• Plotnitsky would meet with Savchenko only if she created her own team in Parliament

    The head of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic, Igor Plotnitsky, responded to the Ukrainian MP Nadiya Savchenko’s proposal to meet face to face. According to him, their conversation could yield results only if Savchenko is able to create her own team in the Ukrainian Parliament.

    “I appreciate the calls for peace, forgiveness and dialogue that Nadiya Savchenko has made recently. However, peace cannot be achieved by talks and negotiations alone,” Plotnitsky said. The leader of the so- …

  • Ukrainian Intelligence: Russian troops in the Donbas are moving closer to the demarcation line

    Ukrainian Intelligence has reported that pro-Russian forces in the Donbas are actively strengthening their positions in three areas.

    According to the main intelligence directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, the enemy is reinforcing divisions at the front, transporting weapons and military equipment towards Novoaidar, Donetsk and Sloviansk. The rotation of the troops is taking place near settlements which are in the immediate vicinity of the demarcation line.

    In the area of …

  • Ukrainian Border Guard Service: Russian soldiers continue video-tracking from reconnaissance balloon in Crimea

    Ukrainian border guard officers made a video of a reconnaissance balloon of Russian military in the Crimea that was launched again on the 23rd of July near the Ukrainian administrative border, Krym.Realii reported.

    “Today, at 9 a.m., border guard officers of the Henichesk department, Berdiansk detachment recorded the launch of a reconnaissance balloon by Russian troops. They use it near Arabat Spit, probably for the purpose of video surveillance,” the Ukrainian agency reported on Saturday. …

  • Kerry and Lavrov to meet in Laos to continue dialogue on Syrian ceasefire

    The heads of the Russian and US diplomatic missions will meet in Laos to resume talks on Syria. According to US Secretary of State John Kerry, the parties will consider a plan to establish a ceasefire in the country.

    On July 22, US Secretary of State John Kerry announced that he intends to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Laos to continue the dialogue on Syria.

    Kerry and Lavrov will participate in the annual events of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on …

  • Belgian parliament to consider lifting sanctions on Russia

    The lower chamber of the Belgian Parliament has introduced a draft resolution on the abolition of sanctions against Russia, RBC-Ukraine reported, citing a statement posted on the website of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives.

     The sponsor of the resolution, MP Aldo Carcaci, told RIA Novosti that the vote will most likely be held in October.

    "We will open discussion on sanctions which primarily damage Belgian businesses, in particular crops producers," Carcaci explained.

    The EU and the US …

  • Three Ukrainian border guards in the Donbas suffer retina burns after being shot with laser weapons

    Three Ukrainian border guards at the Marinka checkpoint have suffered retina burns of varying severity while conducting terrain surveillance using optical equipment. The Ukrainian State Border Service suspects that prohibited special purpose laser weapons were used against them.

    "The nature of the burns and preliminary medical diagnosis leads to the conclusion that it's possible that the enemy used high-power light emitters, which could be the so called ‘dazzling lasers,’" the State Border …

  • So-called Luhansk People's Republic to organize tours to the war zone

    Luhansk authorities plan to develop tourist routes in the hostile areas in the Donbas. This was said by the so-called Luhansk People’s Republic’s (LPR) Head of the Department of Tourism of the Ministry of Family, Youth, Sports and Tourism, Svetlana Didkovskaya.

    “We have students who write a large number of scientific papers every year. We want to develop and offer tours titled ‘'Places of military glory of LPR',” Didkovskaya said at a briefing.

    According to her, the development of the tours …

  • Moscow confirms Russian strike on US garrison in Syria

    The Russians cited the cause of the incident as the "refusal of the U.S. to provide information about their actions."

    Russia admitted bombing the base used by American and British elite troops in Syria last month as reported by Interfax, citing a military-diplomatic source in Moscow. 

    "The Russians have already given an explanation for this incident. This was the topic of a video conference between the U.S. and Russia. There is no reason to repeat the discussion," the source from the agency …

  • Ukraine issues note of protest to Russia after Shoygu's visit to Crimea

    The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine expressed their objection to the visit of Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoygu to the Crimea as it was not officialy approved by Ukraine, according to a statement issued by the Ministry.

    The Foreign Ministry indicated that on July 22nd Shoygu was "in the sovereign territory of Ukraine and within its internationally recognized borders, which includes the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol."

    The Ministry believes that not getting appoval …

  • UN: Elections should be held in the Donbas only after the issue of human rights has been resolved

    The Donbas elections should be held when the human rights issues are resolved and not just when the technical and political aspects are organized, as stated by the UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, Ivan Šimonović, said during an interview with Novoye Vremya.

    “If you want to hold free and fair elections, you must ensure that there is freedom of expression and media, as well as freedom of assembly and association. This is not happening now,” Šimonović said.

    He also stressed the …