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Head of DPR Zakharchenko bans state officials from travelling to Ukraine
Alexander Zakharchenko, the head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) has banned the DPR’s state officials from travelling to territory controlled by Kyiv. According to the website of the Ministry of State Security, this decree was signed on December 15 in 2017.
According to the decree, the restriction was implemented due to “massive recruitment by Ukrainian special services of the DPR’s residents who cross the demarcation line with Ukraine” including government and local …
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IMF rejects Poroshenko’s draft bill on Anti-Corruption Court
The International Monetary Fund believes that the bill to establish the Anti-Corruption Court (ACC), as submitted by President Petro Poroshenko, does not meet Ukraine’s obligation to the IMF, as stated in a letter from the head of the mission of the IMF in Ukraine, Ron van Roden, to the Presidential administration of Ukraine. The document, copies of which were sent to the Prime Minister, the Speaker of the parliament, and several ministers, was published by Yevropeyska Pravda.
In the letter, …
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Hungary accuses Ukraine of making new restrictions on the rights of national minorities
Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó has claimed that Ukraine is making new restrictions on the rights of national minorities.
A corresponding statement by Szijjártó was posted on the Hungarian Foreign Ministry’s website.
"Instead of mitigating the conflicts, Ukraine has made further proposals for the restriction of language use and citizenship. For instance, it will be compulsory to display a Ukrainian transcript of the dialogue during theatre productions, and Hungarian newspapers will …
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France arrests Swiss businessman in the case of Russian billionaire Kerimov
Swiss businessman Alexander Studhalter has been arrested in France in connection to the case of Russian senator Suleyman Kerimov, who was accused of tax evasion and money laundering, reported the newspaper Nice Matin.
Studhalter was arrested on January 12; investigators say that the Swiss businessman was a stand-in for Kerimov when the latter was purchasing property in southern France.The Swiss businessman’s attorneys are appealing against the court arrest.
Kerimov was detained at Nice …
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Belgium scrambles fighter jets to intercept Russian warplanes
Two Belgian F-16 fighters scrambled on the morning of January 15th to escort two Russian bombers over the waters of the North Sea, as reported by Le Soir, citing a military source.
According to the report, the Belgian fighters approached the Russian Tu-160s. No additional information was provided.
As of last Thursday, January 11th, Belgium is responsible for the security of the airspace of the Benelux countries (Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg). This mission is performed in turns by the …
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U.S. aircraft conducts reconnaissance near Crimea
A U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon anti-submarine patrol aircraft carried out a several-hour reconnaissance flight off the coast of the annexed Crimea, as well as near the Krasnodar Territory of the Russian Federation, reported Interfax, citing Western aviation resources.
“The naval intelligence aircraft, with the tail number 168432 and the call sign PS156, departed from the Sigonella airbase in Sicily, made an approach to the coast of the Krasnodar Territory, and then flew in the area of Novorossiysk …
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Lithuania releases list of Russians affected by Magnitsky Act
On Monday the Lithuanian Department of Migration released a list of 49 Russian citizens who are banned from entering Lithuania due to rights violations and money laundering, Delfi news agency reports.
The list was released last week on the basis of the so-called “Magnitsky Act”, which came into force on January 1 in Lithuania. The list which was published online mentions the names, surnames, dates of birth and nationalities of the people it affects. Notably, the list features the name of …
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Lavrov: Ukraine violated the Budapest Memorandum not Russia
By allowing the Maidan (Ukrainian Revolution of Dignity), the Budapest Memorandum was violated by Ukraine, not Russia, which “never used” nuclear weapons against the Ukrainian state, stated Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at a press conference in Moscow on Monday, January 15.
“We have answered these questions many times, including those connected to the Budapest Memorandum of 1994, according to which Ukraine renounced nuclear weapons and Russia pledged not to use nuclear weapons against …
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Russian Prosecutor General calls prevention of protests during presidential elections a 'primary task'
Speaking at a celebration of the 296th anniversary of the founding of Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office, Prosecutor General Yury Chaika said that one of primary tasks of the Prosecutor General’s Office this year will be to prevent unsanctioned protests during the presidential elections, RBC news agency reports.
“In the coming year, a new task stands before the departments of the Prosecutor General’s Office: ensuring lawfulness during the electoral campaign for the president of the Russian …
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Ukrainian Ambassador to Belarus: conflict in the Donbas is the only conflict in which UN does not show any involvement
The conflict in Donbas is the only conflict in the world in the postwar period that goes without any involvement of the United Nations, said Roman Bezsmertnyi, Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Ukraine (2010-2011) to Belarus on the ZIK TV-program.
Commenting on the situation in the Donbas, Bezsmertnyi said it was important that Ukraine invoke all current pertaining laws, especially the Defense Law and provisions of the Martial Law.
“Because I cannot resist the thought that some …