The US-led military operation against the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) militants has likely so far cost between $780 and $930 million, according to an estimate by Washington-based think tank specializing in defense issues. The estimate is part of a report attempting to forecast how much the operation might cost in the future. [...]

The new President of Afghanistan Ghani Ahmadzai has paved the way for US troops to stay in the country. He has signed a security deal with the US, which will see just under 10,000 American soldiers present, to help train and assist Afghan forces. National security adviser Hanif Atmar and U.S. Ambassador James Cunningham signed the bilateral security agreement in a televised ceremony at the pres [...]

One more mass grave has been found in a village in eastern Ukraine, say self-defense forces. The site was located days after OSCE mission confirmed the discovery of three mass burial sites in areas recently abandoned by Kiev forces. The new site of the suspected murders is near Nyzhnia Krynka village, not far from the town of Makeevka, self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) First Dep [...]

As the British parliament votes for yet another catastrophic war in the Middle East, it feels like all of the lessons that were apparently never learned after the disastrous occupations of Iraq, and Afghanistan, are set to be repeated. Recalling parliament over the crisis in Iraq, Prime Minister David Cameron stated during Friday’s debate that the “mission” could be extended to include ai [...]

This US-engineered Coalition is in for some surprises. With few common goals, it has thrust itself into battle against the most determined players in the region and beyond. The airwaves are still heaving with spin two days after US airstrikes against Syria. Undoubtedly the attacks were timed to occur on the eve of the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations, so ‘Coalition’ p [...]

Anti-war activists have called an emergency protest outside Downing Street on Thursday evening, as Prime Minister David Cameron says the UK is ready to "play its part" in airstrikes on ISIS targets in Iraq. Speaking at the UN General Assembly in New York on Wednesday, Cameron called Islamic State formerly known as ISIS or ISIL) an “evil against which the whole world must unite”. [...]

Moscow is bewildered by Washington's warmongering rhetoric, which accompanied President Petro Poroshenko's visit to the US. Russia has also noted all the Russia-unfriendly opinions voiced recently by hawkish American politicians. “We’ll keep in mind all signals, including those unfriendly towards Russia, that were heard during the visit of the Ukrainian president to Washington,” commented [...]

A total of 1,300 troops from 15 nations, either active NATO members or would-be members, have come together for a military exercise in western Ukraine – even as the fragile truce in the east of the country barely holds. The exercise, code-named “Rapid Trident” has been an annual event since 2006, and has been organized by the Germany-based US European Command (EUCOM). It was initially pla [...]

"This can't be America's fight alone," US President Barack Obama stressed in his ISIS speech. Indeed, about 40 countries have joined the battle with the radical group that's left scores dead in Iraq. But who does what on that battlefield? The main role is still with the US, which has already carried out over 150 airstrikes against the Islamic State (also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and t [...]

Sanctions imposed on Russia by the US and the EU are a part of a larger military agenda agreed by NATO in a summit 2014, Michel Chossudovsky, of the Centre for Research and Globalisation, told RT, calling such a strategy economic and financial warfare. Despite the truce in Ukraine, the EU and the US went ahead with fresh rounds of sanctions – why was the de-escalation of the conflict in the e [...]

Russia has been put into an impossible situation, meaning they are responsible not only for what has been done in Lugansk and Donetsk, but also for what has been done on the side of Kiev, political analyst Alexander Pavic told RT. Apparently, the truce in Ukraine is not enough for the EU to hold back on yet more sanctions. [...]

Ukrainian and American naval forces are taking part in joint maritime drills dubbed Sea Breeze 2014, which began on Monday in the northwestern part of the Black Sea and will last till September 10. “Today in the north-west part of the Black Sea, we are beginning the joint Navy exercises of Ukraine and the US, known as ‘Sea Breeze 2014’. The exercises will continue until September 10. The [...]

The ceasefire between the Ukrainian army and self-defense forces is "still shaky, but holds," the OSCE stated. The fighters are still skeptical of the peace process, but they are hoping for the war to end. “People who have never seen this think war is like TV. You watch and forget because there’s some entertainment show later. Here, everything is reality. Here, people are dying in front of [...]

Foreign Policy magazine – Russia’s fierce critic – met with the leader of Azov Battalion, an irregular force assisting Kiev to cleanse eastern Ukraine of “terrorists.” The group boasts fierce tactics, “values far from European,” and Nazi-like attributes. Azov, which has an estimated personnel of 500 people, is one of about 50 volunteer battalions formed by Maidan activists and ult [...]

The OSCE has revealed the 12-point roadmap behind the September 5 truce signed in Minsk. It says that Ukraine must adopt a new law, allowing for a special status for Lugansk and Donetsk regions, and hold early elections there. The document, titled ‘Protocol on the results of consultations of the Trilateral Contact Group’ and signed in Minsk on September 5, outlines what needs to be done for [...]

Lugansk and Donetsk residents are now used to gunfire. RT's Maria Finoshina crossed Ukraine's southeast to see the aftermath of war there - and how it is the civilians who have carried the heaviest burden: relatives lost, homes destroyed, and hope gone. “I worked all my life and what did I get for it,” exclaims a weeping elderly woman. “Why is this happening? Why, God, why?” Many of tho [...]

A new rapid reaction force, likely numbering at least 4,000 and ready to be deployed within 48 hours, will be created in Eastern Europe, after a decision by the 28 NATO member states following a conference in Wales. “This is a demonstration of our solidarity and resolve,” said NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen as the summit, largely dedicated to Ukraine, and attended by the count [...]

Kiev must withdraw troops from southeastern regions of Ukraine and rebels must stop offensive to stop bloodshed, Russia's President Vladimir Putin says. He and Ukrainian leader Petro Poroshenko discussed "a ceasefire regime." President Putin has outlined a seven-point plan to stabilize the situation in the crisis-torn east of Ukraine. [...]

Kiev retracted its earlier statement regarding a "permanent ceasefire" in eastern Ukraine, which followed a phone call between the Russian and Ukrainian leaders. The new wording from Poroshenko's office talks of a ceasefire "regime". The Russian and Ukrainian languages use the word to mean “mode”, signifying the possibility of a softer, less permanent version of the previous suggestion. [...]

Last week, a US military lawyer on the defense team for self-proclaimed 9/11-attacks mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed resigned from the Army in protest of the "show trial" conducted by the US at Guantanamo Bay. Maj. Jason Wright resigned on Aug. 26, according to NPR. He accused the US government of “abhorrent leadership” on human rights and due process at the military detention center at G [...]

Barack Obama and David Cameron will urge NATO members to increase military spending at the alliance's summit in Wales, amid criticism that some countries are getting a "free ride", growing geopolitical tensions and Europe-wide austerity. The NATO summit, which kicks off later this week, will see Obama and Cameron urge European state leaders to protect their continent from amplifying threats by [...]

European volunteers are streaming into Ukraine to join the fighting on both sides. While Kiev's forces are beefed up with mercenaries from private military companies, Europeans have also come to defend the rebel Donbass region of their own free will. One of the latest reinforcements of anti-Kiev troops in Eastern Ukraine are four French ex-serviceman who have come to fight this war, thousands o [...]