• Ex-defense Minister of Poland: restoration of Ukraine’s sovereignty is a priority

    The former Polish Defense Minister stressed that Moscow does not have any special rights in Europe or anywhere else in the world. Macierewicz assured that Poland will never accept Russia’s attempts to redraw the borders of Ukraine.  “Ukraine is an important, independent state whose interests should be respected as well as the interests of any other country.  And the restoration of its territorial integrity remains a priority for Poland,” the former Polish Defense Minister, Antoni Macierewicz …

  • Kyiv intends to introduce obligatory declaration of assets for wealthy Ukrainians

    The Ukrainian Ministry of Finance has developed a draft law that proposes to identify high-income individuals, the final beneficiaries of large taxpayers, Interfax-Ukraine reports.

    The bill which defines the criteria for individuals with high income and it requires them to submit an annual declaration of property and income. It has been published public on the Ministry of Finance website.

    Among other criteria, the draft bill proposes to attribute to this group of taxpayers those who hold 10% …

  • Berlin fines German company for importing goods to Russia in violation of sanctions

    A German company that exported dual-use equipment to Russia, was fined 190,000 euros, as reported by the German edition, Stuttgarter Nachrichten.

    According to the publication, the equipment supplied to the Russians can be used, among other things, for military purposes.

    In order to export such equipment to Russia, the firm had to obtain a special permit as required as part of EU sanctions against Moscow, but supplied the equipment without it.

    "The request for permission is usually refused if …

  • Ukrainian contract with Europe on supply of engines for Vega rockets extended till 2020

    The Ukrainian National Industrial Portal announced on Monday, January 8 that the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau, the Yuzhmash plant and the Italian company Avio SPA signed an agreement to continue the Vega project.

    The contract for the delivery of sustainer engines for 4th-stage Vega RD-868P carrier rockets has been extended till 2020. Under the contract, Yuzhnoye Design Bureau and Yuzhmash enterprises will manufacture and supply twenty more RD-868P engines

    The original contract was signed in …

  • Russian media: Russia will deploy S-400 anti-air missile systems to Crimea 'for protection from Ukraine'

    The Russian Federation will deploy the S-400 system in annexed Crimea to “protect against air threats from Ukraine," RIA Novosti reported.

    Its sources said that the task of the second division of the S-400 system is to locate air-based targets from Ukraine that represent a threat to the Crimea and to destroy them if necessary.

    It was reported that the second division of the S-400 surface-to-air missile system stationed in Sevastopol will primarily control the airspace over Chonhar and …

  • US strategic drone conducts reconnaissance flight off Russian Black Sea coast

    An American RQ-4 Global Hawk reconnaissance drone flew close to the Russian border over the Black Sea. The drone’s flight route was published by the CivMilAir aircraft tracking application, Interfax reports.

    According to the application, the drone flew over the conflict area in the Donbas, looped over Crimea at a latitude of approximately 16 km, and then flew in the direction of Sochi.

    Another American RC-135W reconnaissance UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) flew close to Kaliningrad oblast in …

  • Court in Netherlands freezes Akhmetov’s assets

    A court in the Netherlands has issued a temporary order to freeze the Netherlands-based companies of the Systems Capital Management business group, which is owned by Rinat Akhmetov, Voice of America reports.The court’s ruling is related to the lengthy court proceedings relating to the Ukrtelecom case for $820 million.

    Earlier a court in Cyprus also issued a temporary ruling against Akhmetov, freezing his assets and the SCM companies, as part of a legal dispute with the Cyprus-based company …

  • Ukraine: talks on peacekeepers in Donbas failed

    The UN Security Council was ready to begin deployment of UN peacekeepers in Donbas, but Russia rejected virtually all important provisions, as stated by Volodymyr Yelchenko, the permanent representative of Ukraine in the United Nations, in an interview with Yevropeyskaya Pravda.

    “The Security Council was ready to begin work on the mandate of the peacekeeping operation, but Russia rejected virtually all important provisions and returned to its idea of a strange operation where UN peacekeepers …

  • Head of Memorial organization in Chechnya accused of possessing narcotics

    Oyub Titiev, head of the Memorial, a regional advocacy organization in Chechnya, has been charged according to article 228 of the Russian Criminal Code (illegal storing, acquisition and preparation of narcotics), Titiev’s lawyer told Novaya Gazeta.

    Yekaterina Sokiryanskaya, director of the Analysis and Conflict Prevention Center, claims that the narcotics were planted on Titiev.

    The press service of the regional Interior Ministry office in Chechnya told Interfax that “a polymer package with a …

  • Cyprus court bans Ukrainian oligarch Akhmetov from spending more than €20,000 per month

    Ukrainian oligarch Rinat Akhmetov has been prohibited from spending more than €20,000 per month. This restriction was imposed by a ruling of the Nikosia District Court (Cyprus) to freeze the businessman’s assets as part of the Ukrtelecom case, Tsenzor.net reports.

    The court ruling specifies that the defendants can “use and administer a monetary amount of 20,000 euros per month to cover their own court expenses”.

    The court’s ruling against Akhmetov and nine other persons was adopted on …