• Putin to Dutch Prime Minister: Russia rejects results of MH17 investigation

    At a meeting with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte during the G20 summit in Osaka, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia does not recognize the results of the investigation into the crash of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 in the sky over the Donetsk region in July 2014, as stated by the Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov

    "I can confirm this dialogue: it was a very brief conversation, not an official meeting," said Peskov as quoted by UNIAN news agency.

    "Putin …

  • Italian court sentences three mercenaries who fought in Donbas

    A court in Genoa, Italy, has given prison sentences to three mercenaries who fought against Ukraine in the Donbas, the local news outlet La Stampa reports.

    Antonio Cataldo (35, from Nola, Naples) was given 2 years 8 months; Olsi Krutani (39, an Albanian who relocated to Milan a long time ago) was also given 2 years 8 months; and Vladimir Verbitchii (26, a Moldovan who has lived in Parma for many years) was given 1 year 4 months in prison.

    The three were found guilty of unsanctioned …

  • Russia officially withdraws from Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty

    On Wednesday, July 3, Russia officially withdrew from the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree that makes it the president’s prerogative to decide whether to resume participation in the agreement. The law was passed by Russia’s State Duma on 18 June and ratified by the Federation Council on 26 June.

    The INF treaty was signed by the US and USSR in 1987, and sought to eliminate an entire class of missiles. The document prohibits the …

  • PACE delegation leaves Ukraine after Kyiv withdraws invitation to observe parliamentary elections

    The delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), which arrived in Ukraine to assess the pre-election climate, has left the country ahead of schedule. PACE representatives explained that the premature departure was based on Ukraine’s withdrawal of its invitation to PACE to send observers for the country’s upcoming snap parliamentary elections.

    “The pre-electoral delegation has decided to cease its activity prematurely,” PACE said in a statement published on …

  • Russian experts: S-300 missile systems ineffective in Syria

    The Russian S-300 aerial defense systems delivered to Syria demonstrated their utter ineffectiveness during an attack by the Israeli Air Force in the early hours of 1 July, writes the Russian news site Avia.pro.

    The ineffectiveness of Syria’s S-300 is most apparent in light of the fact that they are currently considered the most long-range anti-air systems in Assad’s army, the site notes.

    The news outlet’s anonymous experts drew attention to the fact that Israel used long-range missiles in …