Contents tagged with Russia

  • Moscow refuses to allow European flights bypassing Belarus to enter Russia’s airspace

    The Russian authorities seem to have come up with a response to air blockade of Belarus, which was introduced by the European Union after Lukashenko’s special operation to force the landing of the Ryanair flight in Minsk.

    On Wednesday, Air France, Europe's third-largest airline by passenger traffic, was forced to reschedule an evening Paris-Moscow flight because it did not get a permission to enter Russian airspace.

    The airline planned to fly around Belarus and requested permission to enter …

  • Ukraine suspends electricity imports from Russia and Belarus

    Ukraine has suspended imports of Russian and Belarusian electricity until October 1, 2021. The decision was taken at a meeting of the National Energy and Utilities Regulatory Commission (NKREKU).

    The head of the National Energy and Utilities Regulatory Commission, Valery Tarasyuk, said that Energy Minister Herman Galuschenko initiated the decision. Thus, NKREKU cancels the results of annual auctions, which were used distributed transit volume for 2021 as part interstate agreements between …

  • Russia wants to use prison labor for construction projects

    Russian Justice Minister Konstantin Chuychenko said the Russian penal service was right in proposing to use prison labor on large construction sites.

    The Russian government believes that "correctional centers" can be set up on large construction sites and prisoners with the necessary qualifications will perform construction work.

    At the same time, according to the minister, it is necessary to move quickly and "create workplaces in all directions”, including large investment projects, which …

  • Russia deploys three long-range Tu-22M bombers to Syria

    Three long-range Tu-22M3 bombers landed at a Russian air base in Syria. The Russian Defense Ministry said that the Tu-22M3 bombers arrived at Khmeimim airbase for the first time. The Russian Defense Ministry added that the arrival of the bombers was possible after the upgrade of the second runway. The runway was lengthened, received new coating and new lighting and radio equipment were installed on it. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the airbase can now be used by aircraft of all …

  • Putin vows to 'knock out teeth' of anyone who tries 'to bite' Russia

    The enemies are trying to limit Russia's development, but, thanks to its armed forces, the country can respond harshly to all of them, President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting of the organizing committee "Victory".

    According to him, always the same thing happens. As soon as Russia becomes stronger, they find reasons to limit its development.

    "Everyone wants to bite us or to bite a piece off us," Putin said. "But those who are going to do it need to know, that we'll knock out their teeth so …

  • Ukrainian President promises to hold referendum on settlement in Donbas

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was considering holding a nationwide referendum on a settlement in the Donbas, UNIAN reports.

    "Regarding the national referendum, I believe that this should be the most important issue that we have today. I believe that this is the situation in the Donbas," said Zelensky at a press conference.

    According to Zelensky, this will take some time as Kyiv has several plans to end the war and take back the occupied territories and people. "We will …

  • U.S. decides not to impose sanctions against Nord Stream 2 AG and its CEO

    Joseph Biden’s administration imposed and immediately suspended sanctions against the operator of the Nord Stream 2 project, Nord Stream 2 AG, and its CEO Matthias Warnig, according to the State Department’s report sent to Congress on Wednesday, May 19. U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert Menendez confirmed that the document had been received.

    “I have determined that it is in the national interest of the United States to waive the application of sanctions on Nord Stream 2 …

  • Kremlin claims SWIFT promises to continue working in Russia

    The Russian Central Bank does not see the risks of Russia being disconnected from the system of inter-bank payment SWIFT, said the first deputy chairperson of the Russian Central Bank, Olga Skorobogatova, during the meeting of the State Duma Committee on the Financial Markets.

    "At first, they speculated a lot about SWIFT, then it spilled over to Visa and Mastercard. From SWIFT point of view, a similar situation was in 2014, when some EU deputies spoke about it. We have direct contact with …

  • Germany blocks sales of sanctioned technologies to Russia

    The Russian military industry continues to lose suppliers of Western technologies, which have to be purchased illegally because of the sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union.

    On Tuesday, the German Prosecutor General's Office, together with customs officers, detained in Leipzig a businessman who had been selling sanctioned equipment to Russia since 2018.

    German citizen Alexander S., managing director of a trading firm in Saxony, cooperated with a Russian company whose …

  • Berlin gives permission to lay 2km of Nord Stream 2 pipeline in Baltic Sea

    The Nord Stream 2 AG consortium will be able to lay two kilometers of pipes in German waters in May. The German Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) said that it had agreed to immediately allow the construction under the permit issued on January 14. According to the statement, Nord Stream 2 AG is only allowed to lay the pipes on the bottom of the sea, and any installation work should be carried out later.

    The agency stressed that the decision was taken "after a thorough assessment of …