Both the European Union and the United States announced a new round of sanctions against Moscow on Tuesday, accusing the Kremlin of supporting anti-Kiev militias in eastern Ukraine and threatening to cripple the Russian economy. The 28-member nations tied to the EU were first to acknowledge in a statement Tuesday that they’ve agreed to impose broader sanctions to “limit access to EU capital [...]

The shooting down of MH17 in Ukraine's civil war is a terrible event. However, the American media and government grossly misrepresent the USA's role in creating the current situation, and coverage of Ukraine does credit to "Alice in Wonderland". Reporting is dominated by the usual suspects from the Brookings Institution, etc. spouting jingoistic nonsense. [...]

Obama's State Department bears a heavy responsibility for promoting a civil war in Ukraine. The belief that calling for and instituting sanctions against Russia is a sound policy, illustrates the economic disconnect of the Obama administration. With the fervor for starting a new cold war, the propaganda machine is working overtime to paint a picture that ignores real economic synergism. Note th [...]

Inspectors who came to check the state of Russian troops along the Ukrainian borders have found no violations, Russia's Ministry of Defense said. This came as a response to the US alleging 15,000 Russian troops have amassed in the area. “It has come to our attention that new allegations by top US officials as to the alleged amassing of Russian troops along the Ukrainian border have been voice [...]

Russia's military has completed work on a new missile defense radar in southern Russia that has some U.S. military officials worried Moscow is building up offensive and defensive strategic forces in in destabilizing combination. The large radar station near Armavir, located near the Black Sea and designed to detect missiles launched from Europe and Iran, is nearly complete, said U.S. officials. [...]

Chechen president says ban, which extends to EU leaders Barroso, Van Rompuy and Ashton, is response to US and EU 'state terrorism.' Although Russia has not responded to US sanctions over the Ukraine crisis by putting a travel ban on President Barack Obama, there is one part of the country he is now barred from entering: Chechnya. [...]

Kremlin accuses Brussels of believing in 'fairytales' as more Russians face travel ban and asset freeze. The EU has parachuted a team of security advisers into Kiev to assist the Ukrainian government in imposing the rule of law in rebel districts, in a provocative move likely to further inflame relations with Moscow. [...]

The United States and Europe last week announced the imposition of stronger sanctions against Russia in response to the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. German industry may be among the losers. It wasn't that long ago that Kremlin officials could hardly avoid laughing when asked about the economic sanctions imposed on Russia by the West. As long as every NATO member state jealously sought to protect [...]

The United States military'€™s top commander said during a security summit this week that the ongoing crisis in eastern Ukraine has prompted the Pentagon to revisit old contingency plans unused since the days of the Cold War. [...]

NSA surveillance controversy centered on U.S. fear that Europe's economic powerhouse will dump the dollar. Financial analyst Jim Willie sensationally claims that Germany is preparing to ditch the unipolar system backed by NATO and the U.S. in favor of joining the BRICS nations, and that this is why the NSA was caught spying on Angela Merkel and other German leaders. [...]

Russia has so far been the only nation to release evidence related to the MH17 crash, the Defense Ministry said, urging other countries to follow suit. Though there have been a lot of claims of Russia's involvement, none have been backed by proof. The US claims its intelligence data and satellite imagery confirm that the missile which downed MH17 was fired from rebel-controlled territory. So fa [...]

Moscow will respond to NATO's expansion towards Russia's borders, President Vladimir Putin said at the emergency Security Council meeting in Moscow. Here are his key quotes on Russia's defense, Western sanctions, and violence in eastern Ukraine. [...]

Russian President Vladimir Putin believes it is necessary to call on Kiev to observe the ceasefire, which should last while investigations into the MH17 crash are ongoing. Putin said that Ukrainian troops attacked self-defense units near Donetsk almost at the same time anti-government forces were handing over the black boxes from the MH17 crash to international experts. [...]

France will go ahead with the delivery of the first of two Mistral warships to Russia despite protests by the US and UK, prompted by Moscow's stance in the Ukrainian crisis. The ship is nearly completed and will be presented in October. French President Francois Hollande said the plan to deliver the two Mistral helicopter carriers was made in Paris and will go forward despite calls from the US [...]

Russia has released military monitoring data, which shows Kiev military jets tracking the MH17 plane shortly before the crash - and posed yet another set of questions to Ukraine and the US over the circumstances of the tragedy. [...]

Stalled progress towards EU membership has shifted Turkey's economic interest, and it is now looking for closer cooperation with Russia's Customs Union, Economic Development Minister Aleksey Ulyukayev said. Ulyukayev discussed the plan with Turkish Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci at the G20 trade ministers meeting in Sydney, Australia, over the weekend. [...]

The UN Security Council has condemned the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine, called for an international probe into the incident in a unanimously adopted resolution. All 15-member states voted to pass the Australia-proposed resolution, condemning “in the strongest terms” the crash of Malaysian plane on July 17 in Donetsk region of Ukraine, which resulted in 298 people dead. [...]

The duty-free trade deal between Russia and Ukraine is coming to an end. Russia says fundamental changes mean that it will invoke Article 62 of the Vienna Declaration to terminate the understanding. The move comes as Russia insists it needs to protect domestic markets after Ukrainesigned the Association Agreement on June 27, which gives Kiev duty-free trade status with the European Union. [...]

Some Western states and Kiev rushed to find Russian involvement in the MH17 crash having no evidence to back their claims, Russia's Deputy Defense Minister told RT. He invited Ukraine to answer 10 questions to prove their commitment to an impartial probe. Speaking to RT, Russia’s Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov has criticized Western countries for jumping to conclusions just “24 hours [...]

The Russian Defense Ministry has said that neither the Buk missile defense system, nor any other military equipment, has crossed the Russian border into Ukraine. Such border crossings “can’t be performed in secrecy,” the official representative for the Russian Defense Ministry told the journalists in Moscow. [...]

The Association of European Businesses (AEB), a Moscow-based business lobby, said that new US sanctions against Russia have a more severe effect on European than on American business. The AEB says it “regrets” the US sanctions, and warns that they will stunt economic growth “not only in Russia”. [...]

A six-day tour by Russian President Vladimir Putin to Latin America ended with a long anticipated creation of the BRICS bank and the signing of energy agreements, as Russia looks to build alliances to counter Western influence. The Latin America tour started with the visit to Cuba, where Putin signed a new agreement on oil exploration in Caribbean waters which contain most of the estimated 124 mil [...]