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Russia begins military exercises on the Kuril Islands
On the Kuril Islands, Russian units from the Eastern Military District were put on alert and into a state of high-combat readiness as part of this year's final exercise in the region, RIA Novosti news agency reports.
During the exercise, military personnel will practice firing at sea targets with Grad multiple rocket launchers and unmanned aerial vehicles, a representative from the district command said.
On October 18, the large-scale military exercises of the Central Military District in …
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Lavrov: Turkish aircraft will be shot down if they violate Syrian airspace
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov responded to the statement by the Syrian Defense Ministry that they intend to bring down Turkish Air Force aircraft if they invade the country’s airspace, reaffirming Damascus' position.
Lavrov said that Syria is a sovereign state, a member of the United Nations and has full sovereignty over its territory and over its airspace.
“Any attempt to repeatedly violate Syrian airspace by Turkish military aircraft will be rebuffed, and they will be shot down by …
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The Presidents of Finland and Estonia don’t exclude imposing new sanctions against Russia
During a press conference in Helsinki, the Presidents of Finland and Estonia, Sauli Niinistö and Kersti Kaljulaid, stated they have not excluded imposing additional sanctions against Russia due to its actions in Syria, reported Postimees news agency. According to the President of Estonia, Kersti Kaljulaid, who is in Finland on a State visit, what is happening in Syria is the largest humanitarian disaster of our time.
Kaljulaid noted that, according to the international community, if sanctions …
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Czech Senate stresses need to return control of Ukraine's borders to Kyiv
On Thursday, October 20, 2016, the Upper House of the Czech Parliament adopted a resolution on the situation in Ukraine, which expressed concern about the intensification of attacks in Donbass. The Parliament stressed the need to end support for separatists by the Russian Federation as well as the restoration of the control over the border by Ukrainian.
45 of 63 senators present voted for the resolution, the First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, Iryna Herashchenko, wrote on her Facebook …
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Baltic States to triple military expenditures
Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have a plan to triple their military spending between 2014 and 2018. An estimated amount of $670 million will be spent on arms and other military equipment.
By 2020, it is estimated that the combined defense budget of the three Baltic republics will be $2.1 billion. This is more than double the amount of when the countries first became part of NATO in 2004. It is also the fastest growth in any region. This was reported by Reuters referring to prominent research …