Contents tagged with Russia

  • Italy detains prominent Ukrainian theater director at Russia’s request

    39-year-old Ukrainian theater director Yevgeny Lavrenchuk was taken into custody In Italy at the request of the Russian authorities for his extradition. Lavrenchuk is accused in Russia of fraud (Part 3 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code), reports TASS.

    Lavrenchuk is the chief director of the Odesa National Academic Opera and Ballet Theater. The Tagansky District Court of Moscow arrested him in absentia in July 2020.

    According to the press secretary of the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign …

  • NATO convenes emergency meeting as Russia continues amassing troops near Ukrainian borders

    Foreign Ministers of NATO countries will hold an emergency meeting on January 7, the press service of the alliance reported on Tuesday.

    The topic of the talks, which will be held in virtual mode, will be the build-up of the Russian troops near Ukraine and other issues of pan-European security, NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said on Twitter.

    The consultation will take place a day after the foreign policy adviser to the German Chancellor Jens Plötner and the diplomatic adviser to the President …

  • Russia admits Nord Stream 2 may never be launched

    The Russian gas pipeline Nord Stream 2 may not pass the EU certification procedure, said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Pankin, reports RIA Novosti.

    According to him, the certification process may last many months until the summer of 2022.

    At the same time, the U.S. may impose new sanctions which will completely invalidate the North Stream 2 certification.

    "We can imagine that the Americans will tell the Germans not to buy an ounce of Russian gas through Nord Stream. It may or may …

  • Russia to conduct exercises of its nuclear forces in early 2022

    In early 2022, Russia plans to hold strategic command exercises Thunder with the participation of all three components of its strategic nuclear forces, reported TASS, citing a source.

    "The Thunder exercises with the participation of the Russian nuclear triad (land-launched nuclear missiles, nuclear-missile-armed submarines, and strategic aircraft with nuclear bombs) are scheduled for early 2022," said TASS’ interlocutor close to the Russian Defense Ministry.

    Russia conducts the Thunder …

  • Lavrov: we are ready to defend Russians living in Donbas

    The Kremlin is ready to take all necessary measures to protect hundreds of thousands of Russian citizens in the Donbas and resolve the conflict in Ukraine through diplomatic means, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in an interview with RIA Novosti.

    "We will continue to make efforts to resolve the internal Ukrainian conflict by political and diplomatic means. The undisputed basis for this remains the Minsk Package of Measures, approved by UN Security Council Resolution 2202," he said. …

  • Kyiv: Russia does not have enough troops on Ukrainian borders for a full-scale invasion

    Russia continues to move troops near Ukrainian borders and territories of the Donbas which are not under Ukraine’s control, but this is not sufficient. Russia would need to have three to five times more troops for a full-scale invasion, said Secretary of the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council Oleksiy Danilov in an interview with the Current Time.

    At the same time, he stressed that the threat of an invasion still exists.

    "Of course, there is a constant threat for us. We have been …

  • The U.S. to invest $28 billion in hypersonic missiles production

    The U.S. military industry is rubbing its hands, anticipating a missile arms race that the world has not seen since the collapse of the USSR.

    According to Stars and Stripes, the United States plans to invest at least $28.5 billion in the production of hypersonic systems, which are already in service with China and the presence of which has been repeatedly announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

    Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and Lockheed Martin and other Pentagon contractors are competing …

  • EU wants to be part of U.S. talks with Russia on security guarantees

    Any discussions on European security should take place in coordination and participation with the EU. Therefore, the European Union wants to take part in negotiations between the United States and Russia on the de-escalation of tensions on the Russian-Ukrainian border, said EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell in an interview with the German newspaper of Die Welt.

    "We do not want and cannot afford to be outside spectators, with the decisions made behind …

  • Lavrov: Russia will retaliate if isolated by the West like North Korea

    Russia will find an answer to the West if it comes under tough financial sanctions, as a result of which the country, in fact, will turn into North Korea, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in an interview with the Russian TV host Vladimir Solovyov.

    According to Lavrov, Moscow "does not yet see" that the Western authorities plan to introduce the promised "sanctions from hell." These sanctions, according to the U.S. Department of State, will include complete isolation of the Russian …

  • Israel bombs Syrian military targets near Russian Khmeimim airbase

    On the night of Tuesday, December 28, Israel carried out airstrikes in the area of the seaport in the city of Latakia, located in northwestern Syria. According to the Syrian news agency SANA, container warehouses were bombed. SANA did not report what was in the containers.

    According to SANA, air defense systems were activated during the attack.

    This is the second report in a short time about a possible strike on the port in Latakia. Earlier, Damascus accused the Israel Defense Force of …