During an interview with Komsomolskaya Pravda, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that he categorically rejects Ukraine’s condition that security in eastern Ukraine be a precondition for elections in the Donbas. 

"Now, security has suddenly become the main issue for Poroshenko, not only the ceasefire but also ensuring the presence of some security forces in the entire territory of the Donbas. I’d like to say: the Donbas will never agree to that," Lavrov stated.

According to the …

The Ukrainian state-owned company Antonov has signed contracts to supply Saudi Arabia with aircraft and have also reached an agreement with Azerbaijan on the purchase of Ukrainian aircraft. This was announced by the President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, during a visit to the company on its 70th anniversary.

“Even when the aggressive country of Russia completely closed its markets for our engineering and aircraft needs and stopped supplying us with components, we did not give up! We stayed …

The Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, has said that recognizing the independence of the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR) in eastern Ukraine would be “counterproductive” at the moment. He said this during an interview with Komsomolskaya Pravda.

“Recognizing the independence of the DPR and the LPR is counterproductive. It will give the West a reason to stop pressuring Kiev to implement the Minsk II agreements,” TASS quoted Lavrov as saying.

Lavrov also …

A delegation of the European Broadcasting Union arrived in Kiev to discuss the terms and conditions of the Eurovision song contest which will be held in Ukraine next year, Ukrainskie Novosti reported with reference to the Minister of Culture, Yevhen Nyshchuk.

"Today, in Ukraine, a delegation of the European Broadcasting Union arrived,” Nyshchuk said.

According to him, the delegation is meeting with the National Television Company.

The Ukrainian contestant, Jamala, won Eurovision 2016 in …

The Ukrainian Ambassador to Tallinn, Viktor Kryzhanovsky, requested that an Italian documentary film called Donbass Seasons not be broadcast in the European Union. A major scandal has emerged in diplomatic circles over the Italian documentary film about the situation in eastern Ukraine.

According to Rus.err (Estonian Public Broadcasting website), Kryzhanovsky appealed to the Estonian authorities with a request not to allow the screening of the documentary film Donbas Seasons in Estonia.

As …

Hearings on the “Case of Hizb ut-Tahrir”, in which four Crimean Tatars are accused of participating in an international terrorist organization, have begun in Russia’s North Caucasus District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don, Korrespondent.net reported.

The defendants include Ruslan Zeytullaeva, Ferati Sayfullaeva, Rustem Vaitova and Nuri Primova.

Charges were initially filed against the four Crimean Tatars on April 28th. They were arrested last winter in the Crimean city of Sevastopol.

Russia …

At the summit in Warsaw, NATO will decide to increase its practical assistance to Ukraine, according to the NATO Liaison Officer in Ukraine, Alexander Vinnikov, Evropeyskaya Pravda reported.

“We expect… a joint political declaration, which confirms the unwavering support of NATO towards Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Vinnikov said during an interview with Segodnya.ua.

“The adoption of the comprehensive support package will increase our practical assistance to Ukraine. It …

More than 29,500 people have enlisted and signed contracts with the Armed Forces of Ukraine since the beginning of 2016. Of this amount, 3,000 are officers. This was reported by the press center of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

According the agency’s Facebook page, the placement of these contract servicemen in the military units was implemented according to the “maximum quality at optimum quantity” principle.

“The priorities in these placements remain unchanged. The first …