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Putin extends Russian passports to entire Donbas
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree allowing Ukrainians who have previously resided in the Luhansk or Donetsk regions to obtain Russian passports through a simplified procedure, Kommersant reports.
“This is related to the large number of applications for Russian citizenship from the inhabitants of these regions,” the news outlet notes.
According to Kommersant, as of 17 July, 10,000 residents of the regions of eastern Ukraine which are not under Kyiv’s control had obtained …
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Russia prepares to block Facebook and Instagram
Russia’s Public Prosecution Service has begun scouring social networks in search of materials that violate the law “On insulting state symbols and organs of state power” which was initiated by senator Andrey Klishas in December last year and came into force on 29 March.
Images offensive to the Russian government have been found on Facebook and Instagram, Interfax reports, citing Russia’s federal censorship agency, Roskomnadzor (RKN).
Facebook has already been added to the register of …
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Ukrainian ambassador to Italy: Markiv trial was Russian special operation
Ukrainian Ambassador to Italy Yevhen Perelygin said that the case against the Ukrainian National Guard commander Vitalii Markiv was a “Russian special operation, organized to discredit the Ukrainian opposition of Russian aggression,” Eurointegration reports, citing Formiche.net.
“I am convinced that the entire trial against, as well as the recent verdict of the Pavia jury, is proof of a large-scale Russian special operation, organized in Italy to discredit the Ukrainian opposition of Russian …
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Council of Europe: Russia must take responsibility for MH17 catastrophe
The Council of Europe has adopted a declaration which asks Russia to admit responsibility for the downing of the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 over eastern Ukraine in 2014, RBC reports.
“The EU calls on Russia to take responsibility and to fully cooperate with the ongoing investigation,” the declaration reads.
On 19 July, the international Joint Investigation Team (JIT) pressed charges against four suspects for complicity in the incident: the Russian citizens Major-General Sergey “Gloomy” …
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Russia considers using National Wealth Fund to finance defense industry
The funds in the Russian National Wealth Fund (NWF) should be used to give long-term and cheap loans to the defense industry, said Andrei Klepach, formerly the Russian deputy minister of economic development and currently an economist and vice chair of the board at Vnesheconombank (VEB).
“The government should provide the resource of long-term, cheap funds, which would enable us to solve the defense industry’s problems,” said Klepach. “In my understanding, the money in the National Wealth Fund …