IOC reinstates Russian Olympic Committee's membership

In December the IOC suspended Russian Olympic Committee over alleged violations of anti-doping rules.

MOSCOW, February 28. /TASS/.The International Olympic Committee has reinstated the membership of the Russian Olympic Committee in the organization, ROC President Alexander Zhukov told reporters on Wednesday.

"Today, we received a letter from the IOC on the reinstatement," Zhukov said. "The ROC’s reinstatement comes as the examination of doping tests from the PyeongChang Olympics has ended.

The IOC may confirm that the other results [of examination of Russian athletes’ doping samples] are negative. 

This means that the ROC’s rights have been fully reinstated."

The ROC chief noted that huge effort has been carried out for the membership’s reinstatement. "You know that the past three months have been among the most challenging ones in the Russian sport’s history," Zhukov said. "We had to meet many demands before and during the Games." The head of the Olympic Athletes from Russia delegation, Stanislav Pozdnyakov, talked to the reinstatement group almost every day.

"I would like to thank our athletes who were able to perform well even despite the provocations," Zhukov said. 

"I thank the fans who did not cross the line and what could result in sanctions. Today’s IOC’s decision is very important for us. The ROC is an absolutely full-fledged member of the Olympic family," he stressed.

On December 5, 2017, the IOC suspended the Russian Olympic Committee over alleged violations of anti-doping rules, particularly during the 2014 Sochi Olympic Games. Russia’s team was banned from participating in the 2018 Olympic Games in South Korea. At the same time, the IOC allowed clean Russian athletes to participate in the Games as "Olympic Athletes of Russia."The team of athletes from Russia won 17 medals: two golds, six silver and nine bronze medals.

Source: ITAR-TASs 28-02-2018

Ukrainian officer charged for giving order to kill Russian journalist

Russia’s Investigative Committee has charged a senior Ukrainian army officer with organizing the murder of a Russian TV cameraman nearly four years ago.

MOSCOW, February 27. /TASS/. Russia’s Investigative Committee has charged a senior Ukrainian army officer with organizing the murder of a Russian TV cameraman nearly four years ago.

According to the IC’s spokeswoman, Svetlana Petrenko, the incident in which TV cameraman Anatoly Klyan of Russia’s nationwide TV station, Channel 1, suffered lethal gunshot wounds, occurred between the town of Avdeyevka and the village of Spartak, in the Yasinovataya district of the Donetsk Region, in eastern Ukraine in the small hours of June 30. Klyan was among the journalists from both Russian and Ukrainian TV channels who were accompanying a group of women whose sons, despite being drafted into the Ukrainian army had refused to participate in the military crackdown in the country’s eastern regions, defying the controversial coup in Kiev months earlier. The group of soldiers’ mothers arrived for talks with the military unit’s commanders by bus. The accompanying reporters, Klyan among them, were in the same vehicle.

When the bus stopped at the garrison’s gate, the unit’s commander, Lieutenant Colonel Nikolai Malomen twice ordered his subordinates, armed with 7.62 mm Kalashnikov assault rifles, to open fire, although he was well aware there were only unarmed civilians inside. Lethally wounded, Klyan died in an ambulance van on the way to hospital.

The Investigative Committee’s special office for crimes related to the use of illegal means and methods of warfare charged Lieutenant Colonel Malomen "in absentia with masterminding the killing of a person in connection with the latter’s professional activity," Petrenko said.

At the moment of the incident Malomen was the commander of a battalion of the Donetsk air defense regiment (military unit A-1428).

According to the investigators, Malomen had armed a group of his subordinates and supplied them with ammunition many hours before the June 29-30 overnight incident and issued orders to shoot to kill without warning should they notice any armed persons or civilians approach the garrison.

"The investigators are continuing persistent efforts with the aim of identifying other accomplices in this and other crimes committed by the Ukrainian military against Russian citizens," Petrenko added.

Source: ITAR-TASS 27-02-2018

Russia’s new military buggy, Chaborz-6, rolled out in Chechnya’s Grozny

The vehicle is made entirely from Russian-made components.

MOSCOW, February 25. /TASS/. The work presentation of Chaborz M-6, a high cross-country mobile tactical buggy, was held on Saturday in the Chechen capital Grozny, the region’s head Ramzan Kadyrov wrote on his VKontakte page.

