Elections in the occupied regions of Donetsk and Luhansk will not happen for at least a few more years, as stated by the Chairman of the Committee of Voters of Ukraine, Oleksiy Koshel.

According to him, some reasons for this are the ongoing conflict, an armed population and a lack of a voter registry. “Another issue is that there may be expatriates who might decide to come back. They also have the right to vote. These issues first need to be resolved. Also, more than a year is needed to …

The Defense Minister of Poland, Antoni Macierewicz, said that the country plans to increase the size of their army to 150,000 soldiers.

This, in addition to implementing changes in the leadership and command of the Polish forces, is the main objective of the Ministry, according to statements made by Macierewicz on the 17th of May.

He added that the first steps towards increasing the army include the removal of restrictions on promotions of junior officers, as well as the removal of 12-year …

Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Volodymyr Omelyan announced on his Facebook page that Ukraine has joined the Trans-Caspian international transport route and reached an agreement to reduce tariffs for transportation of containers along the so-called "New Silk Road.” Director for Freight Transport and Logistics at PJSC Ukrzaliznytsia Ivan Fedorko signed the relevant protocol in Tbilisi on May 17th.

"It was agreed to reduce the transportation rate from $5,559 to $3,980 per 40-foot container …

On Wednesday, Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter jets were scrambled to escort Russian military aircraft that approached Estonia, reports the Daily Telegraph’s website. British fighter jets left their base in Estonia and intercepted two Su-27 fighter jets flying with IL-20 electronic reconnaissance aircraft. Two more Su-27 fighters were detected and also intercepted.

The newspaper notes that Russian aircraft were flying in the international airspace along the northern and western borders of …

The Deputy Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatars, Ilmi Umerov, has said that on the 17th of May 2016, he was visited by police who warned him that any activities planned for the 18th of May will not be allowed. The Mejlis had previously organized events to take place on Memorial Day in remembrance of the 1944 deportation of the Crimean Tatars.

“I was referred to as the organizer of a public event. I then had to explain to members of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia that on the …

Russia intends to restore the Dnepr radar station, which is situated near Sevastopol. This new facility will house a missile warning system which will be able to detect ballistic launches, cruise missile launches and hypersonic missile launches from the waters of the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. This was reported by the Izvestia newspaper, citing a source in the military-industrial sector.

There are two ways to restore the station. The first option would be building it from the ground …

The Crimean Tatar flag was raised over the Ukrainian Embassy in Riga on the anniversary of the deportation of the Crimean Tatars, Rosbalt reported.

“On the flagpole of the Ukrainian Embassy in Latvia we raised the flag of the Crimean Tatars,” Evgeny Perebiynis, the Ukrainian Ambassador to Latvia, wrote on Twitter.

At noon on Wednesday a moment of silence was held in Ukraine in memory of the victims of the deportation in 1944.

On May 18th, 1944, the first group of Crimean Tatars was forced …

The United Nations has called on Russia to protect the rights of Crimean Tatars on the 72nd anniversary of their deportation by Soviet authorities, Radio Svoboda reported. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Rupert Colville, noted that persecution of Crimean Tatars has increased significantly since Russia annexed the Peninsula in 2014. "Since April 2014, Crimean Tatars have been subjected to arbitrary searches, seizure of books, and arrest. Last year, the authorities shut down a number …