The President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, has pardoned a Russian citizen in order to ensure the release of Ukrainian journalist, Maria Varfolomeyeva.  This was announced on Facebook by the Press Secretary of the Head of State, Svyatoslav Tsegolko.

“The militants continuously delayed or refused to make the exchange.  With the aim of facilitating the release of Varfolomeyeva, the President pardoned a Russian citizen who was transferred to the occupied territory today,” Tsegolko said.

Irina …

The head of the Higher School of Economics' Center for Development, Natalya Akindinova, explained that January economic data indicated that the Russian economy has started to worsen.

“This relates in particular to construction, cargo turnover and trade. The total fall in basic industries in January was 0.4-0.6% lower than December without taking into account seasonal fluctuations. The huge lack of growth has been accumulated in real incomes and consumer demand, and its downside potential has …

Gazprom and the Bank of China have signed an agreement granting the Russian gas monopoly a €2 billion loan for a period of five years as reported by the press service of the company.

It is the largest funding deal coming directly from one credit institution in the history of Gazprom. It was also noted by the company that it was the first bilateral loan agreement with the Chinese Bank.

In August 2015 Gazprom secured a loan from a consortium of Asian Banks for $1.5 billion at LIBOR + 3.5% for …

The Head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Pavlo Klimkin, said there will be a discussion on human rights in Ukraine on the 22nd of March.  He invited foreign delegations to join the conversation.

"I invite all interested delegations to participate in the interactive dialogue to discuss challenges in the field of human rights in my country which will be held on the 22nd of March, 2016," Pavlo Klimkin said during his speech at the 1st session of the UN Council on Human Rights in Geneva.

The …

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Pavlo Klimkin, handed a statement written by the mothers and relatives of Ukrainian prisoners to the Foreign Ministers of the Normandy Four.

“I have sent an letter written by the mothers and relatives of our prisoners. It is about their relatives, who should be released immediately,” he wrote in his Twitter account following the results of the Normandy Four meeting in Paris.

Earlier, Klimkin reported that no conclusions were agreed on by the participants of …

“Putin's plan to put the puppet government in Kiev has fallen. Crimea will have to return”, the leader of the Crimean Tatar People, Mustafa Dzhemilev, said during an open lecture at the Kyiv Institute of International Relations.   

Dzhemilev recalled that during the annexation of the peninsula, Putin asked for support from the Crimean Tatars, promising them a bright future.

"In conversation with Putin on the 12th of March, 2014, he told us how happy we will be living in the Russian Federation …

According to Rosstat, the average monthly salary of civil servants in federal government agencies in Russia had increased by 2% in 2015.  The average is now almost 111,300 rubles.

The salaries of civil servants within the legislature division rose by 35.2%, which equates to approximately 150,000 rubles.  This amount does not take into account any social payments.  The salaries of employees of the Federation Council increased by 42%, and the salaries of the State Duma employees increased by 30%. …

The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the Ukrainian Helsinki Union for Human Rights condemn the persecution of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People in Crimea.  This was stated in an official statement on the International Federation for Human Rights website on Wednesday, March 2, as reported by Krym.Realii.  The report also reviewed the actions of the Russian authorities in Crimea and the case scheduled for the 3rd of March in court, which aims to prohibit the Mejlis on the …