• Ukraine’s state-owned Ukroboronprom increased military exports by 25%

    Ukroboronprom State Concern was able to increase Ukrainian arms exports by 25% in 2016, said the Deputy General Director for Development of Ukroboronprom State Concern in Kherson Regional State Administration, Artur Cheruvimov at the press conference on the evening of July 17, Ukrinform reports.

    “We [Ukroboronprom SC] have increased our exports by 25%, from $570 million to $770 million over the past year,” Cheruvimov said. According to him, this result was achieved “due to systematic …

  • Ukrainian President: Sea Breeze military exercise is a response to the organizers and sponsors of hybrid wars

    President Petro Poroshenko stated that the Ukrainian-American military drills Sea Breeze 2017 is a response to ideologists, organizers, and sponsors of hybrid wars as he announced during his working visit to Odessa, where he became acquainted with the training in action, his press service reported.

    The head of state stressed that from year to year these exercises, which are conducted under circumstances as close to combat as possible; enhance mutual compatibility, training, and coherence of …

  • Kremlin: Israel must learn to live with US and Russia’s truce agreement in Syria

    The agreement to ensure a truce in southern Syria will not be abolished solely on account of Israel’s fears, it would be more reasonable not to take up arms against this agreement, but rather to find a way “to live with it”, stated Konstantin Kosachev, Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs.

    As the Israeli news outlet Haaretz reported on Monday with reference to a senior source in the Israeli government, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said that the …

  • EU council approved new trade preferences for Ukraine

    Ukraine gets a boost in its trade opportunities with the European Union as the Council of the EU approves new trade preferences, the organization’s website states. The Council’s decision finalizes the process for Ukraine, which occupies only 0.8% of the EU’s trade market while the EU is Ukraine’s largest trading partner.

    The European Union has provided Ukraine with additional quotas for honey, cereals, processed tomatoes and grape juice. Some industrial goods will also enjoy more liberalized …

  • Polish President signs law on demolition of communist monuments

    Polish President Andrzej Duda has signed amendments to a law banning communist propaganda, according to a statement on the official government website. The amendments include the dismantling of monuments and the renaming of objects related to the communist past.

    According to Polish law, the document will come into force three months after the date of signing.

    The Polish Sejm adopted amendments to the law banning the propaganda of communism in late June. According to these amendments, local …

  • Ukrainian court issued arrest warrant for a Russian citizen accused of having ties with ISIS

    A Russian citizen who had been wanted internationally on suspicion of involvement in the activities of the Islamic State terrorist organization was arrested in Ukraine for two months by the judgment of Kharkiv court. The information was formally released by Vita Dubovik, the Press Secretary of the Prosecutor of the Kharkiv Oblast.

    “A 26-year-old Russian citizen who had been wanted internationally on suspicion of involvement in the IS was arrested for two months without bail,” Ukrinform agency …

  • Klimkin: Ukraine will do everything it can to bring to justice those responsible for the MH17 disaster

    The world and families of those killed in the crash of the Boeing-777 MH17 flight, should know who is responsible for the murder of their loved ones, as stated by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Pavlo Klimkin.

    "Could economic and political sanctions compensate for the grief of all those who have lost their loved ones? No, I'm afraid it's impossible. But the Ukrainian government took upon itself an obligation - and we are determined to do everything possible to publicize the truth …

  • Lavrov called the situation with Russian diplomatic property in the US ‘robbery in broad daylight’

    Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called the situation surrounding the seized residences of the Russian Foreign Ministry in the United States a "daylight robbery," TASS reports.

    The head of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the American officials, who said that Russian diplomatic property would be returned only in exchange for certain actions, highway robbers. "Regarding the essence of what you have quoted, if it is true, then this is a daylight robbery," Lavrov said.

    " …

  • Russian Defense Ministry: About 10 ships to take part in Russian-Chinese naval exercise in Baltic

    About 10 Russian and Chinese vessels will take part in the first phase of the Joint Sea 2017 exercise, which will be held in the Baltic Sea between the 21st and the 28th of July, the press service of the Russian Defense Ministry reported.

    “Between the 21st and the 28th of July, in Baltic Sea waters, the first stage of the bilateral Russian-Chinese Joint Sea 2017 naval exercise will be held. It will involve nearly ten ships and vessels of various classes, more than ten planes and helicopters …

  • Russian Jehovah's Witnesses to appeal to European Court of Human Rights over ban on their activities in Russia

    Russian Jehovah's Witnesses intend to apply to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) to appeal the dissolution of their organization in Russia,  as announced on Monday, July 17, by attorney Viktor Zhenkov, who is representing the Jehovah's Witnesses in court.

    "The final point on this issue has still not been made, insofar as the Supreme Court has violated not only the norms of Russian legislation, but also international legislation; therefore, we will appeal this decision to the European …