• Lithuanian MoD: NATO fighters escorted Russian aircraft over the Baltic five times last week

    NATO jets escorted Russian military aircraft over the Baltic Sea on five occasions last week, BaltNews reported with reference to the Lithuanian Ministry of Defense.

    On June 23rd, NATO fighters escorted a Russian IL-20 cargo plane flying in international airspace from the Kaliningrad exclave. The aircraft was following its flight plan, but its transponder was turned off. A Russian Tu-134 cargo plane was also intercepted on Thursday for the same reason.

    On the same day, a Russian Su-27 fighter …

  • Italian Parliament rejects resolution which called for lifting sanctions on Russia

    On Monday, June 27, the Chamber of the Deputies (Camera dei Deputati) of  the Italian Parliament rejected a resolution to lift sanctions against the Russian Federation. The proposal which called on the Italian government to lift the sanctions against Russia was submitted by the opposition parties , Five Start Movement (Movimento 5 Stelle) and the North League (Lega Nord), as reported by the Russian RIA Novosti news agency.

    The Italian deputies rejected the resolution that called on the …

  • Germany’s Defense Minister calls for transparency of Russian military movements

    In her interview with Bild am Sonntag, the Minister of Defense of Germany, Ursula von der Leyen, called the North Atlantic Treaty Organization the strongest existing military alliance and called on Russia to openly report the number of its troops and its movements. “It would be an appropriate step if Russia and NATO continue to exchange information on movements and number of their troops within OSCE,” the Minister stated. Von der Leyen favored improving relations with Russia, noting that Moscow …

  • Russia signs more than 30 economic agreements with China

    Vladimir Putin's Saturday visit to Beijing was very productive, Euronews reported. More than 30 agreements were signed.

    The subjects were, in particular: the establishment of a free trade zone between China and the Eurasian Economic Union, supplies of gas and grain from Russia to China and construction of a high-speed Moscow - Kazan highway.

    The parties also discussed common efforts to combat terrorism and the situation in Syria and North Korea (DPRK). Also, Russia and China have agreed on …

  • Mayor of Ukrainian city of Dnipro to ban advertisements for Crimean resorts

    The mayor of Dnipro, Borys Filatov, wrote on his Facebook page that he plans to consider a ban on the advertising of Crimean resorts at a regular city council meeting.

    “On 13 July, during the session, I will demand a ban on the outdoor advertising of Crimean vacations,” he wrote.

    He supports the recently established movement in the city ‘Tourist Separatism – STOP’ whose participants rip down all advertisements for vacationing in Crimea. Recently, on the Ukrainian President’s website they …