"On Saturday, a very important event took place, which is of great significance for special units of various Russian security and law-enforcement ministries and departments. A work presentation of an absolutely new combat vehicle for special-purpose units, Chaborz-6, was held," Kadyrov said.

The vehicle was designed by Russian Special Forces University (formerly the International Special Forces Training Center) and is made only from Russian-made components. It can be quickly adapted to a specific task and to be used for the transportation of troops and cargo, as an ambulance-evacuation vehicle or for combat.

"Designers will come up with several versions of engines and transmissions, which is very important in adopting the model for climatic conditions and mission goals," Kadyrov said. "Our vehicle outperforms its Israeli and US rivals in terms of price, cross-country ability and speed. I’m sure it will be in great demand at the combat vehicle market."

Kadyrov said an earlier version of the buggy, Chaborz M-3, was upgraded. The vehicle was tested in combat in Syria.

Source: ITAR-TASS 26-02-2018

Ice hockey team from Russia grabs 2018 Olympic gold with 4-3 OT win over Germany

The score in the match was opened in the first period’s last second by Russia’s defenseman Vyacheslav Voinov.

PYEONGCHANG, February 25. /TASS/. The closing day of the 2018 Winter Games in South Korea’s PyeongChang entered the history of the Russian Olympic ice hockey with the team of neutral athletes from Russia edging the team from Germany 4-3 in the overtime of the match for the gold medal on Sunday.

The match for the 2018 PyeongChang ice hockey gold at the 10,000-seat capacity Gangneung Hockey Center was the first Olympic final in 20 years for the team from Russia, which lost the gold medal game to the Czech Republic at the 1998 Winter Games in Japan’s Nagano.

However, this was the first ever final in the history of the German Olympic ice hockey team. Germany’s best Olympic results in ice hockey were the bronze at the 1932 Winter Games in Lake Placid, the United States, and another bronze at the 1976 Olympics in Austria’s Innsbruck.

With just 15 seconds into the match, Russia’s Sergei Andronov received a two-minute penalty for tripping, giving Germany an opportunity of testing the Russian defense on the power play. However, the Germans failed to unpack the goal of the Russian team, solidly guarded by goalkeeper Vasily Koshechkin.

The Russian players, who participated in the 2018 Olympics under the neutral status flying the colors of the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) flag, also did not use an opportunity to score on the power play with little over eight minutes remaining in the opening period, when German defender Christian Ehrhoff was sent to the penalty booth for hooking.

The first period was about to end scoreless, but with only half a second left before the break, Russia’s Vyacheslav Voinov cannoned a puck almost from the blue line into the left upper corner of the net behind German goalkeeper Danny aus den Birken to open the score at 1-0.

Russia’s neutral ice hockey squad began the 2018 Olympic tournament with the 2-3 defeat at the hands of Slovakia, but then gained a solid track roaming on the main time victories in all the matches up to today’s final.

The German team, on the other hand, began their Olympic campaign with two defeats in a row, but later regained control clinching to victories in other games before the play-off round, which caused what could be called a sensation in the Olympic history of ice hockey.

The Germans faced renowned Sweden in the quarterfinals and stunned the Tre Kronor with 4-3 win. Going later in the semifinals, Germany routed the 2010 and 2014 Olympic Champions Canada with the same winning score of 4-3.

This is why Team Germany were not expected to give up easily on the Red Machine and they answered to tie the score at 1-1 in the middle of the second period, when forward Felix Schutz delivered a strong shot from the right wing and the puck ricocheted off Koshechkin’s glove tumbling into the Russian goal.

The scored goal heated up the game of both teams with an exchange of intensive attacks on each side, but the score of 1-1 remained flashing unaltered on the scoreboard as both teams retreated to locker rooms for the break before the closing period.

"We need to play a simple game as we are now overcautious," Russia’s Sergei Andronov said after the second period. "We need to calm down and try not to give up the game."

The closing 20-minute stretch of the game was scoreless for the most of the time, but with over seven minutes of the game time left, Russia’s Nikita Gusev scored a goal into the German net at a sharp angle from the left wing.

 But while the Russian ice hockey fans were still cheering loudly at the stadium’s spectator stands in PyeongChang celebrating the goal, it took Germany only ten seconds to respond and to tie the score again with a goal from forward Dominik Kahun.

Several minutes later, German defenseman Jonas Muller put another puck into the Russian net to give his team the 3-2 advantage over the Red Machine and to silence the disappointed Russian fans.

