Gerry Rice, Director of the Communications Department (COM) at the International Monetary Fund, has said that the IMF will now assess the law adopted by the Verkhovna Rada on the creation of a High Anti-Corruption Court.

According to Rice, IMF staff have expressed concern about the institutional role of the Ukrainian Ministry of Finance since the dismissal of Finance Minister Oleksandr Danylyuk.

The Verkhovna Rada supported Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman’s petition to dismiss Oleksandr …

The Swedish government approved the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in its waters, the Minister of Entrepreneurship and Innovation of Sweden, Mikael Damberg stated at a special briefing, Interfax-Ukraine reports.

Earlier, Germany and Finland issued all the necessary permits for the construction and operation of the pipeline. Other countries along the pipeline route—Russia, Sweden and Denmark—were also expected to issue permits.

The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline will run through …

Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that he does not intend to abandon continued assistance to the DPR and LPR separatist republics, which control part of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine.

He said this during a "direct line" with Russian citizens while answering a question by writer Zakhar Prilepin, who participated in the war against Ukraine on the side of the militants.

Prilepin asked Putin his opinion about whether Ukraine will take advantage of the 2018 World Cup in order to …

Russia is sending small missile ships of the Caspian flotilla into the Black Sea, reported bmpd.livejournal.com.

The ships Grad Sviyazhsk and Veliky Ustyug, project 21631 (class Buyan-M), accompanied by an RB-10 raid tugboat, made the trip along inland waterways from the Caspian to the Black Sea.

The Grad Sviyazhsk (plant no. 631, entered into service in the Caspian Flotilla of the Russian Navy on July 27, 2014) and Veliky Ustyug (plant no. 633, entered into service in the Caspian Flotilla on …

Vasyl Hrytsak, head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), explained to the German news outlet Bild why the staging of journalist Arkady Babchenko’s murder was necessary, and what was achieved as a result.

“Since the client thought that Babchenko was really dead, certain contacting and communication took place, which enabled us to carry out procedural and operational activities and document facts which ultimately had decisive significance in the investigation process. Thus managed to obtain …

Moscow is not planning to withdraw its military contingent from Syria, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during the Direct Line session which was broadcast by Russia 24 TV channel.

“They will stay there as long as it is beneficial to Russia, and in fulfillment of our international obligations. We are not planning to withdraw the units yet,” the president said. According to him, Russian troops are carrying out important duties related to ensuring Russia’s security in the region and …

The Verkhovna Rada dismissed Finance Minister Oleksandr Danyliuk, with 254 deputies voting in favor of this decision. Before his resignation, however, Danyliuk spoke out with sharp criticism of the government.

"I’ve been incriminated with airing dirty laundry in public. It's so uncharacteristic of us that we do not have a Ukrainian analogue for this expression. When you gave me the powers of the Minister of Finance, I was going to build an efficient, modern financial system for the country. I …

Israel is prepared to attack not only Iranian forces in Syria, but also the Syrian army itself, stated Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu in London on Thursday.

“I think [Syrian President Bashar] Assad should take the following seriously. Now that the war with ISIS is over, and he [Assad] has called on Iran and allows it to attack Israel from the territory of Syria, his regime is no longer safe,” news agency France-Presse quoted Netanyahu as saying.

“His regime is not immune. If he …