Новости за 09.03.2016

One of the major characteristics of Russian president Vladimir Putin's post-Ukraine crisis decision-making has been his willingness to use his military as a blunt instrument of the Kremlin's policy.

Members of the European Parliament have sent a letter to EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini offering to introduce personal sanctions against those involved in the imprisonment of Ukrainian parliamentarian and pilot Nadia Savchenko, MEP Jacek Saryusz-Wolski said on his Twitter account.

One of Russia's biggest national TV channels is marking International Women's Day with a campaign spotlighting heavy weaponry and antiriot equipment named after flowers.

Militants have conducted 43 attacks on Ukrainian army positions in Donbas in the past 24 hours, including 37 attacks conducted in the Donetsk sector and five in the Mariupol area, the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) press center wrote on Facebook on Wednesday morning.

Odious leader of Russia’s Liberal Democratic Party Vladimir Zhirinovsky considers appropriate recalling the Russian ambassador to Moscow and “deploy a company of special forces in Kyiv” to protect the embassy.

The United States is trying to determine if an airstrike last week in Syria killed a top Islamic State leader.

Economic crises convulsing Russia, Ukraine and Belarus mean testing in areas contaminated by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster has been cut or restricted, Greenpeace said, and people continue to eat and drink foods with dangerously high radiation levels.

At least 39 people were detained in Moscow on 8 March, a large number of them women marking International Women’s Day by demanding the release of imprisoned Ukrainian Nadiya Savchenko.

The U.S. Army plans to bolster its presence in Europe next year with the long-term deployment of its best armor, tank-killing helicopters and infantry vehicles capable of destroying Russian armored personnel carriers.

Russia has warned North Korea that threats to deliver “preventive nuclear strikes” could create a legal basis for the use of military force against the country, suggesting that even Pyongyang’s few remaining friends are growing concerned about its increasingly confrontational stance.

Members of the European Parliament have urged EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini to impose personal sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin and 28 other individuals over the "illegal" treatment of Ukrainian pilot Nadia Savchenko.

A Ukrainian pilot on trial in Russia over the killing of two journalists is due to make her closing statement in court after five days on hunger strike.

Ukrainian bonds wiped out their 2016 losses this month as speculation Finance Minister Natalie Jaresko will be named prime minister boosted confidence the country will pull through its worst political crisis since a pro-Europe coalition came to power two years ago.