First billion cubic meters of gas supplied via TurkStream

Background TurkStream is an export gas pipeline stretching from Russia to Turkey across the Black Sea. Its design capacity is 31.5 billion cubic meters of gas per year. Commercial supplies via the gas pipeline commenced on January 1, 2020. On January 8, the presidents of Russia and Turkey held a grand opening ceremony for TurkStream in Istanbul.

Russian Governor Faces Axe for Key-Dangling Video – Reports

A Russian governor is facing expulsion from the country’s ruling party following two weeks of controversial actions and comments, the Kommersant business daily reported Monday. Mikhail Ignatyev, who heads the republic of Chuvashia 680 kilometers east of Moscow, made national headlines for saying critical journalists should be “wiped out” on Jan. 18. Ignatyev sparked fresh…

Russia Detains Japanese Journalist in Espionage Row With Tokyo

Update: Russia has expelled a Japanese journalist for trying to obtain secret information related to Russian military capabilities, the state-run RIA news agency reported Monday, in a tit-for-tat move following Japan’s arrest of Araki on espionage suspicions. The journalist, whom it didn’t name, had been given 72 hours to leave Russia and had already left. Russia’s Foreign…

Fresh Russian-U.S. ‘Skirmish’ Reported in Syria

Russian and U.S. forces have faced off for what could be the fourth time in less than two weeks in oil-rich northeastern Syria, the local Kurdish news outlet Anha reported Saturday. Video of the reported standoff in the Hasakah province showed a Russian-flagged armored vehicle and what appeared to be two U.S. Army armored vehicles…