• Merkel: Sanctions against Russia should be extended

    Before her meeting with French President François Holland in Berlin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that the EU's economic sanctions against Russia should be extended, Reuters reports.

    According to her, the sanctions should be extended due to a lack of progress in the implementation of the Minsk agreements.

    "Although we would have wished for a better progress in the implementation of the agreement, the lack of it is what causes the need to extend sanctions against Russia," Merkel said. …

  • Russian Consulate General in Istanbul was taken under heavy guard because of anti-Russian rallies

    The Russian Consulate General in Istanbul was taken under heavy guard due to anti-Russian protests in front of the embassy, as reported by Russia's TASS news agency on December 13th.

    "Over the past twenty-four hours, three protests in connection with the situation in Aleppo were held in front of the Consulate General of Russia in Istanbul. Up to 250 people participated in the largest gathering. Police officers cordoned our Consulate General during and after these events," Sergey Losev, the …

  • Ukrainian MoD's website was hacked

    The website of Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense was down on Tuesday due to a cyber attack.

    This was reported by the Ministry of Defense press service, Radio Liberty reports.

    No additional details were provided by the Ministry of Defense.

    "The Security Service of Ukraine claims that the malicious software used in the attack on the website of the State Treasury and the Ministry of Finance on December 6th is the same as the one used in last year's incident that caused a blackout and left hundreds …

  • Kremlin declines to comment on reports that Japan would allow US military presence on Kuril Islands

    Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on reports that Tokyo would allow the U.S. to establish military bases on the Kuril Islands if Japan gains sovereignty over the contested islands, TASS reported.

    “I would not in any way comment on the information that has appeared today in a Japanese media outlet because this refers to the content of the confidential talk between the secretaries of the Security Councils of Russia and Japan. We do not disclose the content of such meetings, all …

  • Russia initiates criminal proceedings following information leak about deployment of Chechen special forces to Syria

    Criminal proceedings have been initiated against the servicemen Crwho posted the video showing Russian-Chechen special forces departing to Syria, as reported by Rosbalt, citing a source in the Russian military.

    According to the source familiar with the situation, the preliminary investigation determined that there was insufficient educational work done among the personnel by the military command. Servicemen reportedly recorded videos of the Chechen units. One of the servicemen who took this …

  • Dutch court orders that Scythian gold in Amsterdam museum be returned to Ukraine

    The Amsterdam District Administrative Court has ordered that an exhibition of Scythian gold in the Allard Pierson Museum be returned to Ukraine, the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine wrote on Facebook.

    Earlier this month, Kyiv had issued an appeal to Interpol regarding  the “Crimea – the Golden Island in the Black Sea” exhibition at the museum in Amsterdam, insisting the exhibition pieces were Ukrainian property.

    In February of 2014, a collection of Scythian gold from five Ukrainian museums was …

  • Ukrainian court seized property of Yanukovych in former state residence

    The Ukrainian court seized three warehousing facilities, two garages, three water transport facilities, and valuables from the state residence, Mezhyhirya, belonging to the former President of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych.

    Paintings and other artwork, land, and funds have been confiscated as well, as indicated in the response from the General Prosecutor’s Office of Ukraine to the request of The Ukrainian News.

    It is noted that property has been seized under the ongoing criminal proceedings …

  • EU allocated an additional 4 million euro for humanitarian assistance in eastern Ukraine

    The European Commission has allocated 4 million euro of additional immediate assistance in response to urgent humanitarian needs in eastern Ukraine, as was stated by the press service of the EU representative in Ukraine.

    Thus, the total amount of humanitarian assistance provided by the EU in 2016 in response to the crisis, will reach 26.4 million euro.

    "The humanitarian aspects of the crisis in eastern Ukraine remain a priority issue for our program," Christos Stylianides, Commissioner for …

  • Experts from California are ready to held remove landmines in Ukrainian territories

    The Head of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, Mykola Chechetkin, and the Commander of the California National Guard, David Baldwin, have discussed further cooperation and partnership in the protection of civilians, particularly mine clearance matters, at a meeting in Kyiv, Interfax-Ukraine reported.

    “Currently, the reform process of the system of State Emergency Service of Ukraine is ongoing. An extensive network of local fire brigades and volunteers will be created during this process. …

  • Russia's Pacific Fleet to take part in joint naval exercises with India

    The Pacific Fleet ships that consist of a large anti-submarine ship, Admiral Tributs, and a Boris Butoma tanker have sailed off for the Indian port of Visakhapatnam to take part in the Indra Navy joint drills, Vladimir Matveyev, a spokesman for Russia’s Eastern military district, told TASS.

    "The ships are under the command of the Deputy Commander of the Seaboard (Primorsk) Combined Forces Flotilla Rear Admiral, Eduard Mikhailov, and are currently heading to the base of the Eastern Fleet of the …