• Turkey supports creating OSCE police mission in the Donbas

    During a meeting with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in Kiev, Turkish Minister of National Defense İsmet Yılmaz supported the idea of placing an armed OSCE police mission in the Donbas, Interfax-Ukraine reported.

    "The president briefed [Yılmaz] on the situation in the Donbas. Ukraine remains committed to the implementation of the Minsk agreements, but draws attention to the need for a system for the de-escalation of the situation and the deployment of armed police mission under the …

  • Germany suspects Russian involvement in a series of cyber-attacks

    The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution of Germany, which deals with counter-intelligence activities, suspects that Russian special services are responsible for a series of cyber-attacks against German government agencies, DW reported.

    “These operations of the Russian special services have apparently continued for 7-11 years,” the Office said in a statement.

    The German Office also has evidence that Russian intelligence agencies organized a powerful cyber-attack on the …

  • US demands that separatists allow OSCE access to weapons storage facilities

    The US representative to the OSCE, Daniel Baer, called for the immediate withdrawal of heavy weapons from the territories controlled by separatists in eastern Ukraine.

    At a meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna, the representative said that the OSCE observers reported no decrease in the arsenal of heavy weapons in Luhansk, "including tanks, howitzers, armored vehicles and anti-aircraft surface-to-air systems," Ukrinform reported.

    According to the OSCE mission in eastern Ukraine, …

  • Russian Duma adopts package of laws that strengthen penalties for extremism and terrorism

    On Friday, the Russian State Duma adopted a package of bills which increase the penalties for terrorism and extremism.

    Earlier on Friday it was reported that the Russian government has given a positive response to the package of amendments to the Law on Combating Terrorism, which, in particular, proposes additional restrictions for travel of Russian citizens abroad.

    The adoption of the law will mean that the authorities will have the right to prohibit the travel of Russian citizens abroad on …

  • Editors at Russian RBC news agency dismissed due to article about 'Putin's palace'

    Several chief edtors of the Russian news agency RBC were dismissed under pressure from Russian authorities, Reuters reported.

    According to Reuter’s source, members of management were forced to resign as a result of the publication of an article entitled "The breeding of the oysters will be started across from 'Putin's Palace' near Gelendzhik."

    The Kremlin has denied the allegations of its involvement in the dismissals. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that RBC is a private information …

  • Ukraine and Turkey hope to finish negotiations on free trade agreement ‘as soon as possible’

    Ukraine and Turkey have agreed to finalize the negotiations on a free trade agreement as soon as possible, according to Ukrainian Trade Representative Natalia Mykolskiy.

    According to the press service of the Ukrainian Ministry of Economic Development, the parties have decided to hold talks on amending the intergovernmental agreement on avoidance of double taxation and prevention of tax deviation, as well as an agreement on the mutual promotion and protection of investments, signed in 1996. …

  • Separatists demand withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from contested territories

    Casting doubt on the effectiveness of negotiations aimed at ending the conflict in eastern Ukraine, skirmishes continue along the contact line dividing separatist-held territories from the rest of Ukraine.

    Russia’s Interfax news agency reported that separatist leaders have demanded that the Ukrainian military withdraw from the territories recently taken by government forces.

    According to the news agency, representatives of the separatist republics, Denis Pushilin and Vladyslav Deinego, issued …

  • Ukraine and Turkey agree to strengthen military cooperation in the Black Sea

    Ukraine and Turkey have agreed to strengthen cooperation in the military sphere during a meeting between Ukrainian Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak and the Turkish Minister of National Defense, İsmet Yılmaz, Krym.Realii reported.

    "We agreed to develop a joint action plan to deepen cooperation in the military-technical sphere and logistical support, personnel training, the military-industrial complex, as well as on joint actions in the Black Sea basin. We plan on signing the relevant documents …

  • Construction of new US missile defense installation begins in Poland

    Construction of a new US missile defense base has begun in the Polish village of Redzikowo.

    The ground breaking ceremony was attended by Polish President Andrzej Duda, Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz, Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski, and US Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work, Evropeyskaya Pravda reported with reference to TVN 24.

    On Thursday, the US’s European missile defense system in Romania was officially declared operational.

    According to Washington, the missile defense …

  • The FBI was invited to renew its mission in Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office

    The newly appointed Prosecutor General of Ukraine, Yuriy Lutsenko, announced an agreement with the FBI’s representative’s office in Ukraine about renewing the FBI’s mission in the Prosecutor General's Office.As Interfax-Ukraine reported, Lutsenko said that he had come to an agreement regarding the resumption of work of the FBI in the Prosecutor General's Office.

    "Also, I have an agreement with the representative office of the FBI in Ukraine about renewal of their mission in the Prosecutor …