On May 29, at the Obolonskyi District Court in Kyiv, the preparatory session for the trial of fugitive former president Viktor Yanukovych lasted for 9 hours. Currently located in Russia, as of November 28, 2016, Yanukovych has been suspected of high treason, complicity in premeditated actions committed with the goal of changing the state border of Ukraine, and of complicity in the waging of aggressive war. The first court proceedings accusing former president Yanukovych of treason took place on …

French President Emmanuel Macron said that he is willing to tighten the sanctions against Russia if the situation in the Donbas escalates.

He made a statement to this effect at a joint press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Versailles.

“If needed, we will have to intensify the sanctions, but (only) if there is an escalation. But if there is a de-escalation, this won’t happen, and I want there to be a de-escalation,” Macron emphasized.

He also added that a discussion of the …

Five Russian diplomats have been declared persona non grata in Moldova, according to the Moldovan news outlet Publika, quoting Anna Samson, Press Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of Moldova. The Russian embassy told RIA Novosti that they were examining a message about the declaring of five Russian diplomats as persona non grata, thus confirming its receipt.

According to Interfax, the diplomats were ordered to leave the country within 24 hours. Russian …

US Secretary of Defense, James Mattis, in an interview with CBS said that NATO is not a threat to Russia, and stated that it remains a mystery why the Russians think differently.

"It's clear that NATO is not a threat," said Mattis, noting that Russia chooses strategic competition with the West. "But the point is that NATO is not a threat, and they know it. They do not doubt this," the head of the Pentagon added.

According to him, the new president of the United States, Donald Trump, intends …

In his interview with Ukraina (Ukraine) TV channel, Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko stated that even more massive special operations  will be carried out against former tax officials.  

"It was an important operation. We prepared for it for more than six months, from seven to eight months. It had been necessary to get evidence about where the crimes occurred, who was involved, what was stolen and how much the ill-gotten gains were worth. These are conclusions of the institutes, and then the …

The first batch of Mi-8ATMSH Terminator attack helicopters was delivered to the District Army Aviation Unit in Vladivostok, as reported by Russia’s TASS news agency citing the District’s Press Service. This was the first of the year’s scheduled deliveries.

“New helicopters were delivered to the District Army Aviation Unit in Zabaykalsky Krai. They were accepted by the Unit Technical Specialists at the manufacturing plant and pilots tested the helicopters during a flight to their permanent …

The head of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) of Ukraine, Oleksandr Turchynov, has called for the creation of an insurmountable fortress on the eastern border of the country, RBC Ukraine reports.

In congratulating Ukrainian border guards on their professional holiday, Turchynov said that it is important for Ukraine to equip the western border according to European standards - convenient and reliable, the NSDC press office reported. "And in the East to create an insurmountable …

Refat Chubarov, Member of Parliament and the Speaker of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, believes that the Crimea will return to Ukraine during the lifetime of the present generation.

"I always say very confidently here: it will happen much sooner than the Kremlin would like. It will be within our lifetime. We will return to the Crimea; it cannot be otherwise," he said in an interview with Apostrophe news website.However, he believes that it will happen as a result of diplomatic, rather …