Section: War & conflict
Trump administration`s top ”defense priorities” does not include any mention of Russia – Pentagon
A Pentagon memo outlining the incoming Trump administration`s top ”defense priorities” does not include any mention of Russia, which has been identified by senior military officials as the No. 1 threat to the United States, according to Foreign Policy. ”People there [in Pentagon] now would be pretty concerned to see Russia not on the list,” said...
Ukraine investigates cyberattack on Kyiv power grid
Ukraine is investigating a suspected cyber attack on Kiev`s power grid at the weekend, the latest in a series of strikes on its energy and financial infrastructure, the head of the state-run power distributor said on Tuesday, according to Reuters. Vsevolod Kovalchuk, acting chief director of Ukrenergo, told Reuters that a power distribution...
How ExxonMobil helped defeat Russia sanctions bill
ExxonMobil successfully lobbied against a bill that would have made it harder for the next president to lift sanctions against Russia, clearing the way for the oil giant to restart a program worth billions of dollars if Donald Trump eases those restrictions as president, according to POLITICO. The company`s effort could be helped by outgoing CEO...
Russian troops attack Ukraine positions in all sectors last day: 1 Ukrainian soldiers killed, 9 wounded
Combined Russian-separatist forces attacked Ukrainian army positions in eastern Ukraine 47 times in the past 24 hours, according to the press service of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) Headquarters. View map in full size One Ukrainian soldier was killed and nine were wounded , according to a Ukrainian defense ministry spokesman. ”There was one...
Ukraine has launched criminal proceedings against Booking.com over Crimea
The Prosecutors Office of Ukraine has launched criminal proceedings against Booking.com ”for selling stolen property”. Access to the website can be blocked on the territory of Ukraine, according to Member of Parliament Hryhoriy Lohvynskiy. ”Dutch-based Booking.com, selling accommodation for 1.2 million nights daily, in violation of national and...
Merkel calls Berlin tragedy “terrorist attack”
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she was ”horrified, shocked and saddened” on Tuesday about a truck attack that killed at least a dozen people at a Berlin Christmas market, according to Deutsche Welle. ”I want you to know that all of us, a whole country, is joined with you in mourning and sadness,” Merkel told reporters in the German capital,...
Assassin of Russian ambassador screamed: ”We die in Aleppo, you die here!”
A gunman is confirmed to be an off-duty Turkish police officer, according to The Daily Mail. Ambassador Andrei Karlov, 62, was shot several times from behind by a gunman shouting: ”Allahu Akbar (God is Great). We die in Aleppo, you die here!” He also screamed: ”Only death will take me out of here,” The Daily Mail reported. The shooter, who was...
Armed man tried to get into U.S. Embassy in Turkey
An armed individual has attempted to enter the building of the United States Embassy in Turkey, located in Ankara, according to Daily Sabah. It is noted that the police arrested the man who had shot in the air outside the embassy. The perpetrator`s photo was published by Daily Sabah as well as the footage of the incident. The U.S. Embassy in...
Berlin carnage death toll rises to 12, circumstances of tragedy still unclear
The number of people killed in the Monday night incident in Berlin where a truck plowed into the festive crowd at a Breitscheidplatz Christmas fair raised to 12, according to the latest police reports. Another 48 people remain in local hospitals, some of them – in critical condition. The owner of a Polish logistics company from Gdansk Ariel...
OSCE counts 2,900 ceasefire violations amid Svitlodarska Duha battles within one day
The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine has reported almost 3,000 ceasefire violations on December 18 during battles near the so-called Svitlodarska Duha, a stretch between the militant-controlled town of Horlivka and the town of Svitlodarsk in Donetsk region. ”The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region on both...