The game for the team from Russia went further for the worse as its player Sergei Kalinin was placed in a penalty booth giving Germany a two-minute advantage on the power play.

With an absence of one field player on the ice, the squad from Russia managed to switch from the defense to the offensive burst, which saw Nikita Gusev packing the net of the German team with another puck to tie the score at 3-3 on the last minute, sending the game for the Olympic gold to the overtime.

Ten minutes in the overtime, Germany’s Patrick Reimer was handed a penalty for high sticking and gave a two-minute advantage of five against four field players for the Red Machine.

Russia’s Kirill Kaprizov was there to utilize the opportunity and sent the victorious goal in the German net from the right wing to bring his team the much coveted Olympic gold.

The team of athletes from Russia, including the country’s ice hockey players, took part in the 23rd Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang under the neutral status.

Late last year, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) suspended the membership of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) over doping abuse allegations but allowed clean Russian athletes to participate in the 2018 Winter Games under the Olympic flag and in the neutral status of an Olympic Athlete from Russia (OAR).

Source: ITAR-TASS 25-02-2018

"Donbass reintegration" law confirms Kiev’s intention to solve conflict by force

"The practical implementation of this law threatens with risks of a major escalation of the situation in Ukraine’s south-east," Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in the document, posted on its website.

MOSCOW, February 24. /TASS/. The Ukrainian law, which comes into force on Saturday, on reintegration of Donbass confirms that Kiev wants to settle the conflict in south-east by force only, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.

"On February 24, 2018, the scandalous law on the so-called "reintegration of Donbass" is coming into fore," the Foreign Ministry said in a commentary, published on its website. "Thus, Kiev confirms aiming at settling by force the conflict in Ukraine’s south-east."

According to the Russian ministry, Ukraine’s President Pyotr Poroshenko by having signed the law "realistically dumped the Minsk accords, set loose the ‘party of war’."

"There is no mentioning a direct dialogue with authorities of the non-recognized republics, the de-escalation of the tension or the search for peaceful political settlement," the Russian authority said.

"Right on the contrary, the document makes up conditions for Kiev’s occupation of the non-controlled territories in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, it legalized use of the Ukrainian military against civilians."

"There has been, though fragile, hope President P. Poroshenko - who three years earlier participated in offering of the Minsk accords, and later on kept repeating he adheres to the agreements - could think better of it, but, alas, the Ukrainian president in reality has inked a verdict to the Minsk Complex of Measures," the Foreign Ministry said.

The new law’s coming into force coincides with an anniversary of the "coup, which the Ukrainian nationalists organized in February, 2014," the ministry continued. "The conclusions are evident: the current regime in Kiev, which had taken the power by a coup, would not accept any other methods but violence."

"The practical implementation of this law (on "reintegration of Donbass" - TASS) threatens with risks of a major escalation of the situation in Ukraine’s south-east," the ministry said. "We hope, the country’s Western supervisors realize this and would be able to use the influence they have on Kiev not to allow this scenario, which is ruining for the Ukrainian statehood, which threatens unforeseen consequences for the European stability and security."

About the law

On Tuesday, Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko signed into law the bill "On the special aspects of state policy aimed at ensuring Ukraine’s state sovereignty over the temporarily occupied areas of the Donetsk and Lugansk Regions" (on Donbass reintegration).

The law, initiated by President Poroshenko, refers to the specified eastern regions as "temporarily occupied territories" and defines Russia’s actions as "aggression against Ukraine." The law provides for setting up the joint operation headquarters of the Ukrainian armed forces to control all military units and military-civil administrations in the conflict zone and gives the president the right to use the armed forces inside the country without the parliament’s consent.

In addition, all references to the Minsk agreements have been removed from the document.

Minsk agreements

Peace settlement of the conflict in Donbass rests on the Package of Measures, known as Minsk-2, that was signed by the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine comprising senior representatives from Russia, Ukraine and the European security watchdog OSCE on February 12, 2015, after marathon 16-hour talks between the leaders of the Normandy Four nations, namely Russia, Germany, France and Ukraine. The 13-point document envisages a ceasefire between Ukrainian government forces and people’s militias in the self-proclaimed republics in Donetsk and Lugansk starting and subsequent withdrawal of heavy weapons from the line of engagement. The deal also lays out a roadmap for a lasting settlement in Ukraine, including local elections and a constitutional reform to give more autonomy to the war-torn eastern regions.

