• US expands sanctions against Russia

    The US has announced new sanctions on a number of Russian companies and individuals involved in Russia’s annexation of the Crimea and violence in in eastern Ukraine, as reported on the website of the US Treasury. Both Russian citizens and citizens of Ukraine involved in the activities of the LPR (Luhansk People’s Republic) and DPR (Donetsk People’s Republic) fell under the sanctions. In particular, the Deputy Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation Andrey Cherezov, the Director of the …

  • Putin promises that Crimea will experience growth in the future

    During a teleconference with universities, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that "the situation around the Crimea is not dramatic," and that the peninsula will experience growth in a variety of areas in the future.

    "To date I do not think that the situation around the Crimea has been dramatic; on the contrary, I am confident that everything will gradually stabilize," the Russian agency TASS quoted Putin as saying.

    As Interfax reports, the Russian president noted that "after solving a …

  • Russia will only send 169 of the 500 athletes it planned to send to Olympic Games in Pyeongchang

    Russia has approved the final applications for athletes to compete in the Olympic Games in Pyeongchang. According to the application, 169 athletes will go instead of the 500 who would have participated were they not disqualified.

    According to R-Sport, all 169 people decide for themselves whether to go to the Games or not.

    The International Olympic Committee dismissed the Russian team from the 2018 Olympic Games due to the doping program, which operated in the country. Clean athletes are …

  • Kremlin: Russia is ready to be disconnected from SWIFT

    The Russian economy is ready to work without being connected to the SWIFT international bank transfer system, stated Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovych at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

    “It can work without SWIFT, at some point SWIFT did not exist. Of course, all of this is a little slower and not as effective, but it can work,” Dvorkovych said, as cited by TASS and RIA Novosti.

    He added that the Russian government hopes that there will be no disconnection from SWIFT, because …

  • Russian press in Davos asks Poroshenko about 'law on war'

    On January 24 at the World Economic Forum in Swiss Davos, a Russian journalist provoked Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.

    A journalist wearing a Vyshyvanka (a traditional Ukrainian embroidered shirt) without distinguishing marks asked Poroshenko in Russian: “Why did you adopt the law on war?”

    The Ukrainian president reacted to her embroidered shirt and advised her to “take off the Vyshyvanka”. He also said that he will respond to the question if it is asked in the Ukrainian language. The …