• Chinese banks are closing Russian business accounts

    Chinese banks have begun purging themselves of Russian clients, closing company accounts left right and center, blocking payments, and refusing to process even the most simple operations, such as currency conversion, Skymax managing partner Igor Shibanov told RIA Novosti.

    According to Shibanov, who works both in mainland China and in Hong Kong, the problems began roughly one and a half years ago. Initially, companies that were placed on the US and EU sanctions lists were at risk, but now the …

  • Crimean authorities intend to nationalize property of Crimean Tatar Mejlis

    The Crimean authorities intend to nationalize the property of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People and hand it over to the Russian-controlled Spiritual Direction of the Muslims of Crimea (SDMC), Krym.Realii reports, citing Sergey Ayksyonov, Russian Prime Minister of Crimea.

    Aksyonov noted that no “nationalization” is currently taking place on the peninsula, but with respect to the Mejlis’s property “the relevant measures should be taken”.

    The initiative had been voiced the day before at the …

  • Russian Defense Minister warns Europe of 'serious consequences' if the US withdraws from Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty

    Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu stated that the withdrawal of the US from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty would have serious consequences primarily for Europe, Interfax reports.  

    “We are interested to see the reaction of Europe to the US decision to withdraw from the INF. And I would like Europe to know and understand the consequences that would follow in the case of the deployment of medium-range missiles in Europe, ”said Shoygu.

    The decision of the United States will …

  • Polish President: Moscow’s imperial ambitions are obvious to everyone

    Moscow’s imperial ambitions are obvious to everyone; therefore, the NATO’s eastern flank should be strengthened, said Polish President Andrzej Duda in an interview with Bild am Sonntag.

    When asked how dangerous the Russian president is due to threats that Russia poses for Poland and other countries of the eastern part of the EU, Duda answered, "Over the last ten years, Russia twice forcibly changed European borders."

    "In 2008 it attacked Georgia, and in 2014 it attacked Ukraine. In both cases, …

  • France: Russia's presence will not help to stabilize the situation in Central African Republic

    Recently, Moscow announced plans to send additional equipment and new military instructors to the Central African Republic (CAR).

    Following Russia's announcement, French Defense Minister Florence Parly told the weekly Jeune Afrique that Russia’s expanding influence in the CAR, a former French colony, over the past months, will unlikely to help stabilize the situation in the country.

    In December 2017, Russia received the United Nations’ Security Council’s approval to supply weapons to the CAR, …