These agreements, that were initially planned to be implemented by the end of 2015, have not been fulfilled until now. The Ukrainian side has been dodging implementation of the package’s political provisions citing security problems as a reason. Ukraine has failed to carry out a constitutional reform, to enforce a law on the region’s special status and to pass a law on elections in Donbass. Instead, it insists on regaining control over the border with Russia, which is to take place only after the elections, as is envisaged by the Minsk agreements. Moreover, the Ukrainian side continues the economic blockade of Donbass. In the recent months, Kiev has been pushing the idea of deployment a United Nations armed mission in Donbass, obviously, in a bid to find a pretext to waive its liabilities under the Minsk agreements.

Source: ITAR-TASS 24-02-2018

Russia to salute its men and veterans on Defender of the Fatherland Day

February 23 marks Defender of the Fatherland Day in Russia.

TASS-FACTBOX. February 23 marks Defender of the Fatherland Day in Russia. It was established by a federal law dubbed "On Russian Military Glory Days (Victory Days)," signed by then President Boris Yeltsin on March 13, 1995, and amended afterwards.

Holiday’s history

The holiday dates back to the initial years after the foundation of the Russian Soviet Republic. On January 28, 1918, Chairman of the Council of People’s Commissars of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic Vladimir Lenin (Ulyanov) signed a decree setting up the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army. On February 23, the recruitment of volunteers into the Red Army began.

Since 1923, February 23 has marked Red Army and Navy Day. In 1946-1992, the holiday was celebrated as Soviet Army and Navy Day, but in 1993 it was renamed Defender of the Fatherland Day.

In 2002, February 23 was declared a non-working day for the first time.

Celebrations

On Defender of the Fatherland Day, various ceremonies involving veterans are usually held, which among other things include laying flowers at war memorials. At night, celebratory gunfire and fireworks take place in Hero Cities (a Soviet honorary title awarded for outstanding heroism during World War II to 12 USSR cities and the Brest Fortress) and municipalities hosting the headquarters of district military commands, fleets and all-arms armies. The holiday is meant to honor military servicemen but it actually celebrates men on the whole, regardless of their age and profession.

Apart from Russia, several other former Soviet states (Belarus, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and South Ossetia) also celebrate February 23 as a holiday.

Source: ITAR-TASS 23-02-2018

Russian defense manufacturer to wrap up initial tests for T-14 Armata tank in 2018

The Russian Defense Ministry intends to purchase around 100 tanks by 2020.

MOSCOW, February 22. /TASS/. Uralvagonzavod (part of the Rostec corporation) will complete initial tests for the T-14 Armata tank in 2018, Rostec CEO Sergey Chemezov told TASS.

This year, we are concluding the initial tests of the tank, which will be followed by operational testing," he said.

The corporation’s head reiterated that the Russian Defense Ministry intended to purchase around 100 T-14s by 2020.

Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yury Borisov said earlier that the Defense Ministry would make a decision after 2020 on awarding major contracts to supply Armatatanks to the army.

The T-14 tank designed on the Armata platform was first unveiled in Moscow on May 9, 2015. The new fighting vehicle was outfitted with an unmanned turret and an isolated armored capsule for its crew for the very first time.

Source: ITAR-TASS 22-02-2018

Over 20 Russian Baltic Fleet warships to join naval drills

The naval aviation’s aircraft and helicopters will be involved to secure the combat training missions.

KALININGRAD, February 20. /TASS/. Over 20 warships and support vessels of the Baltic Fleet’s Baltiysk naval base will be involved in naval drills that have kicked off in Russia’s westernmost region, Fleet spokesman Roman Martov told TASS on Tuesday.

"Missions in the Baltic Sea will be accomplished by the Baltiysk naval base’s strike forces - small missile ships and boats, minesweepers and also various vessels of the auxiliary fleet. Overall, the maneuvers will involve more than 20 warships and auxiliary vessels of the fleet," the spokesman said.

During the first stage of the drills, the warships’ crews will practice combat training assignments at their base, preparing for the voyage and making combat and everyday arrangements. After that, the Fleet’s individual warships will accomplish a number of assigned missions in the Baltic Sea to practice anti-ship and air defense.

"At the sea training ranges, the crews of warships from the Fleet’s several large units will conduct artillery fire against air and naval targets of various complexity and practice minelaying operations and depth bombing," Martov said.

