Russophilia

BELGRADE - Serbia and Russia will build even better relations in the future, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic wrote in the guestbook of the Russian House - the Russian Centre of Science and Culture in Belgrade - on Wednesday.

One year after the start of Russian aggression against Ukraine, almost a third (32%) of Bulgarians have a positive attitude towards Vladimir Putin.

"Vazrazhdane" (Revival) MP Elena Guncheva announced she was leaving the party and the National Assembly. She did this through her Facebook account, and in her post, she criticized the leader of the pro-Russian political force Kostadin Kostadinov. Among them is that he treated the Russophiles in the party with contempt and took unaccounted money from his deputies.

A pickaxe was hammered into the car of Nikolay Kostadinov, chairman of the "Vazrazhdane" (Revival/Възраждане) group at the Varna Municipal Council. This was announced by the leader of the party Kostadin Kostadinov with a post on Facebook.

"All the prosecution has are mere accusations, without a single fact. I have never in my life had access to classified information so that I could get it from somewhere and pass it on to someone. My positions have always been public. After I was released from the detention centre, I told all the media that I would continue to do what I do.

BIRN journalists in Serbia on Thursday held up banners asking Russian President Vladimir Putin, who had arrived in Belgrade, to release imprisoned journalists in Russia and to respect human rights.

"Free journalists," said a banner in Serbian, Russian and English held from the windows of the BIRN office, close to where supporters of Putin in Serbia were gathering for a rally.

Former Serbian Gendarmerie Commander Bratislav Dikic, who is on trial in Montenegro over the alleged coup attempt of October 2016, started refusing food, water, and medical assistance on Wednesday.

A high-level delegation from President Putin's United Russia party is coming to Montenegro in mid-April to improve relations with the majority Orthodox country, which was recently invited to join NATO.

The visit will include meetings with pro-Russian parties, religious leaders, NGOs, business associations, media and the Russian diaspora in Montenegro.

U.S. publishes images claiming to show Russian attacks

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. has stepped up pressure on Russia by publishing satellite images allegedly showing missiles fired from Russia against the east of Ukraine.

Some also footage allegedly shows that heavy artillery, intended for pro-Russian activists, crossing the border.