• Savchenko: We need to cede the Crimea to get the Donbas back

    Deputy of the Verhovna Rada (Ukrainian Parliament) Nadiya Savchenko stated in an interview with Channel 112 Ukraine that the occupied territories of the Donbas can be returned only after “ceding” the Crimea to Russia.

    She believes that this is the only non-military way of returning the Donbas to Ukraine.

    According to her, any other solution will require a military operation.

    She suggests that the Crimea be “given to Russia temporarily” since this is the only way to return the occupied …

  • The President of Moldova is open to annulling Association Agreement with the EU

    The President of Moldova, Igor Dodon, stated that Moldova hasn’t benefited from the 2014 signing of the EU Association Agreement and this agreement may be annulled in the near future, Interfax reported.

    “There is a real situation. We are pragmatists. We understand that there is the Association Agreement with the EU. By the way, I had repeatedly opposed the signing of this Agreement. I believe that Moldova gained nothing from it,” Dodon stated at a press conference after a meeting with Russian …

  • Portugal provides Ukraine with 200,000 euro for non-lethal weapons

    Portugal allocated 200,000 euro for Ukraine for the purchase of equipment and non-lethal weapons, as stated by the Minister of National Defense of Portugal, José Alberto Azeredo Lopes, during a meeting with Ukrainian Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak, according to the Defense Ministry’s website.

    "He expressed the readiness of Portugal to provide the Ukrainian Army with material and technical support by providing 200,000 euro to purchase equipment and non-lethal weapons,” the statement reads. …

  • Ukrainian Naftogaz signed an agreement with Covington and Burling lawfirm

    Ukrainian Naftogaz signed a contract for $6.31 million with Covington & Barling LLP (New York, USA). Covington & Barling LLP will represent the interests of the national oil and gas company (Naftogaz Ukraine) in arbitration against Russia under a claim for the compensation of losses over the annexation of the Crimea by Russia.

    As Interfax-Ukraine reported, the agreement was signed on January 11th. According to Naftogaz’s report in the ProZorro e-procurement system, the agreement will expire on …

  • Trilateral Contact Group in Minsk: Separatists are blocking the exchange of prisoners

    On January 16, this year's first meeting of the Trilateral Contact Group on the peaceful settlement of the situation in the Donbas was held in Minsk. Iryna Herashchenko, Member of the Ukrainian humanitarian subgroup said that representatives of separate areas of Donetsk and Luhansk (ORDLO) are blocking the release of the hostages. The separatists have apparently stepped up attempts to exclude her from the negotiating process.

    On her Facebook page Iryna Herashchenko wrote, "Despite the call of …