Despite a defense budget bigger than the next 7 countries combined, the US says Russia is pulling ahead in a new arms race, and the Pentagon has no choice but to rely on its nuclear deterrent. But how sincere are they being? [...]

KHASAN (Sputnik) - An armoured train carrying North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has departed Khasan railway station in Russia's Primorsky Territory and is heading to Ussuriysk, a Sputnik correspondent reported. [...]

The arrival of Russian military planes in Venezuela in March 2019 spurred harsh criticism from the US, who has accused Moscow of destabilising the situation in the Latin American state, currently engulfed in a political crisis. Russia, for its part, has recalled that its planes arrived under a bilateral agreement with Caracas. [...]

A young Russian woman visited an ice skating rink wearing nothing but a swimsuit, stunning everyone with this brave and uncommon act, as well as her lean physique. [...]

It took several teams of doctors, three organs, and a 16-hour surgery at a Moscow hospital to give a second chance at life to a nine-year-old boy who suffers from a genetic disease. [...]

The fact that German investments in Russia hit a ten-year record high in 2018 shows that the pressure Washington has exerted on Europe failed to discourage German businesses from returning to the Russian market, analysts believe. [...]

Vladimir Putin and his North Korean counterpart Kim Jong-un will meet in Vladivostok, in Russia’s Far East, on April 25. It will be the first meeting of the two heads of state. [...]

A new education and leisure center is expected to open in Crimea’s largest city, Sevastopol by 2023. It will cover a territory of 18.3 hectares on Cape Crystal between Karantinnaya and Artillery bays. Planning includes an opera and ballet theater, an arts academy, a residential complex for employees, a cinema and concert hall, as well as a park and museum devoted to the defenders of Sevastopo [...]

The US-European united transatlantic front on sanctions took a hit this week, with Brussels warning that it would retaliate if Washington moved forward with plans to impose a sanctions regime on foreign investments in Cuba which threatened European companies. [...]

Even as Washington is wooing New Delhi, India is seeking to buy Russian-made military hardware. The most recent deal would see the purchase of more than 450 tanks from Moscow for $1.93 billion, and it's not even the biggest one. [...]

Moscow's sovereign gold stockpile jumped up to over 2,100 metric tonnes last year, with the country's status as a major gold producer allowing for reserves to be built up using domestically sourced bullion. [...]

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia opened on Friday a helicopter flight training centre in Venezuela to assist Venezuelan pilots in learning how to fly Russian-made Mi-family helicopters, Russia's state arms exporter Rosoboronexport said. [...]

Ice cream and sorbets from Russia’s northwestern city of Vologda can now be enjoyed in Africa. Russian ice cream producer Iceberry has shipped around 75 tons of the cool treat to Ivory Coast (Cote d’Ivoire) and Senegal. [...]

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov lamented the adversarial style of the current US policy towards Moscow, saying Washington shows no intent of seeking compromise contrary to what diplomacy is supposed to be about. [...]

RT America host Rick Sanchez has broken down the true lessons of the Robert Mueller probe and Russiagate, revealing why he believes Russia was pegged as the US's “exclusive boogieman.” [...]

The Russian currency has proven itself to be the most stable of all developing countries during recent volatility, according to the deputy head of the Central Bank of Russia. [...]

Washington risks losing the Turkish arms market if it continues to delay the delivery of F-35s agreed upon with Ankara, as Turkey can simply switch to buying warplanes from Russia, RT was told. [...]

Russia is not seeking to erect a Chinese-style “great firewall” with new legislation on the ‘sovereign internet’ or otherwise regulate the web, Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev has said. [...]

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova mocked on Friday US National Security Adviser John Bolton's tweet that threatened those who "destroy democracy" in Venezuela with "consequences", implying it was the United States itself that jeopardized Venezuelan democratic institutions. [...]

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - A Venezuelan court has remanded Roberto Marrero, an aide to the country's self-proclaimed interim president, Juan Guaido, into custody for the period of the investigation, Marrero's lawyer Joel Garcia said on Friday. [...]

US President Donald Trump has warned that Russia must get out of Venezuela. Two planeloads of Russian troops are currently in the Latin American country under the terms of a 2001 cooperation treaty. [...]

Russian specialists are in Venezuela as part of the 2001 military-technical cooperation deal with Caracas that doesn’t need further approval, Moscow said after reports of the arrival of two military planes with troops and cargo. [...]