The naval aviation’s aircraft and helicopters will be actively involved to secure the accomplishment of combat training missions, he added.

Source: ITAR-TASS 21-02-2018

Security chief warns foreign intelligence services plot cyber attacks against Russia

The Russian Security Council chief has warned about possible cyber attacks against the vote-counting system ahead of the presidential election.

ROSTOV-ON-DON, February 20. /TASS/. Russia’s Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev has warned foreign intelligence services have stepped up their activity to plot intricate scenarios of cyberattacks against Russia.

"It is noteworthy there has been considerable expansion in the range of tasks pursued by foreign computer intelligence services," Patrushev told a conference devoted to cybersecurity matters.

"Sophisticated scenarios are being devised and implemented of using IT software and hardware aimed at obtaining information circulating in the information and telecommunications networks and information systems of Russia’s critical information infrastructures.

Three mass encrypting virus attacks disabled over 500,000 computers in Russia in 2017, he said. "In 2017, three incidents of the mass infiltration of malware encrypting user data occurred," the security

chief said.

"The attacks disabled over half a million of computers, including at the facilities of Russia’s IT structure. The viruses infected the information systems of Russia’s Interior Ministry and the companies Rosneft and Evraz," Patrushev said.

Possible attack during presidential election

Patrushev has warned about possible cyber attacks against the national automated vote-counting system GAS Vybory ahead of the upcoming presidential polls.

"Ahead of the presidential election in Russia, we expect that the number of political, economic and information actions will grow," he said.

According to the Russian security chief, cyber attacks might be targeted against the GAS Vybory vote-counting system. He demanded security precautions be properly observed when connecting databases to computer networks of general use, first of all, to the internet. He also stressed the necessity to pay special attention to issues of observing constitutional guarantees and election rights and safeguarding public security during the election campaign.

Source: ITAR-TASS 20-02-2018

Russia urges Ukraine to lambast attack on Russian cultural center in Kiev - diplomat

Radical nationalism had been raised to a level of national politics in Ukraine, Lukashevich said.

VIENNA, February 17. /TASS/. Russia demands from Ukraine that an official statement condemning the attack by radical activists on the Russian Center for Science and Culture in Kiev should follow, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the OSCE Alexander Lukashevich said on Saturday, following nationalists’ assault on the Russian Center for Science and Culture in the Ukrainian capital.

"We insist Ukraine’s government should officially condemn radicals’ actions. Connivance to rampant nationalism has gone way overboard," Lukashevich said in a commentary received by TASS.

"The next week the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly is kicking off. We are hoping that the lawmakers will have their say on the issue. Moreover, their fellow worker - Andrey Lozovoi, a Verkhovna Rada deputy of the Radical Party - led the riot."

The Russian diplomat underlined that radical nationalism had been raised to a level of national politics.

"In conditions of acute domestic antagonism, political turbulence and social discontent, the Kiev authorities are actively propagating an image of an adversary personified as Russia," Lukashevich said.

"Offences against Russian property and Russian citizens in Ukraine are encouraged. At the legislative level, the authorities encourage persecution of the Canonical Orthodox Church, the Russian language and culture. The freedom of expression is clamped down on. Attacks on the media, journalists and bloggers is, unfortunately, a matter of fact."

"Until radical nationalist are rampaging in Ukraine, there will be no peace in that country. We insist that manifestations of xenophobia, nationalism and extremism in Ukraine be considered in detail at OSCE," the Russian envoy said.

Earlier on Saturday, about 30 members of the S14 (Sich) nationalist group attacked the Russian Center for Science and Culture in Kiev. The center’s spokesperson told TASS that the Right Sector group (banned in Russia) joined the Sich nationalists in the attack. The nationalists posted information about their action on Facebook. The video footage shows how they are splashing black and red paint on the walls and writing insulting slogans and words. They also torn down and desecrated the Russian flag.

The attack on the Russian center was not the first. In August 2016, nationalists hurled smoke grenades into the building and spray-painted graffiti with their symbols on its walls. In July 2017, about 30 members of Svoboda movement headed by a member of the Kiev Council Igor Miroshnichenko stormed the center's building and occupied the second floor to disrupt the presentation of a book on Russian history.

Source: ITAR-TASS 18-02-2018

Russia interested more than anybody else in settlement of Ukrainian crisis - Lavrov

Ukraine, a country with a huge potential and talented people, is exhausted now to "the state when it cannot be managed independently".

