• Amnesty International demands the release of people detained at protest rallies in Russia

    Amnesty International, an international human rights organization, demanded that the Russian authorities "immediately and unconditionally" release all detained protesters and investigate allegations of police abuse of power in St. Petersburg and Yakutsk, as reported by the Russian broadcast of Radio Liberty.

    The Amnesty International statement notes that the rallies took place in many cities in Russia on Vladimir Putin’s birthday.

    "The intention of the Kremlin is beyond doubt - to deprive the …

  • US representative for Ukraine Volker and Putin’s aide Surkov held talks in Belgrade

    Negotiations between Russian Presidential Assistant Vladislav Surkov and US State Department Special Representative for Ukraine Kurt Volker were constructive, RBC news agency reports quoting Surkov as saying.

    "We discussed the draft resolution of the UN on the Donbas proposed by Russia, and understanding was found on a number of positions. Most of which were recognized as surmountable," Surkov said.

    He added that both sides stressed the need to carry out the Minsk deals, with the Normandy …

  • Pentagon questions ability of Russia and Syria to defeat the Islamic State

    Pentagon spokesman Eric Pahon said that he is skeptical of statements made by the Russian Defense Ministry regarding its successes in the fight against the Islamic state (IS).

    TASS quotes Pahon as saying that "The efforts of the authoritarian regime of [Syrian President Bashar Assad], Russia and Iran are unlikely to lead to a complete defeat of IS."

    According to Pahon, the emergence of IS "is linked, inter alia, with the repressive measures of the Assad regime." Against this background, he …

  • More than 260 people detained during Putin’s birthday protests in Russia

    At least 262 people were detained during protests in support of Alexei Navalny in 27 cities across Russia, according to OVD-Info.

    As of 8:00 p.m., 66 people had been detained in Petersburg, 54 people in Yaroslavl, and 20 in Lipetsk. Detentions also occurred in Kaliningrad, Krasnodar, Perm, Pskov, Saransk, Selyatin, Sochi, Stavropol, Tver, Tyumen, and Yakutsk.

    In Krasnodar, one of the protesters was arrested for three days. In Yekaterinburg, Izhevsk, Nizhny Tagil, Rostov-on-Don, Samara, …

  • Russia conducts test launches of Kalibr missiles off the coast of Crimea

    The submarines “Rostov-on-Don” and “Novorossiysk” from the Russian Black Sea Fleet in annexed Crimea fired Kalibr missiles at ground and above-water targets in the Opuk training area in Black Sea waters, the Russian Defense Ministry press service reported.

    “The missiles were fired from a submerged position. During the firing, two practice Kalibr missiles were used. In order to ensure the security of the military exercises and close off the dangerous region, more than 20 combat ships and …