• Kyiv is dissatisfied with the composition of the OSCE mission

    Ukraine insists on improving the monitoring procedure by the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission, in particular, regarding the representation of the parties, as was stated by the representative of Ukraine to the humanitarian subgroup of the Trilateral Contact Group, Iryna Herashchenko, as reported by Ukrinform.

    "Ukraine insists on the need to improve the monitoring procedure itself. The current representation of the mission is not normal. In one year the number of mission representatives from …

  • General Hyten: The US has 'no defense' against Russia's new cruise missile

    The United States has "no defense" against ground-based cruise missiles recently deployed by Russia, according to a report submitted to Congress by a high-ranking American general.

    The Commander of U.S. Strategic Command, General John Hyten, warned that Russian missile systems "are within range and can threaten most of the continent of Europe" and that the US "has no defense against it," especially with regard to the defense of European allies.

    The US authorities described the deployment of …

  • What the IMF demands from Ukraine in exchange for allocated tranche

    On April 3, the Board of Directors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved the allocation of $1 billion credit to Ukraine. The four-year program of financial aid from the IMF allocates $17.5 billion to Ukraine. Kyiv has already received three tranches totaling $7.7 billion. The last tranche was received in September 2016. In 2017, Ukraine plans to receive about $5.4 billion from the IMF. And now the fourth tranche in the amount of $1 billion has begun to be transferred to the reserves …

  • NATO will provide Ukraine with 1 million euros worth of demining equipment

    The North Atlantic alliance will provide the State Emergency Service of Ukraine with material and technical assistance worth more than 1 million euros specifically for demining operations. This was reported by the First Vice-Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada and Co-chairman of the Ukraine-NATO Inter-Parliamentary Council, Irina Herashchenko, Interfax-Ukraine reports.

    "The Alliance has decided to provide material and technical assistance to the State Service of Ukraine for Emergencies in the amount …

  • Spain seized Assad's uncle's estates and accounts

    Spanish authorities have seized the accounts and estates of Syrian President Bashar Assad's uncle, Rifaat Assad, who is suspected of stealing $300 million from the Syrian treasury in 1984. The investigation into the case of a 79-year-old expatriate from Syria began in France, where he has been living for more than 30 years.

    French prosecutors suspect the former Syrian army officer of money laundering, forgery and tax evasion. Rifaat’s property in Spain includes villas in the Andalusian resorts …

  • Canada will open up its arms market to Ukraine

    Canadian Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan said that the next step in developing the defense cooperation between Canada and Ukraine will be the opening of the weapons market.

    “The Canada-Ukraine relations are unique. The signing of the defense agreement will allow us to have much more detailed and substantive discussions on various topics. Therefore, the next step will be to include Ukraine in the Automatic Firearms Country Control List,” the news agency Ukrinform cites Sajjan as saying. However, …

  • Second chemical attack hits the Syrian province of Hama

    According to Syrian activists, the town of Al-Lataminah in the north of Hama province was bombed with barrel bombs containing chlorine. The video of the aftermath of the attack posted by the activists shows yellow clouds of poisonous smoke rising from the town.

    Three people were reportedly killed and 25 wounded as a result of the attack.

    The activists state that the bombardment was carried out by Russian and Assad’s SU aircraft.

    The first chemical attack happened on the morning of April 4 in …

  • The Prosecutor General's Office conducts searches of Ukraine's largest oil company

    On April 5, the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine (GPU), together with the Security Service (SBU), began searches of the PJSC (public joint stock company) Ukrnafta. 50% + 1 share of Ukrnafta belongs to Naftogaz of Ukraine (NAK), and 42% of shares are held by Ihor Kolomoyskyi and Gennadiy Bogolyubov, who are former shareholders of PrivatBank [the largest bank in Ukraine, which was nationalized at the end of 2016].

    The press service of Ukrnafta said that searches are being conducted in …

  • U.S. Secretary of State to visit Moscow on April 11

    The Russian Foreign Ministry confirms the visit of U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to Moscow early next week.

    “On April 11-12, U.S. Secretary of State Tillerson will visit Moscow on a working trip. This is his first visit to our country as the head of the foreign policy department of the Donald Trump’s administration," reads the statement on the web site of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

    During the talks between Secretary of State and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, …

  • Russia presents its own draft resolution on chemical attack in Syria

    At the UN Security Council, Russia presented its own draft resolution to investigate the chemical attack in Syria. Russia’s permanent representative to the UN made a statement to this effect, RIA Novosti reports. “We put forward our own short, thorough draft, aimed at a real investigation, not at assigning guilt before the facts have been established,” said Fedor Strzhizhovsky, press secretary of Russia’s permanent representative to the UN.

    According to him, consultations regarding the draft …