A press release by Sberbank of Russia announced on March 27th that a consortium of investors involving the Latvian Norvik Bank and a private company in Belarus will acquire 100 percent of Sberbank’s Ukrainian subsidiary,  as reported by RIA Novosti.

“The consortium of investors is acquiring 100 percent of Sberbank in Ukraine, which is a subsidiary of Sberbank of Russia. Norvik Bank (Latvia) and a private company in Belarus make up the consortium,” the press release of Sberbank said.

The …

The Pavlohrad district court in the Dnipropetrovsk region sentenced General-Major Viktor Nazarov to 7 years imprisonment.

The court also ordered compensation amounting to 500 000 hryvnia ($18,474 USD) for the victims’ relatives, to be paid by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense.

The sentence, which was read during the court session on March 27, can be appealed for 30 days.

Nazarov was tried for the Il-76 military airplane icident, which took place on June 14, 2014 at the Luhansk airport, …

A series of protests by Russian truckers has begun in regions throughout Russia. The truckers are protesting against the Platon road system, whereby tolls are collected for the use of federal roads.

As reported by the news site Meduza, drivers taking part in the protests line up their trucks along the roads. Protests have begun in the areas of St. Petersburg, Tatarstan, Primorye, Amur, as well as other regions.

Earlier, the Association of Carriers in Russia announced that no less than ten …

A Russian helicopter was shot down in the east of the Syrian Latakia province by members of the Ahrar al-Sham group, the Arab news outlet Al Masdar reports.

According to the publication, the helicopter was shot down by heavy machine gun fire from the region on the border with Turkey.

There is currently no information on the number of casualties or wounded. The Russian military is reportedly conducting an active search for the downed helicopter.

The Russian center for reconciliation of the …

The national company Naftogaz Ukraine is planning to hold negotiations with potential investors to create a public company “Ukraine Main Gas Pipelines” in the next three months, ZN.UA reports.

The article notes that the Italian company Snam, which is interested in importing Russian gas, is among the most realistic potential investors.

“According to ZN.UA’s information, the Slovaks are also interested in this. But the Italian company Snam is prepared to invest $2 billion in the Ukrainian gas …

TASS news agency reported that the Chechen military police have returned home from Syria. The battalion was in Aleppo for three months, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said.

"You carried out the protection of military facilities, ensured the safety of the peaceful population of Syria during humanitarian actions, supported public order in the streets and squares of Aleppo," the Head of the republic said at a rally in honor of the soldiers' return, and added that the Chechen military successfully …

The Canadian parliament has registered an electronic petition urging the government to begin deliveries of lethal weapons to Ukraine.

The petition lacks just 400 more signatures in order for to be submitted to the parliament for discussion, the report says.

On his Facebook page, Conservative Party deputy James Bezan called for signing the petition and sending a signal to the government.

"The fighting in Eastern Ukraine has increased in the battle against Russian-backed rebels. Ukraine needs …

Mikola Statkevich, one of the leaders of the Belarusian National Congress or BNK, has disappeared and has not contacted anyone since March 23, his wife, Marina Adamovich told Deutsche Welle.

Statkevich was supposed to be in Minsk near the Academy of Sciences for Freedom Day on Saturday, March 25. As the BNK organizer for the event, he had planned for a procession to start along the main avenue of the Belarusian capital but he never showed up.

"The last time I saw Mikola was on Thursday …