Author: Dmytro Snegiryov, Head of Prava Sprava public initiative.

The main objective of the economic blockade is to deprive separatist leaders and the separatist administration of funding.  Their main source of revenue is the sale of coal to Ukraine. According to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), 47% of revenue from coal sales was spent on financing armed groups in the separatist republics. In the last year the volume of coal mined in the separatist-held territories increased by 49%, …

According to the Head of the European Union Delegation to Ukraine, Hugues Mingarelli, local elections in the separatist-held areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions are possible if they include the participation of Ukrainian parties and Ukrainian mass media, which should cover the elections.

In his interview with UNIAN news agency, while answering a question concerning the statements of German Ambassador to Ukraine Ernst Reichel that elections in the Donbas are possible even in the presence …

As reported by Ukrainian TSN news channel, ships from the Crimea are not allowed into Turkish ports. TSN reports that the logistics company confirmed that ferries that arrived from Sevastopol are not allowed to enter the port of Zonguldak. This is not the first time that Crimean vessels were not allowed to moor while boats from Russian regions do not face such problems. The information was later confirmed by the Crimean Maritime Agency.

The director of the Crimean Maritime Agency, Stanislav …