Contents tagged with Ukraine

  • In the prisoner exchange with the separatists, Ukraine refused to surrender a witness in the case of the downed MH17 Boeing aircraft

    Ukraine refused to transfer a key witness to the separatists of Luhansk (LPR) and Donetsk (LPR) People’s Republics as part of a prisoner exchange. The witness is part of an ongoing investigation into the downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 in the skies over the Donbas in the summer of 2014.

    "LPR/DPR asked for a person who is actually listed as a witness in the case on the shooting down of the Malaysian Boeing. Of course, we did not give away this man. He remains here. We could not have …

  • A famous Russian cryptocurrency expert abducted in Kyiv

    On December 26, Russian programmer Pavel Lerner, a professional in blockchain-mining technologies was abducted in Kyiv. Witnesses who knew him reported to the police that the 40-year-old Lerner was kidnapped by unknown suspects wearing black masks.

    Lerner is a noted expert in blockchains, which are encrypted lists of digital currency transactions. He moved to Spain with his family in 2014 but he also has a residence permit to live in Poland. Most recently, Lerner has been participating in a …

  • Naftogaz: Russia's Gazprom will pay Ukraine 3 times more 'than it can receive for the sale of its gas'

    Gazprom will pay Ukraine 2-3 times more "than it can receive for the sale of its gas," to transport it through Ukraine, according to a Facebook post made by the Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) of Naftogaz, Yuriy Vitrenko, UNIAN reports.

    Vitrenko reported that the price of gas for Ukraine will be calculated according to the German market. "For those who like to count who and how much will be paid, Gazprom pays us 2-3 times more for transit than it will be able to receive for selling its gas," he …

  • Ukraine started broadcasting 13 TV Channels to separatist-held Donetsk

    Over the past three years, 13 Ukrainian analog TV channels have started broadcasting in the Donetsk region, as stated in a report titled, "The state of the information space of the Donetsk region: challenges and prospects," RBC-Ukraine reports.The report was prepared by the Public Association ‘Analytical Center, Thought Factory of the Donbas’, in cooperation with the Ministry of Information Policy and the National Council on Television and Radio Broadcasting.Analog television has been restored …

  • Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau conducts investigation into Oschadbank over misappropriation of funds

    The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) is conducting a pre-trial investigation in regards to the possible embezzlement of property by the head of Oschadbank management board and his subordinates by writing off $ 20.98 million from Cyprus's Opal Core Ltd. The funds were declared as State property with the purpose of their further confiscation.   The criminal scheme was described in the statement of the Solomensky District Court of Kyiv from December 6, 2017, published on December 1 …

  • Biometric control system begins operation at Ukrainian airports

    The biometric control system has begun operation at Ukrainian airports, as reported by the press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine on its Facebook page.

    "The project involves the collection of personal biometric data and the storage of [this data] in the databases of the State Tax Service of Ukraine, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the Security Service of Ukraine, as well as the capture of the biometric data of foreigners and stateless persons during border control," …

  • Ukrainian President greets prisoners of war released from separatist captivity in Donbas

    President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko personally met Ukrainians who were released from the captivity of pro-Russian separatists in self-proclaimed Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics. A video of the head of state greeting the freed citizens was posted on Poroshenko’s Facebook page.

    Poroshenko met the former prisoners of war at the Boryspil airport where they were flown in by helicopters from the point of exchange. The President, clad in military fatigues and wearing an Armed Forces beret, …

  • SBU: 103 Ukrainians still remain in captivity in the Donbas

    103 Ukrainian soldiers and civilians are still held in captivity by the DPR (Donetsk People’s Republic) and LPR (Luhansk People’s Republic) separatists. Dozens of Ukrainian citizens are being illegally held in the territory of the Russian Federation, the press center of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) reported.

    According to the statement, 3,215 people in total have been released from captivity since 2014 and 402 persons are still considered missing.

    "We know each of them by name. And we …

  • Lavrov and Tillerson conduct telephone conversation to discuss Ukraine

    Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson discussed the situation in the Donbas during a recent telephone conversation. According to the press service of the Russian Foreign Ministry, the telephone conversation was initiated by the Americans.

    During the conversation, the representatives of the Russian Federation and the US touched upon the Minsk agreements.

    "The importance of further engagement of the bilateral channel of consultations was confirmed, in …

  • Ukraine praised Volker’s work with Surkov

    The framework of negotiations conducted between US State Department Representative Kurt Volker and Russian Presidential Aide Vladislav Surkov was one of the most effective this year, said Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine for the European Integration Olena Zerkal during a broadcast on Channel 5.

    "There is no other framework, so everyone supports the Minsk format ... This year the Volker-Surkov format worked more intensively," she said on Channel 5 on Tuesday.

    According to Zerkal, …