MUNICH, February 17. /TASS/. Russia, like nobody else, is interested in settlement of the Ukrainian crisis, and the legal frames for that are in hand, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told the Munich Security Conference on Saturday.

Ukraine, a country with a huge potential and talented people, is exhausted now to "the state when it cannot be managed independently," he said. "Russia, like nobody else, is interested in settlement of the Ukrainian crisis."

"The legal framework is in hand - those are the Minsk Complex of Measures, offered by Germany, Russia, Ukraine, France with participation of Donetsk and Lugansk and which has been approved by the UN SC," Lavrov said. "However, Kiev have been undermining respective efforts.".

Source: ITAR-TASS 17-02-2018

Fire at Russian Pacific Fleet’s destroyer in Vladivostok put out

"The damage was insignificant, because the vessel was undergoing repairs and all important mechanisms and devices have been dismantled," the source said.

VLADIVOSTOK, February 16. /TASS/. The fire on board the Russian Pacific Fleet’s Marshal Shaposhnikov destroyer, moored at the Dalzavod ship repair yard in the Far Eastern city of Vladivostok, has been put out, a company spokesman told TASS.

"There was a minor fire that was detected in time," a spokesman for the Far Eastern Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Center, a mother company for Dalzavod, told TASS. "It was promptly contained and put out."

"The damage was insignificant, because the vessel was undergoing repairs and all important mechanisms and devices have been dismantled," the source added.

A source in the Maritime Rescue and Coordination Center in Vladivostok told TASS that 106 people were evacuated from the Marshal Shaposhnikov Udaloy I-class destroyer, with no deaths or casualties reported. According to the source, the fire broke out in the engine room on Friday morning.

Source: ITAR-TASS 16-02-2018

Kremlin slams ‘Russophobic’ allegations that pin NotPetya cyber attack on Russia

Moscow repudiates accusations of being involved in the NotPetya cyber attack that had struck Ukraine in June 2017.

MOSCOW, February 15. /TASS/. The Kremlin strongly rejects groundless accusations of Russia being behind the NotPetya cyber attack on Ukraine in June 2017, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"We strongly reject such accusations, we consider them to be groundless, they are part of the similarly groundless campaign based on hatred against Russia," Peskov said commenting on a statement made by British Foreign Office Minister for Cyber Security Tariq Ahmad, in which he had attributed the NotPetya cyber attack to the Russian government. "The UK Government judges that the Russian Government, specifically the Russian military, was responsible for the destructive NotPetya cyber-attack of June 2017," Ahmad said, adding that the cyber attack "disrupted organizations across Europe costing hundreds of millions of pounds."

In January 2018, the Washington Post said the CIA had "attributed to Russian military hackers a cyberattack that crippled computers in Ukraine last year, an effort to disrupt that country’s financial system amid its ongoing war with separatists loyal to the Kremlin." "The GRU military spy agency [the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces - TASS] created NotPetya, the CIA concluded with ‘high confidence…’ according to classified reports cited by US intelligence officials," the newspaper added.

On June 27, 2017, a ransomware blocking access to data and demanding money for unblocking it attacked dozens of energy, telecom and financial companies in Russia and Ukraine, spreading across the world afterwards. Experts from the Group-IB computer security company said the Petya encrypting ransomware was behind the massive cyber attack. The malware prevented operating systems from loading, blocked computers and demanded a ransom of the Bitcoin equivalent of $300. The Kaspersky Lab later came to the conclusion that the world had faced a new ransomware, naming it NotPetya.

Source: ITAR-TASS 15-02-2018

Dutch foreign minister resigns over lies about meeting with Putin

The Hague has officially notified Moscow of the top diplomat's visit cancellation.

THE HAGUE, February 13. /TASS/. Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Halbe Zijlstra has tendered his resignation over the scandal around his lying about meeting the Russian president back in 2006.

Announcing his decision during debates in the national parliament, Zijlstra said those statement was the biggest mistake in his political career and his country deserved a better foreign minister who could be trusted.

The diplomat said in an interview with in the Dutch newspaper de Volkskrant he had lied about being at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2006.

Earlier, Zijlstra said that in early 2006 as a representative of Shell he attended a meeting with Putin, when the Russian leader allegedly said he considered Belarus, Ukraine, the Baltic States and Kazakhstan as part of "Greater Russia."

