• Crimean authorities: Russia will have to subsidize Crimea for the next 10 years

    The Crimea will not be denied subsidies from the budget of neighboring Russia within the next ten years, as reported by Irina Kiviko, head of the Kremlin-controlled finance ministry of the peninsula.According to her, the budget of the Crimea might not need any subsidies by 2028.

    "I think that this will happen when the bridges are built, when we have a railway, when industry begins to develop. Probably, we will need 10 years," Russian agency TASS quotes Kiviko as saying.

    According to the draft …

  • EU Ambassador pointed out weaknesses and strengths in Ukraine’s implementation of the EU Association Agreement

    The Head of the European Union Delegation to Ukraine, Hugues Mingarelli presented the report "Ukraine and the Association Agreement: Monitoring of the Implementation from December 1, 2016 to November 1, 2017" on Tuesday, December 12.

    Interfax-Ukraine news agency notes that during the presentation he described areas where Ukraine lags in the implementation plan of the Association Agreement with the EU, as well as areas where it has made progress.

    "Three years have already passed, and in some …

  • Constitutional Court of Moldova rules that the President of the country must be non-partisan

    The Constitutional Court of Moldova ruled that the President of the country must be non-partisan and must not hold any other public office, Ukrinform reports.

    "The President of the Republic of Moldova is obliged to act in the interests of the whole society, not just its part, a separate political group or a party. He cannot be a member of the party and defend its interests," the President of the Constitutional Court, Tudor Panțîru commented.

    With its decision, the Constitutional Court …

  • Kremlin: Russia will strengthen its defense capabilities in response to anti-Russian direction of new US Budget

    Russia will take into account the anti-Russian direction of the US defense budget, Federation Council defense committee chairperson Viktor Bondarev told RIA Novosti.

    “We cannot neglect to pay attention to something like that, or ignore such lunges,” he said, adding that such an approach to the formulation of the US budget is evidence of a serious attitude towards Russia. “The Americans sense our strength, they see us as their geopolitical rival, equal in some things and superior in others,” he …

  • Russian media: Putin to run as independent candidate in elections

    Current Russian President Vladimir Putin may run for president in the 2018 elections as an independent candidate, RBC news agency reported with reference to federal officials and sources in the Russian Presidential Administration.

    According to RBC, the topic of Putin running independently was taken up at a seminar for governors and deputy presidential envoys on internal policy in the Moscow Region at the start of December.“It was not spoken about directly, but we were warned to prepare for …

  • Ukraine files complaint with International Criminal Court over property seized by Russia in Crimea

    Ukraine has filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC) concerning the seizure of property in Crimea by Russia, as announced by prosecutor general of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea Hyunduz Mamedov at a briefing on Tuesday.

    According to him, in January 2017 at the request of the member of the Verkhovna Rada Mustafa Dzhemilev, the Crimean Prosecutors office initiated criminal proceedings according to article 438 of the Criminal Code (violation of the rules and conventions of …

  • Media: EU to extend economic sanctions against Russia on December 14

    On Thursday, before the EU summit, which will be held on December 14-15 in Brussels, the heads of state and governments of the EU member states will adopt the political decision to extend the sectoral economic sanctions against Russia, which were imposed for encroachment on the sovereignty and territory of Ukraine, reports Ukrinform news agency, citing a senior official of one of the EU governing bodies.

    “French President Emmanuel Macron and Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel will speak to the …

  • Ukraine will temporarily reduce transit of gas from Russia to Europe because of accident in Austria

    Ukraine will temporarily reduce the volume of gas transit from Russia to Europe because of an explosion at a gas distribution station in Austria, as stated by Ukrainian gas transport operator Ukrtransgaz.

    “As a result of the emergency situation in the EU, there will be a temporary reduction in the volume of transit of natural gas through Ukraine in the Slovak direction,” the report said.

    At the same time, gas imports from Slovakia will be provided according to the usual daily average of 22 …

  • Trump signs U.S. Defense Bill with $350 million allocated for Ukraine

    U.S. President Donald Trump signed into law the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act, which allows for the allocation of $350 million in assistance to Ukraine.

    The Ukrainian Embassy in Washington notes that the law authorizes the provision of lethal weapons of a defensive nature and significantly expands the parameters of support from the United States to Ukraine.

    In particular, the money can be used to treat wounded Ukrainian soldiers in American hospitals, train Ukrainian doctors, and …

  • Ukraine's state-owned Ukroboronprom takes 77th place in rating of arms exporters

    The Ukroboronprom state military industrial enterprise (Ukraine) has climbed from the 84th to the 77th position in the world ranking of top 100 arms sellers, according to a publications by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) released on Monday.  

    According to the report, in 2016, Ukroboronprom sold weapons for USD 1,060 million (95% of the total sales of the state defense concern) or USD 213 million above the levels of the previous year. Appearing next to it in the …