February 8:
As the country's economic woes deepen, Russia's government is moving to shore up its most important companies. The Wall Street Journal reports that the Kremlin has identified 199 firms - including oil giant Rosneft and state natural gas monopoly Gazprom - that it deems "strategic." These companies will be offered legal support and preferential consideration for government bailouts, Russia's Economics Ministry has confirmed.
February 9:
The government of Cyprus is denying reports that it plans to house Russian bases, the BBC reports. Russian newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta previously reported that Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades would extend Moscow the use of two military bases - a naval base in Limassol and an air station near Paphos - in exchange for Russian financial aid during his upcoming trip to Russia. But the country's Foreign Minister, Ioannis Kasoulides, has rejected the possibility. "There has never been any request from Russia about this," Kasoulides has told reporters. Rather, what will be on the table is "the renewal of a military co-operation agreement with Russia consisting of maintenance of military equipment sold to Cyprus years ago, as well as the purchase of spare parts according to existing contracts."
February 10:
Vladimir Putin is being feted in Cairo. The Russian president, now in Egypt on an official state visit, has received a lavish reception from the government of President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, and for good reason. CNN reports that, as part of their burgeoning strategic ties, the two countries have signed a preliminary agreement under which Russia will help Egypt build its first nuclear plant. Putin and Sisi also used the occasion to reaffirm their commitment to deeper military and economic cooperation.
February 11:
Russia may be hurting economically as a result of its Ukraine policy, but the Kremlin is still willing to shore up its foreign allies. According to TurkishPress, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said that the Russian government is prepared to consider financial aid to Greece's newly-installed left-wing SYRIZA government. "Russia is not in a very easy financial situation at the moment due to the unilateral illegitimate line of our Western colleagues," Lavrov told reporters in Moscow. "But if any appeal from the government of Greece should come, then... it will of course be considered."
Nadezhda Savchenko continues to languish in a Russian prison. The Irish Times reports that a Russian court has extended the pre-trial detention of Savchenko, a Ukrainian fighter pilot captured by separatist forces in eastern Ukraine last year and subsequently transported to Russia and charged with war crimes. Savchenko, one of an estimated 30 Ukrainian nationals now being detained by Moscow, has emerged as a symbol of the year-long conflict between Russia and Ukraine, as well as a "bargaining chip" used by Moscow to intimidate the Ukrainian government. The ruling by Moscow's Basmanny district court extends her detention until mid-May.
[EDITORS' NOTE: Savchenko's case has gained international notoriety because of its extenuating circumstances - and its implications for international law. Last October, Savchenko was elected to the Ukrainian Rada, making her an official representative of the Ukrainian government. Moscow, however, refused to recognize her official status and maintained her detention. Thereafter, the Ukrainian government went further, making Savchenko an official representative to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), a diplomatic post that confers immunity on its holders. As a result, Ukrainian activists now argue that Russia's ongoing detention of Savchenko is in contravention to established international law - and are seeking to refer her case to the United Nations.]
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