VIDEO REPORTS
CSTO Military Exercises Target Islamic State Militant Threat
About 1,500 troops from Tajikistan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia took part in a four-day military training exercise near Dushanbe in defense against possible threats by Islamic State militants.
A Victory For Fair Elections In Moscow Suburb
Local elections set for April 24 in the wealthy Moscow suburb of Barvikha were canceled amid reports of widespread voter fraud.
Armenians Protest Lavrov Visit To Yerevan
Activists protested the April 22 visit of the Russian Foreign Affairs Minister, accusing him of proposing an “anti-Armenian” plan to settle the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, and demanding that Russia stop selling arms to Azerbaijan. (Russian Service)
Armenians March In Torch-Lit Vigil
Thousands of Armenians gathered in Yerevan’s Republic Square to commemorate the 101st anniversary of the massacre of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey in 1915.
NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
Serbian Prime Minister Declares Victory In Parliamentary Elections
Initial results show that Prime Minister Alexander Vucic’s center-right Progressive Party has won 49 percent of the vote, the Socialist Party of Serbia is in second place with 12.9 percent, and the ultra-nationalist Radical Party of Vojislav Seselj, acquitted last month of war crimes by The Hague Tribunal, will be the third-largest party in parliament with 7.4 percent of ballots cast.
Poroshenko Announces Agreement On Savchenko Release
The Ukrainian president announced on local TV on April 24 that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed on a formula and timeline for the release of imprisoned Ukrainian pilot Nadia Savchenko within the next several weeks. (Ukrainian Service)
Putin Asserts U.S. Noncompliance With Nuclear Treaty
Two U.S. Senators have drawn attention to allegations made by Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this month that the U.S. was reneging on a 16-year-old deal to reduce stockpiles of weapons-grade plutonium in order to preserve its ability to produce nuclear weapons.
New Rules Relax Disclosure For Russian State Companies
In a response to a request from state oil giant Rosneft, Russia’s Ministry of Economic Development will allow state-owned companies to determine what information to disclose and what to classify in their public, annual reports. (In Russian/Current Time TV)
Despite Promises, Crimea’s Economy Falters
The peninsula is in poor economic health as the result of increased dependence on Russian imports and an 11-fold decrease in exports compared to 2013. The number of tourists has fallen from 6 million in 2013 to 1.5 million in 2015, with unemployment rising from 1.8 percent to 9.5 percent over the same period. (In Ukrainian)
Guarding Against Chernobyl's Radioactive Forest Fires
A Canadian researcher says that a bolt from the blue or a strike of a match could lead to forest fires that could send clouds of toxic, radioactive fallout spewing into the skies above Europe.
U.S. Demands Uzbek Leader’s Daughter Turn Over $550 Million
U.S. prosecutors said that Gulnara Karimova and several associates failed to comply with a court order to turn over more than $500 million held in Swiss banks as part of a long-running money-laundering investigation.
MOST-SHARED/Ukraine: The Deputy Premier’s Hidden Assets
RFE/RL’s investigative program “Schemes” has discovered undeclared property belonging to newly appointed Deputy Prime Minister Volodymyr Kastion, a close associate of Prime Minister Volodymyr Hroysman. (1.2K shares on the Ukrainian Service’s Facebook page)
INFOGRAPHIC: Soviet Nash-Stalgia
How has nostalgia for the Soviet Union ebbed and flowed since its collapse in 1991?