If you were running for the presidency of a country, and about to host a major international event – would you poison a defector, who many years earlier was in your possession, with a toxic substance that leads right back to you? It seems the Russian cookie monster always leaves a convenient cookie crumb trail – or so the Western audience is led to believe. All symptoms of a provocation are [...]

Jeremy Corbyn has demanded that Russia be given a chance to verify the nerve agent used against Sergei and Yulia Skripal. The Labour leader said that, despite recent events, the UK must maintain “robust” ties with Russia. Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s World At One program, Corbyn said: "I asked the Russians be given a sample so that they can say categorically one way or the other." [...]

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker’s extremely polite letter of congratulations to Vladimir Putin on his election win has enraged Britain’s Twitterati and other senior EU officials. Jean-Claude Juncker’s call for positive relations and a security deal proved too much to swallow for many commentators who want to see Russia punished over the poisoning of former spy Sergei Skrip [...]

Chemical weapon production facilities have been discovered in the areas liberated from militants in Syria, the Russian Defense Ministry says. More than 40 tons of chemical weapons were abandoned by retreating militants in the war-ravaged country, the ministry said on Wednesday. [...]

US Strategic Command's apprehensions were reportedly shared by President Donald Trump, who reportedly expressed concerns over Russia's new 'invincible' intercontinental cruise missile and nuclear torpedo during a telephone call with President Vladimir Putin. [...]

The Russian Foreign Ministry and Russian Defense Ministry have jointly delivered a statement after a meeting with foreign envoys amid the scandal surrounding the poisoning of ex-spy Sergei Skripal. According to Vladimir Ermakov, head of the non-proliferation and arms control department at the Russian Defense Ministry, "either the British authorities are unable to protect from a terrorist attack o [...]

If Russian natural gas exports to Italy stop, the country will have only 15 days before the emergency situation, according to La Stampa. What is the scale of European dependence on the Russian gas? Can the US replace it? In Italy, the share of Russian gas imports is about 37 percent. [...]

The announcement came as Petro Poroshenko visited Ukrainian military personnel in Kramatorsk. In his speech he stressed that now the country will be ready for war with Russia. Some users, commenting his post on Facebook, expressed skepticism concerning his promises. [...]

Twitter lit up with sarcastic remarks and genuinely concerned commentary over Boris Johnson's latest allegations against Moscow in the Sergei Skripal poisoning case. Johnson lashed out against Moscow on Monday, calling Russia's increasingly adamant denials that it anything to do with the Skripal case "increasingly absurd." [...]

The gold accumulated by China and Russia could be seen as part of a strategy to move away from international trade denominated in US dollars, according to Singapore’s BullionStar precious metals expert Ronan Manly. Manly exclusively told RT that there is a shift occurring regarding the two countries building up their gold reserves, to perhaps returning to gold-backed currencies in the future an [...]

The UK will either back up its claims of Moscow’s involvement in the poisoning of ex-double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter, or it will have to apologize, the Kremlin spokesman has said. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said on Monday that Russia is wrong to deny responsibility for the nerve agent poisoning of Skripal. [...]

While Afrin is falling into the hands of the most brutal forces in the world the Battle for Damascus looms. Russia has issued a warning to the US that it will defend its soldiers that are stationed in Damascus. Vowing to take out the delivery vessels that target Damascus. Also in Belarus the military has been order to check its readiness for military confrontation. Citizens of Syria fleeing Eas [...]

CRIMEAN BRIDGE - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday he would like people to start using the Crimean Bridge linking the peninsula with the Krasnodar Territory, as early as this summer. "Of course, I would like people to start using the bridge this summer," Putin said at a meeting with construction workers during his trip to several regions in the south of Russia, including Crimea. [...]

EXCERPT FROM NEW RUSSIAN DOCUMENTARY MOVIE ABOUT PUTIN "THE WORLD ORDER 2018." How west propaganda use this phrase against Russia? First, they use only the half sentence without letting Putin complete the proposal. Second, immediately drew the conclusion from these words only, that Russia , is the one that she is hiding behind of double Russia's Spy poisoned. They wanted to present with the [...]

UK-based media outlets are adamant in their support of the British government's baseless stance in Skripal's case. The UK has been blaming Moscow since the first reports appeared about the incident involving the Russian ex-spy. Sputnik spoke with Matthew Gordon Banks, former Conservative MP, about the case. [...]

Political scientist Basam Raja has explained to Sputnik what British intelligence might have gained from former Russian spy Sergei Skripal’s “attempted murder.” Commenting on the heightened tensions between Russia and the UK, Raja said that recent “media and political attacks on Moscow by London are directly linked to the former’s advances in liberating Eastern Ghouta from militants.” [...]

Ukrainian police and radicals have blocked Russian diplomatic missions to prevent voters from participating in the presidential election. The move was condemned by Russian officials as a “blatant violation of international law.” [...]

KASSEL (Germany) (Sputnik) - Moscow was Berlin's only foreign partner that provided Germany with additional natural gas during the cold period in early March, Mario Mehren, the CEO of the Wintershall energy company, said. [...]

Russians are going to the polls on Sunday to elect their president, who will govern the country for the next six years. There are over 108 million eligible voters in Russia and nearly 2 million people can vote abroad. Radio Sputnik spoke with Tom McGregor, political analyst and Asia-Pacific commentator at China’s national TV broadcaster – CNTV. [...]

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has lashed out at Russia, saying that the country is “becoming increasingly unpredictable and aggressive,” and insisted that the alliance must improve its defensive capabilities in the face of Russia’s nuclear threat. [...]

For Markus Bergfeld, whose children were allegedly taken away from the family and poisoned with psychotropic drugs, Russia is the last resort, the ex-German officer told the Russian newspaper Daily Storm. [...]

A mere two weeks ago, British Prime Minister Theresa May was a very unpopular politician hated by everyone and their dog because of her disastrous Brexit negotiations. Now, she's the leader of a "nation under attack" and all her sins are forgotten. [...]