Author: Steven Sahiounie

Sofia Sapega was detained in Minsk on May 23, 2021 The attorney who represented Sofia Sapega, a Russian national pardoned by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, said that there was “little hope” of things turning out the way they did. “There was little hope. Thank God it worked out,” lawyer Anton Gashinsky told TASS. According to him, Sapega has already left Belarus and is now on her way to reunite with her father in Russia. “Left [Belarus] already. She went to her father,” Gashinsky noted. Earlier, Primorsky Region Governor Oleg Kozhemyako reported that Sapega was pardoned by the President of Belarus…

The Turkish leader pointed out that “Turkey is ready to do everything in its power in this matter,” and “that it is possible to use the mechanism of negotiations [to resolve the issue], as in the case of the grain corridor” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday discussed the situation around the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant with his Ukrainian counterpart Vladimir Zelensky over the phone and suggested forming an international commission to investigate the incident with Russia’s participation, the Turkish leader’s office reported. “President Erdogan said that a commission with experts from the opposing sides [Russia and Ukraine], the…

On Tuesday night, Ukrainian forces delivered a strike on the Kakhovka hydropower plant, presumably from an Olkha MLRS The US authorities must give a concrete answer as to whether or not they know how American weapons are being used on the territory of Ukraine, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a briefing in comments on the attack on the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant. Against the backdrop of the recent attack on the Kakhovka HPP, she pointed to a statement made last December by Ukrainian General Andrey Kovalchuk in an interview with The Washington Post, in which he said that…

Vyacheslav Gladkov said that the shelling of the Kozinka settlement damaged a gas pipe, cutting off gas service to 74 customers Ukraine’s armed forces have shelled Russia’s borderline Belgorod Region more than 500 times over the past 24 hours with 460 shells fired at the Shebekino municipal district, regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on his Telegram channel on Wednesday. “Some 460 units of various ordnance have been launched at the Shebekino municipal district and 26 drops of explosive devices by drones have been recorded. There were no casualties. In the city of Shebekino, strikes were mostly delivered on residential areas,”…

The authorities declared a state of emergency in the region Some 2,700 houses in 15 settlements of the Kherson Region were flooded after the collapse of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant’s dam, emergency services told TASS. “According to the latest data, the water flooded about 2,700 houses in 15 settlements of the Kherson Region. A total of 22,000 people lived there. Almost 1,300 people have been evacuated,” the source said. The authorities deployed 40 temporary shelters capable of accomodating up to 5,500 people. At present, 345 civilians are staying in them. The authorities declared a state of emergency in the…

The Russian embassy is “convinced that the truth will prevail” The US administration is trying to “put into oblivion” the earlier remarks of its officials vowing to “put an end” to Russia’s Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 pipelines, Minister-Counselor of the Russian Embassy in the US Andrey Ledenev said on Wednesday. Commenting on a report by The Washington Post, suggesting that the Central Intelligence Agency was informed beforehand about Kiev’s plans to blow up these pipelines, the diplomat said: “Regular attempts by the Administration to replicate new versions of unprecedented sabotage against gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea through controlled…

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the attack on the Kakhovka HPP as a deliberate act of sabotage by Ukraine Ukraine plans to sue Russia in the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague over the incident at the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant (HPP), Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has said. “We will make requests to the staff of the International Criminal Court,” Zelensky said, describing the situation as “ecocide.” Ukrainian forces shelled the Kakhovka HPP in the early morning hours on Tuesday, presumably using missiles fired from an Olkha multiple launch rocket system (MLRS). The gate valves of the plant’s dam…

A ministerial meeting for the Gulf Cooperation Council headed by Foreign Ministers of the Gulf countries is set to be held later on Wednesday. The Gulf Cooperation Council will have a ministerial meeting, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday. The meeting will include Foreign Ministers of Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia to discuss a number of regional and international issues and agendas. Significantly, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who has been on a visit to Saudi Arabia, will also attend the meeting with the intention to discuss Gulf-US cooperation in the fields of security and regional…

The 11th EU package of sanctions against Russia will target mechanisms of sanctions circumvention established by Russia to bypass prior packages. 11th package of EU sanctions against Russia may be agreed on, later on Wednesday, revealed a Politico report that cited five EU diplomats. At a meeting in Brussels, permanent representatives of EU countries are in the process of finalizing the package as they resolve the remaining issues. Similar to the latest US sanctions package against Russia, the EU package allegedly sought to target mechanisms of sanctions circumvention that Russia has established to overcome previously imposed sanctions. However, sources told Politico that Germany has voiced concerns that the…

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is heading to Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba to strengthen cooperation and bilateral ties. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is set to visit three Latin American nations next week to boost political, economic, and innovative relations. Raisi will leave for Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba on Sunday at the head of a high-ranking delegation, in line with his administration’s policy of expanding ties with friendly countries. Several documents will be signed between Iran and the three states during the Latin American tour, with an aim to strengthen cooperation in various fields. The president is also set to sit down…