• Lithuania puts 44 names on the Magnitsky List

    The Lithuanian Parliament or Seimas has decided to add 44 names to the list of individuals banned from the country under the law known as the Magnitsky Act, Diena newspaper reports.

    The decision was adopted by the majority vote of 82 out of 83 members of Parliament. One member abstained from the vote.

    “By this decision I am calling on the government to put on the black list individuals who were closely involved in the murder of Sergei Magnitsky. This will make our Magnitsky list complete,” …

  • Chief of General Staff of Russian Army: Russia may reduce the number of troops in Syria

    There could be a substantial reduction in the number of Russian troops in Syria by the end of the year, as stated by the head of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, TASS reports.

      The news agency quotes Gerasimov as saying, “It seems that yes, after the completion of the military objectives, there will be only a few of them, of course, the decision will be made by the commander-in-chief and the troops will be reduced.” According to the head of the General Staff, the reconciliation center, two …

  • Ukrainian military command: Ukrainian Armed Forces improved tactical positions in the Luhansk Region

    Separate divisions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the area of Luhansk improved their tactical positions in order to improve conditions for observing the enemy and conducting defensive fire in response to shelling from the Russian forces, reported the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

    “The Armed Forces of Ukraine strictly adhere to the Minsk Agreements, in accordance with which they can be strengthened or re-equipped, and also redeployed within the territories defined by these …

  • Media: National Bank of Ukraine transferred data on Privatbank's clients to Moscow

    The officials of National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), handed over all data on PrivatBank (PB) clients to Moscow, Oleksandr Dubinsky, the host of the program Groshi (Money), wrote on Facebook, citing personal sources.

    "Complete data on all clients of PrivatBank, with the permission of the NBU, was transferred to certain servers in Moscow by company Kroll, which audits PrivatBank," he wrote, noting that the Russians were interested in the database of participants of the Ukrainian military operation …

  • Poland signs 5-year contract to ship liquefied gas from United States

    The PGNiG oil and gas company based in Poland has entered into a five-year contract with the Centrica electricity and gas supply international company for shipment of liquefied gas from the United States to a liquefied natural gas terminal in Swinoujscie, Poland on the Baltic Sea coast, as stated by President of the PGNiG Management Board Piotr Wozniak at a Washington-to-Warsaw video conference, the Ukrinform news agency reports.

    According to Wozniak, the agreement with Centrica brings the …

  • The Constitutional Court of Ukraine begins consideration of law on de-communization

    The Constitutional Court has begun consideration of the constitutionality of the law on de-communization ("On the condemnation of the communist and national-socialist [nazi] totalitarian regimes in Ukraine and the prohibition of propaganda of their symbols"), announced acting head of the court, Viktor Kryvenko.

    There are 14 judges at the hearing; none of the judges have recused themselves.

    The examination is taking place in the form of written proceedings.

    "I declare open the plenary meeting …

  • Putin tells Turkish and Iranian leaders that Assad is ready for constitutional reform

    RIA Novosti has reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin told the leaders of Turkey and Iran, Tayyip Erdogan and Hassan Rouhani, about his talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

    "We informed our colleagues about the conversation in Sochi with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. We noted the commitment of the Syrian leadership to the principles of a peaceful resolution of the political crisis, [and their] readiness to carry out constitutional reform and free, UN-supervised elections," …

  • Ukrainian Foreign Minister: events in Luhansk is a dispute between the special services of the Russian Federation

    Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Pavlo Klimkin believes that recent events in separatist-controlled Luhansk are not just a conflict between the leaders of the LPR but a dispute between Russian special services, reports Censor.NET.

    "It's not only an internal dispute between these gangs; it's also a dispute between the relevant Russian special services. This very clearly proves that Russia controls everything in there. This is another argument for international cooperation," Klimkin said. …

  • Russian Federation Council approves the bill on recognizing foreign media as foreign agents

    The Federation Council of Russia approved a bill allowing the Russian Ministry of Justice to recognize any foreign media as a foreign agent.

    Dozhd (Rain TV) reported that the Duma adopted an amendment in all readings in one day as a response to the actions of the US authorities against Russia Today news agency. The United Nations Human Rights Council or UNHRС recommended the Federation Council to reject the bill and send it for revision. However, the senators approved the bill at a plenary …

  • Moldova refused entry to Russian delegation

    The delegation from Russia that was scheduled to take part in a business forum was not allowed to enter Moldova, reports ZDG news website.

    The press service of the Moldovan Border Police reported that on the morning of November 22, ten citizens of the Russian Federation were refused entry into the country because they could not explain the reason for their visit or provide the documents that would confirm their participation in the forum.

    The mayor of the city of Bălți, Renato Usatii stated …