• German media: Steinmeier is making a mistake by seeking rapprochement with Russia

    The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper published a commentary by political observer Reinhard Veser, who evaluated the statements of German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier regarding a possible rapprochement of the West with Moscow.

    “Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has put himself in an ambiguous position. Through a variety of statements all summer he was creating the impression that the common position of the German authorities on the Russian aggression in Ukraine is in …

  • Russia's Caucasus 2016 military exercises begin

    Russia’s Caucasus 2016 military exercises have begun, involving the entire Southern Military District, the Crimea, and the Black Sea and Caspian fleets, Reuters reported. A total of 12,500 troops are expected to take part.

    Last week, Russia conducted a series of combat readiness checks in the lead up to the exercises.

    The Russian Defense Ministry said Caucasus 2016 is the last major military exercise of the year. It is scheduled to end on September 10th.

    An unspecified number of aircraft, …

  • Putin and Obama discuss Syria and Ukraine during meeting at G20 summit

    US President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin met on the sidelines of the G20 summit in China, RIA Novosti reported.

    In an informal 90-minute meeting, the two leaders discussed the conflicts in Syria and Ukraine.

    The key discussion point was the war in Syria, specifically providing humanitarian aid, reducing the level of violence, and combating extremist groups, such as the so-called Islamic State.

    The two leaders also discussed the war in Ukraine, with Obama urging …

  • Research group finds Russian trace in cyber attacks in Ukraine, Turkey, and Germany

    A group of researchers, ThreatConnect, which deals with cyber security, examined the hacking of an electronic database of voters and came to the conclusion that the cyber-attacks in Ukraine, Turkey, and Germany were made from the same IP-address, and the coding of the attackers is typical for Russian hackers, Voice of America reports.

    According to researchers, “There are several indicators in the way this crime was committed that are typical of Russian hackers.” According to them, earlier the …

  • Military reservist training begins in Ukraine

    Large-scale military training of reservists from the Armed Forces, involving more than 8,000 people, has begun in Ukraine. The training will be held in two stages, from September 3 to 15 and from September 12 to 24, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry press service reported.

    “The main purpose of the exercises is to work out a mechanism for rapid staffing of military units and formations with personnel using the forces of the operational reserve in the event of explicit aggression,” the department …