• President of Lithuania: Sanctions against Russia should be strengthened and expanded

    The West should expand sanctions against Russia, as the situation in eastern Ukraine does not improve, as stated by Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite before the EU summit in Brussels, Delfi reports.

    "The situation in Ukraine thus far only continues to deteriorate… In eastern Ukraine, a direct, real, de-facto inclusion of that part of the country into the territory of Russia has begun," said Lithuanian President Grybauskaite.

    She also pointed out to the fact that Moscow, with separatist …

  • The Polish Sejm adopted a law banning communist propaganda

    The Polish Sejm amended the law banning the propaganda of communism or any other totalitarian system in the names of buildings and other architectural objects. According to the document adopted on June 22, the monuments of the Soviet era, including memorials in honor of the Red Army, will be demolished.

    408 deputies voted in favor, 7 voted against, and 15 abstained when voting on the final wording of the law. Amendments will come into force three months after the promulgation of the law.

    The …

  • 43 elite apartments belonging to Ukrainian oligarch Kolomoyskyi to be auctioned in Crimea

    The Kremlin-controlled Crimean parliamentary committee on property and land relations approved the expropriation of 43 new apartments in Yalta which were previously nationalized by Russia as the property of the Ukrainian businessman Ihor Kolomoyskyi.

    There are plans to auction the real estate, starting at a price of 55,000 rubles ($922 USD) per square meter.

    “The expropriation will be realized through an open auction with participants and proposals being received. The adoption of the decision …

  • Ukrainian politician: There is a great hope that we will receive lethal weapons from the USA

    Hanna Hopko, the head of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Verkhovna Rada, believes that the likelihood that the US will provide Ukraine with lethal arms is great, as stated in an interview with LB.ua.

    When asked whether there was hope that we will receive lethal arms following Poroshenko’s visit to the US, Hanna Hopko replied, “Yes, the results of the visit were positive, he did a good job.”

    In addition, Hopko said that during the meeting between President Petro Poroshenko with the US …

  • Turchynov proposed tightening checks on residents of the Crimea and the Donbas who are seeking Ukrainian biometric passports

    Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Oleksandr Turchynov believes that it is necessary to conduct a thorough check of all applicants arriving from the territories that are not under Ukraine’s control who wish to obtain a biometric passport, as reported on the website of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC).

    According to Turchynov, after the start of Ukraine’s visa-free regime with the EU, the number of people from the Crimea and from the separatist-held …

  • Deputy Head of the Administration of the Ukrainian President: Trump and Poroshenko discussed the reintegration of the Donbas

    Some elements of the future bill on de-occupation and reintegration of the Donbas were discussed during the President Petro Poroshenko’s visit to Washington, as stated by the Deputy Head of Administration of the President of Ukraine, Kostiantyn Yeliseyev, Interfax-Ukraine reports.

    "The main issue was how to unite and coordinate efforts with the Americans in order to bring peace and stability to the Donbas. Some elements of this bill were the focus of the negotiation process with the US since …

  • US Congress intends to allocate funds for weapons for Ukraine

    The appropriations bill for the US Department of Defense for the 2018 financial year will include an article on the provision of military assistance to Ukraine, including some for lethal weapons, as stated by Republican Mac Thornberry, the Chairman of the United States House Committee on Armed Services, while answering a question by a TASS correspondent.

    "It [the bill] does continue to include military assistance to Ukraine and encouragement that the administration [of US President Donald …

  • Russia negotiating deployment of Kyrgyz and Kazakh contingents in Syria

    According to the head of the State Duma Defense Committee Vladimir Shamanov , Moscow is negotiating with Astana and Bishkek on the deployment of troops from Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan in the de-escalation zones in Syria, as reported by RIA Novosti.

    Shamanov  sad that the Russian authorities are also in similar negotiations with Turkey.

    “Negotiations are under way now, and the question is being worked out to ensure that the Russian military police take part in keeping order in Syria, as well as …

  • State Department: US concerned about actions of pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine

    State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said on Thursday that the US is deeply concerned about the alarming pattern of violence and brutality on the part of Russia-supported separatists in eastern Ukraine toward unarmed civilian employees of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission.

    Recently, she continued, in the east of Ukraine, a number of incidents have taken place in which the participants of the Monitoring Mission have been harassed, threatened, and subjected to shelling. This happened, …

  • Ukraine: Crimean Tatar leader Chiygoz’s prolonged incarceration is further evidence of existing injustice in Crimea

    The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry believes that the extension of the arrest of Akhtem Chiygoz, one of the leaders of the Crimean Tatar movement, until October 8, is further evidence of injustice in the annexed Crime, as stated by Mariana Betsa, official spokesperson for the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, in a comment for Krym Realii.

    “The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry decisively condemns the occupation authorities of the Crimea for extending the preventive measures with respect to the detention of …