On the same day, the minister apologized for his words saying it was silly of him to say that. But opposition parties requested parliamentary debates on confidence to Zijlstra.

In the meantime, the Dutch foreign minister was to fly to Moscow later on Tuesday to have talks with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, on the following day. The Netherlands has officially notified Russia of Zijlstra’s visit cancellation. 

Source: ITAR-TASS 14-02-2018

Search operation on site of An-148 plane crash in Moscow Region enters final stage

On February 11, an An-148 passenger aircraft crashed near Moscow, killing all the 71 people aboard.

STEPANOVSKOYE /Moscow Region/, February 13. /TASS/. A search operation on the site of the An-148 plane crash in the Ramenskoye District, Moscow Region, is approaching its end, said head of the Emergencies Ministry’s Main Directorate for the Moscow Region Sergey Poletykin.

"The search operation entered the final stage at 08:00 Moscow time," he said.

Rescue workers worked on a three-shift basis during the night, he said. "Most attention is being paid to work with the IAC (the Interstate Aviation Committee - TASS) and the Investigative Committee on transportation of portions of the aircraft," Poletykin reported. Engineer equipment will soon join the operation to lift large parts of the aircraft for transportation from the crash site.

Poletykin specified that all plane wreckage will be sent to Zhukovsky.

On February 11, an An-148 passenger aircraft, operated by Saratov Airlines, which was en route to the town of Orsk, crashed several minutes after taking off from Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport, killing all the 71 people aboard. The aircraft wreckage was found near the village of Stepanovskoye in the Moscow Region.

Source: ITAR-TASS 13-02-2018

Ukrainian citizen detained in Simferopol on suspicion of espionage

According to FSB, the person in question was collecting information constituting state secrets about the activities of the Russian National Guard Service and the Federal Security Service.

MOSCOW, February 12. /TASS/. Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has detained a Ukrainian citizen on suspicion of espionage, the FSB press service told TASS.

"On February 11, 2018, Russia’s Federal Security Service detained Ukrainian citizen Alexander Davydenko in the city of Simferopol," the press service said.

According to the FSB, "the person in question was collecting information constituting state secrets about the activities of the Russian National Guard Service and the Federal Security Service, handing it over to Ukrainian special services, while such information leaks could damage Russia’s national security."

The FSB has launched a criminal case under Article 276 of the Russian Criminal Code (espionage).

Source: ITAR-TASS 12-02-2018

Putin tells Israel’s Netanyahu new spiral of violence in Syria should be avoided

Israeli Prime Minister agreed in a phone conversation with Russian President that interaction between the two countries’ militaries would be continued.

MOSCOW, February 10. /TASS/. In a phone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the air strikes conducted by Israel’s Air Force against targets in Syria, the Kremlin said on Saturday.

"The Russian side called for any steps, which might trigger a new spiral of dangerous for all confrontation in the region, to be avoided," the press service said.

In the meantime, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s press office said that Netanyahu agreed in a phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin that interaction between the two countries’ militaries would be continued.

"I have recently spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin," Netanyahu said cited by his press office. "We agreed that security coordination between our countries will continue."

Putin and Netanyahu held a phone conversation amid a sharp deterioration of the situation on the Israeli-Syrian border after an Iranian drone had been shot down in the Israeli airspace and an F-16 fighter jet of the Israeli Air Force had crashed.

"I emphasized in the talk with him [Putin] that it is our [Israeli] right and duty to defend themselves from attacks from Syria," Netanyahu said.

On Saturday, the Israeli military said their helicopter downed above the Golan Heights an Iranian UAV, which had entered the Israeli airspace from Syria. In response, Israel conducted air strikes against Iranian facilities in Syria and destroyed the Iranian UAV control center.

During the operation, the Syrian air defense launched a few missiles to hit Israel’s F-16. The pilots ejected - one of them was badly injured, while the other received minor wounds. After that, Israel delivered a heavy strike against Syrian air defense and Iranian facilities in Syria, hitting twelve targets in the neighboring country, Israel’s Defense Forces said.

In the autumn of 2015, Israel and Russia agreed to exchange data in order to safeguard their militaries against any accidental engagements during operations in Syria. A special coordination center was set up at Israel’s General Staff for the purpose.

