Russian Su-24 military aircraft skidded off the runway and crashed at the time of take off at the Khmeimim air base in Syria.  All the crew was killed.

The Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed the accident.

“On October 10, a Su-24 skidded off the runway and crashed while accelerating to take off for a combat task from Khmeimim Airbase in Syria,” the statement said.

The crew of the aircraft did not manage to eject and was killed instantaneously, Interfax reports citing an official from the …

A large number of Russian troops are on their way to Syria to take part in Deir ez-Zor offensive, reports Al Masdar news agency citing its sources in Syrian government.

Earlier, Turkish media reported that the  Russian landing ship Azov carrying military and equipment passed Bosporus on its way to Syria.  It’s the forth such deployment for the Azov in 2017.

It is expected that the Azov will arrive in Syrian port of Tartus later this week.

French President Emmanuel Macron is ready to accept an invitation from Russian President Vladimir Putin to visit an economic forum in St. Petersburg in May 2018, as reported by Kommersant, citing diplomatic sources in Paris. Should this occur, Macron will become the main guest at the forum.

According to the newspaper’s sources, the decision has been made, but it was decided not to announce it officially yet. "The reason is purely formal, but quite respectful. Presidential elections in Russia …