Minsk Memorandum and Minsk set of activities – is for Kiev to regain control over its internationally recognized border with Russia in Eastern Ukraine, Fried explained, speaking at …