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MOSCOW. Dec 12 (Interfax) - The Ukrainian authorities have imposed sanctions for five years against some prominent figures of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church who Kiev believes are pro-Russian. Among them are seven clergymen, including Metropolitan Antony of Borispol and Brovary, manager of affairs of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Panteleimon of Lugansk and Alchevsk, Metropolitan Luka of Zaporozhye and Melitopol, and Metropolitan Meletiy of Chernovtsy and Bukoviny, the Ukrainian media reported. The Security Service of Ukraine's sanctions lists also include Archbishop Paisiy of Konstantinovsky (vicar of the Gorlovka diocese), Archimandrite Ioann (Prokopenko) of the Zaporozhye diocese, and Archimandrite Alexiy (Fyodorov)...

So much for that reset button.The pro-Russian goons who have seiged several public buildings in Eastern Ukraine sent a message to America today. Some salty language among the separatists in Eastern Ukraine. RT @svaboda: Узброенымі людзьмі захоплены Данецкі The Ukrainians fear the Russian plan is to kill 100-200 people and then flood Eastern Ukraine with soldiers.Pravda Ukraine reported: Russian military were tasked to kill a few hundred people, and then enter troops into Ukraine.This was told at a briefing a leader of counterintelligence SBU Vitaly Naida.“The main purpose of commandos and special forces operations in the territory of Ukraine is...

Why the hysteria about Russia? From the tone of what passes for policy discourse in Washington, one would think that Russian troops were massing on the country’s western border and that opposition activists were being executed by the hundreds. Some realities in Russia are indeed disturbing, but a sense of perspective is needed. If Moscow were really the capital of a brutally authoritarian anti-American state, things could be far worse — and profoundly damaging to U.S. national interests. But demonizing Russia doesn’t change conditions there and only undermines our ability to get what we want and need. Domestically, Russia is...

... The footage shows the commander, his face covered in a black balaclava, shooting each prisoner in the back of the head as they kneeled, blindfolded and lined up in a row in the sand. "The sharia court for the eastern region in Deir al-Zor has sentenced to death these apostate soldiers that committed massacres against our brothers and families in Syria," the executioner said on the video. Islamist militants with black flags shouted "God is great" as each man was shot. The executioner returned to some victims, firing more bullets into them to make sure they were dead. Videos...

Syrian troops crushed armed insurgent groups on Saturday at the southern edge of the capital. According to a Syrian military source, as a result of the anti-terrorist operations, the Deraa-Damascus highway, which leads to the border with Jordan, has been completely cleared of terrorist and insurgent forces, Voice of Russia Reported.The Army, reports the SANA news agency, has engaged in a successful offensive in the southern direction.“In the area of ​​Khirbet Gazzalya the army encircled and destroyed large patches of armed extremists who terrorized citizens, and engaged in sabotage and looting,” said the agency.The army also liberated Jassem on the...

Al-Hamad, who is Wahhabi (extremist Sunni) and harbors a sectarian hatred for Alawite and Shiite Muslims, said he has another gruesome video of his killing a government soldier from the Alawite faith. “Hopefully we will slaughter all of them [Alawites]. ... Human Rights Watch (HRW), which validated the video, released a report on May 13 identifying al-Hamad as a well-known commander responsible for the recent cross-border shelling of a Shi‘ite Lebanese village that killed two. The organization called on the U.N. Security Council to refer the Syria situation to the International Criminal Court to ensure accountability for all war crimes...

Russia has every right to sell arms to Iran, its defense minister said on Wednesday, responding to mounting criticism of a $1 billion deal announced last week. The United States, calling Iran a "state sponsor of terror", said selling weapons to the Islamic Republic did not help the Middle East. "This deal, this contract is absolutely legitimate. Like it or not, it's our affair. There are plenty of things we don't like either," Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said in comments shown on NTV television.