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OSCE Observers Fired on in Eastern Ukraine
Ukrainian representatives at the Joint Centre for Control and Coordination (JCCC) reported that a sniper from the illegally armed groups opened fire on a car from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission on the 16th of January in Marinka (in the Donetsk region). The car was fired on within the territory under control of members of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic.
“The representatives of the SMM weren’t injured. Their lives aren’t in danger but the car is damaged,” the report says.
It was …
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Russia to Cut Funds For International Space Station
Russian media reports that the state authorities are planning to reduce the cost of maintenance of the International Space Station in the next decade.
According to the newspaper Izvestia in the latest draft budget for the 2016-2025 years, the cost of servicing the ISS will be around 3.3 billion dollars (252.1 billion rubles), which is 10 percent less than was suggested in the draft budget drawn up in April last year.
The Russian Space Agency is one of five departments that control the station …
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OSCE Opens New Forward Patrol Base in Luhansk Region
According to Glavnoye, the press service of the OSCE reported that on January 1st, a special monitoring mission of the OSCE in Ukraine opened an advanced patrol base in a village in Luhanskaya.
This is the eighth patrol base in the Donbass region. The Luhanskaya base is intended to expand the presence of representatives of the monitoring mission in the region Luhansk so they could quickly and more efficiently respond to various incidents in eastern Ukraine.
"Like other front line patrol bases, …
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Russia Refuses to Participate in PACE January Session
TASS reported that Russia is refusing to participate in the January session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). A representative of the Agency explained that the period for providing the lists of participants of each national delegation to the PACE expired on Friday. It was reported that Russia did not provide the required list . “This is a refusal to participate in the January session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE),” a well-informed …
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Russia and the West: a new Cold War?
Many experts believe that this week’s announcement that Russia will station three new divisions along the western border is one step closer to a new Cold War. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu stated that the strengthening of the country’s western flank is “the most important task” for the Russian army in the coming year. The announcement is a chain in a series of events that is reminiscent of what many hoped would be a bygone era.
Shoigu’s words come amidst Tallinn's call to create …