Contents tagged with crimea

  • Estonia: life in Crimea has deteriorated since its annexation by Russia

    The Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has condemned Russia's actions in the Crimea and accused the Russian Federation of violating international law.

    In a statement by Estonian Foreign Minister Sven Mikser published on the Ministry’s website, Estonia denounced “serious breaches of international law committed by Russia” against the residents of the Crimea, including “forced conscription of locals into the Russian armed forces, imposed adoption of Russian citizenship, seizure of property, and …

  • Russian media: foreign observers arrived in Crimea to monitor Russian Presidential elections

    According to the Russian news agency RIA Krym, a group of "observers" arrived in Sevastopol to monitor the the Russian presidential elections in the annexed Crimea. The elections are being held on the day of the annexation of the Crimea by Russia.

    "The representatives of Spain, Italy, Denmark, Ukraine, Israel, Sweden and Great Britain met with the head of the Sevastopol election committee Alexey Petukhov, the senator from Sevastopol, Olga Timofeyeva, and the deputy speaker of the local …

  • Kyiv prohibits Russians from voting in Ukrainian territory

    Kyiv has decided to prohibit Russians, except for diplomats, to vote in Ukraine since Moscow “continuously violates international treaties,” as stated by Member of the board of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and member of Ukrainian Parliament Anton Herashchenko.   

    ​“In the opinion of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, this decision is consistent with international law. Diplomats’ right to vote is covered by the international convention”, — he noted. Herashchenko added that if Russian citizens …

  • Journalist: Putin had the idea to capture Crimea since 2008

    In an interview with journalist Yury Dud, Alexei Venediktov, journalist and Editor-in-Chief of Echo of Moscow, claimed that Vladimir Putin came up with the idea to occupy the Crimea sometime around 2008.

     “And, probably, there were plans made, in due order by the Joint Staff, and when the authorities in Kyiv crumbled, [when they] fell during the time of Maidan (Ukrainian Revolution), Putin thought that he could line it up. If Yanukovych had stayed, it’s unclear whether the Crimea would have …

  • The UN Security Council calls on Russia to return Crimea to Ukraine

    On March 15th, at a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on the situation in the annexed Crimea, representatives of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, the United States, and other countries called on Russia to return the Crimea to Ukraine and confirmed that sanctions imposed on Russia would not be lifted while the peninsula remains under Russian control. The event was broadcast on the United Nations website.

    The representative of Great Britain to the United Nations recalled the …

  • PACE prepares resolution about racial discrimination of Crimean Tatars by Russia

    The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe will prepare a report and a resolution on racial discrimination by Russia of the Crimean Tatars in the annexed peninsula, as reported by Volodymyr Ariev, head of the permanent delegation of the Ukrainian parliament in PACE, on Facebook.

    “PACE has unanimously decided that the Assembly will prepare a separate report and resolution about racial discrimination of Crimean Tatars by Russia in the Crimea. The day before yesterday the PACE Monitoring …

  • Kremlin: Russia to open the highway section of the Kerch Strait bridge by summer

    Russia is going to open the highway section of the bridge across the Kerch Strait by summer 2018, according to the Kremlin’s official website.

    On Wednesday, March 14, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited a portion of the construction site that will connect the Russian-annexed Crimea with the Taman Peninsula. The road portion of the bridge is scheduled for delivery completion by December 2018, but during discussions with the builders, Putin said that the road could be opened as early as May. …

  • Kyiv: Putin’s visit to Crimea violates Ukraine’s sovereignty

    On March 14, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine protested another visit by the Russian delegation, headed by President Vladimir Putin to annexed Crimea, which was not coordinated with Ukraine.

    "Ukraine considers the said visit, as well as other so-called ‘visits’ of Russian officials to the temporarily occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol a gross violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. It is a cynical and demonstrative disregard by the …

  • Ukraine's Naftogaz expects to get $8 billion from Russia for assets in the Crimea

    Ukraine’s claim against the Russian Federation for seized Crimean assets, taking into account the interest, comes to $8 billion, said the chief commercial director of Naftogaz Ukraine Yuriy Vitrenko.

    “Already this year we can win up to eight billion dollars. The claim is for damages. What happens when these assets are returned is a separate issue. The defendant is the Russian government. Five billion was without interest, and eight billion was with expected interest,” he wrote on his Facebook …

  • EU extends sanctions against Russia for annexing Crimea

    The European Union has extended restrictive measures against 150 citizens and 38 Russian companies until September 15, 2018, as indicated in a statement issued on Monday by the European Council.

    “The EU Council has extended measures for actions that undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine, for another six months,” the statement said.

    It was noted that an assessment of the situation did not justify a change in the sanctions regime.

    “Other EU …