• Russian court refuses to seize turbines at Siemens’ request

    The Moscow Arbitration Court refused to seize the Siemens-produced turbines which were shipped to annexed Crimea in circumvention of sanctions, the Dozhd TV channel reported with reference to a court file.

    Furthermore, the court refused to prohibit the mounting of these turbines. Their seizure was specified as a security measure in the lawsuit.

    The consideration of Siemens’ case against the corporate structures of Rostec, who relocated the turbines to the peninsula, has been scheduled for …

  • Ukrainian MP: Ukroboprom sold Ukraine’s only repair plant for engineering and demining equipment

    Deputy of the Verkhovna Rada Tatyana Chornovol from the People's Front party stated that the Nizhinsky repair plant for engineering equipment suspended its work six months ago after it had been sold because of 11 million UAH ($432,000 USD) in debt.

    "Military engineers complained to me that not any other part of the Ukrainian army is experiencing the same difficulties as they were. Not a single unit in the technology line in Ukraine is being produced; everything at the front is legacy equipment …

  • South Ossetia transfers its schools to Russian language

    Beginning from the new academic year, Georgian schools in South Ossetia, the territory that declared independence from Georgia in 1991, are shifting to the Russian educational program and will teach courses using the Russian language. The Georgian language will be taught to schoolchildren only as a particular subject, BBC News reports.

    The affected Georgian schools, most of which are located in the Akhalgori district, were formerly controlled by Tbilisi before the 2008 war.

    The authorities of …

  • Ukraine’s state-owned Ukroboprom exported $345 million worth of weapons and equipment in first half of 2017

    The volume of export of special and dual-purpose arms and services by enterprise-members of the state-owned concern Ukroboronprom in the first half of 2017 was $345 million, the press service of Ukroboronprom stated on Friday.

    Comparative dynamics of arms exports for the same period of 2016 were not indicated in the data published on the website of the State Concern. At the same time, Ukroboronprom’s export orders portfolio as of July 1, 2017, according to the published data, is estimated at $2 …

  • Putin wants to reduce the number of audits and prosecutions of businessmen in Russia

    President Vladimir Putin signed a list of orders "on measures to reduce the administrative burden on business entities in the Russian Federation,” as indicated in a statement by the press service of the Kremlin.

    The orders are divided into two main parts. The first concerns planned and unscheduled inspections of businesses by the government controlling bodies and the second is regarding the detention of "suspects and those accused of committing crimes in the field of entrepreneurial activity." …

  • Poroshenko’s advisor: Ukraine and the US have common interests but that can change at any time

    Ukraine can count on political support from the United States under the new leadership, however there shouldn’t be any illusions, believes the director of the National Institute for Strategic Studies, presidential adviser Volodymyr Horbulin.

    He discussed this in an interview with Dzerkalo Tyzhnia newspaper, as reported by Interfax-Ukraine.

    "Can Kurt Volker ‘reset’ American policy towards Ukraine? He makes a strong impression. It is obvious that he has an absolutely clear and realistic …

  • Russia's Foreign Ministry speaker Zakharova accuses Israel of ‘historical betrayal’ over reconstruction of Sobibor museum

    The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, considers the position of the Jewish state "to be close to betrayal", because it didn’t object to Russia not being allowed to participate in the reconstruction project of a museum at the site of the former Sobibor extermination camp (Poland).

    While appearing on Russia 1, Zakharova "expressing her personal opinion" stated that she "categorically refuses to understand" Israel.

    "The position of this state regarding …

  • Candidate for German Chancellor: Crimea needs to be recognized as part of the Russian Federation

    Die Welt reports that Alexander Gauland, federal spokesman for the German ultra-right party Alternative für Deutschland (Alternative for Germany), has said that the Crimea will never return to Ukraine and therefore should be recognized as part of Russia.

    “The Crimea will never return to Ukraine. Sanctions do not do anything," said Gauland, who is a candidate for Chancellor of Germany from the Alternative für Deutschland party.

    In addition, he is confident that the European Union should …

  • Poroshenko invites newly elected president of India to visit Ukraine

    Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and newly elected President of India Ram Nath Covind discussed the prospect of intensifying the political dialogue between their two countries in a telephone conversation.

    "The leaders of the two countries noted their mutual willingness to significantly activate the political dialogue between Ukraine and the Republic of India at all levels," the press office of the Ukrainian Head of State reported after the conversation.

    The President’s press service paid …

  • Ukrainian politician: visit of the US Secretary of Defense to Ukraine could affect the situation in the Donbas and the Crimea

    President Petro Poroshenko and Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak’s meeting with the head of the Pentagon, James Mattis, could positively impact the future of sanctions against the Russian Federation, as well as the situation in the conflict zone in the Donbas and the Crimea, stated Deputy Minister for Temporary Occupied Territories and Internally Displaced Persons George Tuka in a commentary to 112 Ukraine.

    According to Tuka, Mattis's visit to Ukraine is of a political nature, but according to …