In an apparent breach of the ceasefire, Ukrainian forces shelled residential parts of Slavyansk for nearly an hour on Sunday, destroying buildings and killing at least 3 civilians. Ukrainian media claimed that a pro-Kiev checkpoint had been attacked. [...]

Supporters of Sunni Islamists waging a campaign of terror across Iraq have vowed that any US airstrikes against its fighters will be met with attacks on Americans. The group has also threated to commandeer its own Air Force as Iraq risks disintegrating. A twitter account with 21,000 followers, dubbed the “League of Supporters”, called for ISIS sympathizers to post messages warning America not [...]

The situation in Ukraine is gradually leading to a humanitarian catastrophe, and it is aggravating every day. Russia sees it as its duty to expand assistance to refugees from Ukraine, displaced persons and to the Ukrainians who stay in the conflict-torn areas. Russia is extending humanitarian assistance to the people of the southeastern part of Ukraine without formal agreement with the Ukrainian a [...]

As the United States mulls whether or not to provide military support to Iraq in its battle against Sunni insurgents, recent reports indicate the White House wants Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki out of power. [...]

In less than three years US fighter jets have returned to Iraqi skies, as Obama's administration has authorized "manned and unmanned" surveillance flights there to keep an eye on the ISIS jihadist group that threatens to overrun the whole of Iraq. [...]

In an unprecedented move, Ukrainian self-defense forces and Kiev's troops have carried out an exchange of dead bodies near Donetsk. However, a fragile ceasefire reached for the exchange was interrupted by shooting. [...]

Ukraine does not control its territory and is unable to guarantee not only the lives of its own citizens but also the economic safety of the pipeline operation, or the businesses on its territory, political scientist Mateusz Piskorsky told RT. Ukrainian authorities suggested the blast may have been caused by a terrorist attack. So can Ukraine be trusted as a transit country anymore? [...]

The coal miners of the Donetsk region have stayed away from work and marched in downtown Donetsk against Kiev'€™s military campaign against Ukrainian citizens, which has already killed over 250 civilians, according to the UN. A rally on Donetsk’s central Lenin Square initially attracted about 1,000 people. [...]

Born and raised in Ukraine, Igor Kornelyuk worked as a journalist for over 15 years. He went to Ukraine to cover bloodshed there, but never returned home. His colleague sound engineer Anton Voloshin was killed alongside him in Ukraine'€™s army shelling. [...]

A TV camera recorded the moment Russian journalists (from Rossiya TV) came under fire while working near Lugansk, E. Ukraine. Two journalists died from wounds sustained during the Ukrainian military barrage. Reporter Igor Kornelyuk passed away on the operating table, a doctor at a local hospital confirmed to RT. [...]

Two journalists for Russian TV channel Rossiya have died from wounds sustained during a Ukrainian military shelling attack near Lugansk, eastern Ukraine. Reporter Igor Kornelyuk passed away on the operating table, a doctor at the hospital confirmed to RT. [...]

It was a bad week for blow back. So it goes. Tit-for-tat. Violence begets violence, as every schoolboy knows. Just at the brouhaha over the US solider Bowe Bergdahl being freed by his Taliban captors was simmering, the Taliban attacked Karachi Airport. Soon after, this was followed by yet more drone attacks on Waziristan that killed women and children. [...]

US Secretary of State John Kerry says that Washington is ready to use radical measures to halt the ISIS offensive in Iraq - including enlisting Iran'€™s help and launching air strikes. "We're open to discussions if there is something constructive that can be contributed by Iran, if Iran is prepared to do something that is going to respect the integrity and sovereignty of Iraq," [...]

The Sunni militants fighting to make an Islamic state in Iraq have scored another victory in their move to control more territory. They captured Tal Afar, a city of 200,000 residents in north-west of the country. The city was taken just before dawn on Monday, Mayor Abdulal Abdoul confirmed to AP. [...]

Radical Sunni militants who have been capturing cities in northwest Iraq claimed on Twitter that they executed 1,700 Iraqi soldiers. The radicals posted graphic photos as evidence. The photographs, which were posted on the Twitter account associated with the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS/ISIL), came with captions that described their alleged massacre. [...]

The US is getting ready for an open dialogue with Iran to discuss Iraq's security concerns and ways of responding to radical Sunni militia that have been gaining ground in western Iraq, The Wall Street Journal quoted senior US officials as saying. [...]

Apparently, the bloody wave of Islamic extremism gripping Iraq is an internal occurrence and was in no way facilitated by the Western invasion. This is former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair'€™s version of events concerning the entire Middle East. In fact, the former prime minister describes at length how it’s necessary to rid oneself of any feeling of responsibility that the crumbling country an [...]

Self-defense forces in the town of Gorlovka, eastern Ukraine, say they have downed another plane - a Sukhoi-24 bomber jet. The pilot is alive and currently being taken for questioning, witnesses told RIA Novosti reports. [...]

Forty-nine Ukrainian troops were killed when their military Il-76 transport jet was taken down by local militia forces just before it started its descent toward Lugansk Airport. Some military hardware and supplies were lost as well. [...]

At least one Ukrainian armored vehicle crossed the Russian border with Ukraine Friday overnight and stopped in the Rostov Region, according to Russia'€™s Security Service. The military abandoned the vehicle and returned to Ukraine. [...]

Residents of Slavyansk and its suburbs were awoken overnight on Thursday by what they say were incendiary bombs that were dropped on their city by Kiev'€™s military. Witnesses and local media reports suggested that the bombs might be phosphorous. [...]

Despite President Poroshenko intention to bring about a ceasefire, Kiev’s relentless military operation in the country's east is intensifying. Slavyansk has become one of the main targets of artillery attacks, amateur videos filmed in the area show. [...]