Source: ITAR-TASS 11-02-2018

More than 20 Russian films banned from release in Ukraine in 2017

In 2015 the law "On protection of information television and radio space" prohibited the screening of films in Ukraine that, according to Kiev, contain "Russian propaganda".

 KIEV, February 9. /TASS/. The Ukrainian State Film Agency last year banned 22 Russian movies from release at Ukrainian cinemas and permitted the release of six films.

"The total number of films produced in the Russian Federation that passed the Agency’s Expert Commission on Film Distribution and Screening is 48, 22 of which were banned," the Ukrainian State Film Agency said, responding to a Ukrainian News inquiry.

Six Russian films received state certificates for distribution and screening at Ukrainian cinemas. Overall, 302 films received these certificates in 2017.

So, in 2017 Russian film "Matilda" was banned in Ukraine, because a musician on Ukraine’s black list performed in it.

In February 2015, the law "On protection of information television and radio space" prohibited the screening of films in Ukraine that, according to Kiev, contain "Russian propaganda."

On April 21, 2016, Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko signed a law prohibiting the screening of Russian films produced after January 1, 2014, "to enhance the level of protection of Ukraine’s national security in the information sphere." More than 600 Russian films are currently banned in Ukraine.

Source: ITAR-TASS 10-02-2018

Russia puts Post-Soviet security bloc on alert over likely terror threat from Afghanistan

Russia is taking measures in bilateral contacts as well as within the framework of the Moscow format of consultations and the SCO-Afghanistan Contact Group.

MOSCOW, February 9. /TASS/. Russia works with the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) member countries in view of a possible terrorist threat from the Afghan direction, Russian President’s Special Envoy for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov said in an interview with TASS on Thursday.

"Together with Central Asian partners, we are taking steps to increase the readiness of the organization’s countries to repel a possible terrorist threat from the Afghan direction," the diplomat said.

In order to counter a threat from Islamic State (IS, outlawed in Russia) and stabilize the situation in Afghanistan, Russia is taking measures in bilateral contacts as well as within the framework of the Moscow format of consultations and the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization) -Afghanistan Contact Group, said Kabulov, the director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Second Asia Department.

Source: ITAR-TASS 09-02-2018

Final Salute: Russian top brass pay last respects to fallen hero with military honors

Roman Filipov’s Su-25 aircraft was shot down over the Idlib de-escalation zone on February 3 from a man-portable air defense system.

CHKALOVSKY AIRFIELD /Moscow Region/, February 8. /TASS/. Russian Defense Minister and General of the Army Sergey Shoigu and other high-ranking defense officials paid their last respects to Roman Filipov, the heroic pilot who gave his life fighting terrorists in Syria, at the Chkalovsky Airfield in the Moscow Region. An Il-76 carrying the body of the pilot set off for Voronezh.

"Today, we are paying our last respects to Major of the Guards and Hero of Russia Roman Filipov. We are sending him off with military honors, with participation of his friends and comrades-in arms, the Russian defense minister and his deputies. Major Filipov performed his military duty with honor, remained loyal to his oath and sacrificed his life fighting the enemy, thus placing himself among the Motherland’s best defenders," Russian Deputy Defense Minister and State Secretary Nikolay Pankov said at the funeral ceremony.

"His name will forever remain in our hearts and in the hearts of our compatriots. And, I feel that it is important for Roman Filipov to know that his family - his wife Olga and his daughter - will always remain in our big military family," he assured, adding that these are not just words, but the principled attitude of the Defense Ministry that will always remain true.

Former Air Force commander-in-chief Army General Vladimir Mikhailov said, for his part, that the pilot’s sacrifice astonished the world. "Hundreds of thousands of people admire him, as can be seen from the rallies in memory of Roman Filipov… The duty to the Motherland that Roman Filipov performed merits great respect. We sometimes say, ‘Heroes don’t die, heroes live forever.’ And Roman will live among us," he said.

After the funeral ceremony, the coffin containing the pilot’s body was taken on board the plane, to the strains of the military march and followed by a guard of honor, and set off for Voronezh.

Filipov’s Su-25 aircraft was shot down over the Idlib de-escalation zone on February 3 from a man-portable air defense system. The pilot managed to eject, but ended up battling an overwhelming number of terrorists in a firefight on the ground. Encircled by the enemy, the officer blew himself up with a grenade. Russian President Vladimir Putin awarded him the title of the Hero of Russia posthumously.

Source: ITAR-TASS 08-02-2018