The Principal Deputy Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine, Alexander Hug, said information collected by the organization indicates that Russian troops have been directly involved in the war in eastern Ukraine since the conflict first erupted in the spring of 2014.

At the same time, speaking at a press conference in Odessa, Hug stressed the mission itself only reports on what it sees and hears, and refrains from drawing conclusions.

"From the beginning, we wrote in …

A new motorized rifle division with approximately 10,000 soldiers will be deployed by the end of 2016 to the Rostov region, as reported by TASS, citing a source from the Southern Military District headquarters.“The new ‘full-blooded’ motorized rifle division will be created by the end of this year in accordance with the directives of the Chief of General Staff and the Commander of the Southern Military District troops. Three military compounds are to be built in order to accommodate this new …

According to the leader of the Ukrainian political party Batkivshchyna (Fatherland), Yulia Tymoshenko, US President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have convinced Russian President Vladimir Putin to transfer Nadiya Savchenko to Ukraine, as reported by Deutsche Welle.

On Friday, on the TV program “Shuster Live”, Tymoshenko expressed confidence that the three leaders had reached an agreement that will allow Savchenko to be transferred to Ukraine.

"According to our information, …

The Chief of the Presidential Administration of Russia, Sergei Ivanov, stated that the case of Nadiya Savchenko has nothing to do with the Minsk Agreements, but a prisoner exchange including her is theoretically possible, Interfax reported.

“Regarding a possible exchange, theoretically, it is possible. With full respect for the legislation of the Russian Federation, the decision on this issue can only be made by the President of Russia,” Ivanov said. He also addressed whether the exchange of …

According to a poll conducted by the Levada Center, 54% of Russian citizens believe that Josef Stalin played a positive role in the country’s history, Vedmosti reported. Approximately the same number of respondents believe that Stalin was a wise leader who led the Soviet Union to prosperity. The majority of respondents (60%) would not want to live under such a head of state, falling from 74% in 2008.

At the same time, two-thirds of respondents considered Stalin to be a tyrant, responsible for …

Mercedes has abandoned its plans to build its car factory in Russia, favoring Poland.

In January, the Head of Mercedes-Benz Daimler Dieter Zetsche stated that the construction of the Mercedes plant in Russia was still in the plans of the auto giant despite the situation with the Russian economy.

In 2015, new car sales in Russia dropped to 36%, or 1.6 million cars. 2016 is likely to be more significant. The Hyundai plant in Saint-Petersburg brought 1 billion rubles ($14.6 million) inlosses to …

On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the congress of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP), and later held a meeting with major businessmen behind closed doors. During the public part of the meeting, Putin praised the business leaders for their "mature and responsible" work, and assured them that the government is working on reducing the fiscal burden brought on by the economic crisis. The Russian President also said that he supports “easing the law” for …

On March 23rd, a District Court in Warsaw found Yuriy K., a Belarusian citizen, guilty of espionage. The court determined that the Belarusian took photos of several important Polish military facilities, including air bases in Powidz, Krzesiny, Świdwin and Świnoujście, from 2009 until his arrest in 2014, Radio Polsha reported

According to the court, Yuri K. used his mobile phone to communicate with a Belarusian officer, from whom he took orders.

The 35-year-old Yuri K., who is now in custody, …