• Berlusconi visits annexed Crimea

    Silvio Berlusconi, Former Italian Prime Minister arrived with a "private visit" in the Crimea annexed by Russia.  

    Berlusconi arrived on September 11 in Yalta, where he plans to take in the sights and have "several meetings".

    As admitted in the Kremlin on September 9, during the trip Berlusconi could meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

    Berlusconi is also expected to visit Sevastopol, and then go to Moscow and return to Italy on 13 September.

    Earlier this year Berlusconi, who is a …

  • Is Russia More Bark Than Bite?

    As per Sir Andrew Wood, Chatham House

    The received wisdom that Russia will always be ready to go further than the West in a confrontation over Ukraine is flawed.

    ‘The West could never prevail in a military confrontation over Ukraine with Russia, which would always be prepared to go further.’ This line, from a Financial Times editorial last week, reflects a commonly-held view among Western commentators about the crisis in eastern Ukraine. But if taken literally, it would imply that Vladimir …

  • Russian troops join combat in Syria

    According to a number of Lebanese sources, Russian forces have begun participating in military operations in Syria in support of government troops.

    The unidentified sources, speaking to Reuters on Wednesday, gave the most forthright account yet from the region of what the United States fears is a deepening Russian military role in Syria's civil war, though one of the Lebanese sources said the number of Russians involved so far was small.

    U.S. officials said Russia sent two tank landing ships …

  • Pope to meet Putin if he arrives on time.

    Russian President Vladimir Putin could have an audience with Pope Francis at the United Nations on the sidelines of the development summit meeting later this month — but only, as per the Vatican envoy to the UN, if Mr. Putin gets here in time.

    According to diplomatic protocol, the pope is to hold a bilateral meeting with the country that presides over the United Nations Security Council and only with its head of state. In September, that is Russia. Hence, Mr. Putin.

    The pope is scheduled to …

  • Leader of Right Sector to authorities: Stop repressions of pro-Ukrainian activists.

    Dmitro Yarosh, the leader of Right Sector, a far-right Ukrainian nationalist political party, called for defiance against authorities.

     In his statement he said:

    "Anti-Ukrainian scum is carrying out the revival of the pre revolution order and is provoking the people to  another revolt. The recent events have demonstrated this. And in particular this is the arrest of my comrade Sergei  Sternenko in Odessa “.

    Yarosh, the member of Ukrainian parliament , has accused the authorities of …

  • Ukraine to supply engines for Boeing

    Ukraine and Boeing company have agreed on sales of Ukrainian engines and carrier rockets 

    According to the head of Ukraine's National Space Agency Liubomyr Sabodash, as agreed in Washington,  The Boeing Company will be buying ukrainian engines and carrier rockets produced by Pivdenne (Yuzhnoe) Construction Bureau and Pivdenmash plant. Conditional that Ukraine would not cooperate with the countries covered by the U.S. sanctions.At the moment, the U.S. buys Russian engines. Pivdenne bureau will …

  • NATO Embassy to open in Ukraine

    NATO to open Embassy in Ukraine, according to Pavlo Klimkin, Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister.

    “We have agreed with the Secretary General to sign the agreement on the status of NATO representation in Ukraine during this September visit.  We are moving away from the concept of the NATO Liaison Office and will create, in fact, a real NATO’s Embassy in Ukraine,” Klimkin said.

    He also noted that more documents are to be signed during the NATO head's visit to Ukraine in September, such as a road …

  • Netflix "Winter on Fire" premiers October 9

    The trailer for Netflix's next original documentary has some harrowing — but important — images.

    Winter on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom chronicles a 93-day period in 2013 and 2014.

    It features interviews with protestors, on-the-ground footage, and a "grand scale" look at the violent conflict.

    The documentary witnesses the formation of a new civil rights movement in Ukraine. What started as peaceful student demonstrations supporting European integration morphed into a full-fledged …

  • 'Power struggle' in Donetsk prompts flurry of speculation in Kyiv and beyond

    According to Euan MacDonald of Kyiv Post, 

    An apparent power struggle among Russia’s proxy authorities in separatist-controlled parts of Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast has left experts speculating about its causes, and what the Kremlin’s future intentions for the region now might be.

    Reports came on the evening of Sept. 4 that Denis Pushilin, the vice-speaker of the pseudo parliament in the part of Donetsk Oblast controlled by Russian-backed separatists, had ousted the body’s speaker, Andrey Purgin …

  • Russia is stepping up its military presence in Syria.

    Three Russian military cargo jets have landed in Syrian in the recent days.

    They have delivered mobile housing units and military equipment.

    American officials said that most likely Russian is trying to build its military base and also an air control center in Syria to aid an embattled President Bashar al-Assad.

    Previously Bulgaria refused to provide an air space corridor to Russian Syria-bound flights.

    Although today Russian officials have confirmed that the airspace has been provided by …