International activities

Russian tourists who cannot leave European countries that have closed the airspace for Russian aircraft are going to be returned home by transit through third countries.

The Federated States of Micronesia announced the severance of diplomatic relations with Russia due to the situation in Ukraine.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the statements of UN Secretary General António Guterres on the situation in Ukraine do not correspond to his status and powers under the Charter of the World Organization.

China always opposes illegal unilateral sanctions, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said.

Russia has developed a high resistance to sanctions that have been introduced by Western countries since 2014.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will discuss the implementation of the agreements on Nagorno-Karabakh with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on February 22. This is reported by the Kremlin's press service.

A group of volunteers from Crimea came to Donbass to help local residents and protect their rights to self-determination.

The majority of Ukrainians want to join NATO, said the country's Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba. Some members of the Alliance prevent this, but Ukraine still seeks to join the military bloc.

President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko said on Friday, February 18, that at the moment one can see the stupidity of a number of Western politicians.

Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov said during his speech in the Verkhovna Rada that an escalation of the conflict in the territory of Donbass is unlikely.

Maria Zakharova, on her Telegram channel, called the work of the US special services a “failure” after statements about Russia’s alleged “invasion” of Ukraine.

China imposes more sanctions against Russia than the European Union and the United States.

The North Atlantic Alliance can calm down about the buildup of Russian troops near the borders of Ukraine. Such an appeal was made by Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko.

Venezuela will step up military cooperation with Russia to protect the peace and sovereignty of the Bolivarian Republic. This was announced on Wednesday by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, said that Russia is conducting military exercises, as Ukraine is "pumped up with weapons."