• Ukraine outraged by announcement that Russia would recognize separatist-issued passports

    Representatives of the Ukrainian authorities reacted severely to Vladimir Putin’s decree that Russia would recognize documents issued to citizens of Ukraine and stateless persons in “the separate territories of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions”. “For me this is yet another piece of evidence of both Russian occupation and Russia’s violation of international law” said Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Saturday the 18th of February in Munich.

    “This decree fundamentally contradicts the logic …

  • Mogherini reminds Russia of its responsibility to implement Minsk Agreements

    During a meeting in Munich with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Saturday, February 18, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini noted that it is the responsibility of Russia to implement the Minsk Agreements regarding the settlement of the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

    Describing the situation in the Donbas, the head of European diplomacy recalled that the European Union insists on the full implementation of the Minsk agreements. The EU has …

  • Putin signs decree recognizing Donbas separatists' passports and other documents

    Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree concerning the recognition of documents issued to citizens of Ukraine and stateless persons residing in the separatist-held Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine.

    The Kremlin’s site reports that the decree was signed “guided by universally recognised principles and standards of humanitarian law and in order to protect the rights and freedoms of individuals”.

    Such documents will be recognised “temporarily, during the political settlement …

  • UNICEF: One millon children require urgent humanitarian assistance in eastern Ukraine

    According to the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, UNICEF, the number of children requiring urgent humanitarian assistance in eastern Ukraine has double over the last year, reaching one million, TASS reported.

    UNICEF stated that the increase “is due to the continued fighting and the steady deterioration of life in eastern Ukraine, where some 1.7 million people have been internally displaced, and many families have lost their incomes, social benefits and access to …

  • Separatist republics want to start humanitarian assistance program for areas of the Donbas controlled by Kyiv

    Heads of the self-proclaimed DPR and LPR, Alexander Zakharchenko and Igor Plotnitskiy released through official channels, a statement on the start of a “humanitarian assistance program” in Donetsk and Luhansk regions which are under the control of Kyiv.

    In their statement the separatists accused the Ukrainian authorities of “the tyranny of civil-military dictatorial administrations,” ”atrocities of the National Guard battalions,” and the “deployment of the Ukrainian armed forces’ personnel and …