The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Pavlo Klimkin stated that he considers the holding of elections by Russia in the occupied Crimea to be illegitimate as well as unsafe.

“I think that elections in Russia are illegitimate because they take place in the territory of the occupied Crimea. Moreover, they aren’t legitimate either politically or legally,” Klimkin stated in his interview on Ekho Moskvy radio.

In response to a question on security at polling sites in Ukraine during the State …

The Prosecutor General of Ukraine, Yuriy Lutsenko, published the statistics of the pre-trial investigation on Russia’s instigation and continuation of aggressive actions. He posted the data on Facebook on Tuesday, August, 30 2016.According to Lutsenko, the investigation covered the entire period of Russian aggression starting from February 2014 (the occupation of the Crimea, and the anti-terrorist operation in the east of the country).The volume of materials from the criminal proceedings is …

The strategy for the de-occupation of Ukrainian territories, which are not controlled by Kyiv, will be discussed on the 31st of August at a government meeting. This discussion will pay special attention to certain regions in Donetsk and Luhansk, as well as to the Crimea. According to Ukrainski Novyny, this statement was made by the Deputy Minister of Ukraine on the issues of the temporarily occupied territories and internally displaced persons, Georgiy Tuka.

“If everything goes according to …

Separatist troops from the self-proclaimed Republics of the Donbas are experiencing fuel shortages, reads a statement on Facebook made by the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry.

The statement notes that regular supplies of weapons, military equipment and munitions for militias continue. There were 17 Ural trucks with munitions moved to Makiivka. Three armored personnel carriers were transferred after being repaired, as well as four KamAZ trucks and two UAZs. …

Russia represents a growing risk for Finland according to a recent report of the Institute of International Relations of Finland.

Finnish state broadcasting company YLE reports that according to the document, Russia uses more aggressive methods to achieve its foreign policy goals. In addition to this factor, the development of the domestic situation in Russia also poses a risk to Finland. The experts presented a list of possible threats to Finland as well as recommendations for risk prevention. …

President of France François Hollande believes that there is a high likelihood that the situation in eastern Ukraine will deteriorate further.

François Hollande spoke about the risk of the situation in eastern Ukraine becoming worse. “This summer the situation has become much worse. Risks of escalation are high,” the president of France stated on Tuesday, August 30 during an annual gathering of French ambassadors, Reuters reports.

Hollande said that, together with Chancellor of Germany Angela …

German Chancellor Angela Merkel acknowledged that both Moscow and Berlin would be interested in lifting anti-Russian sanctions. However, according to her, it is currently impossible because “there has not been one day when the ceasefire has been implemented in the east of Ukraine.”

“I’m interested in lifting the sanctions, and once we reach progress in the Minsk negotiations, the sanctions will be weakened,” Merkel noted.

She also noted that she was “shocked when the first Russian tank …

The representative of the Presidential Administration of Ukraine on ATO issues, Colonel Andriy Lysenko stated on Radio Svoboda that Russia has gathered approximately 100,000 servicemen in the territories of the occupied Crimea, Donbas and on the eastern border with Ukraine.

“Approximately 40,000 servicemen are stationed along the northern border in the Donbas; another fifty to sixty thousand are stationed in the east of the country. This group is constantly changing and expanding. Three …