Semen Semenchenko, Deputy of the Verkhovna Rada and member of the Samopomich (Self-Reliance) Party, has called for an alternative to the Minsk Agreements as a resolution to the war in eastern Ukraine. Semenchenko, who is also the founder of the volunteer territorial defense battalion “Donbas”, insists that the Minsk Agreements are in any case invalid because, according to legislative changes in Ukraine, the Verkhovna Rada must approve all international treaties, which it has not done for the …

Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit the EU for the first time in six months when he travels to Greece on May 27th, according to the website of the Presidential Administration. Putin plans to meet with both the Greek President and Prime Minister during his two-day visit.

"I will meet with President Prokopis Pavlopoulos and Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras ... at the highest level will discuss key issues of bilateral trade, [and] economic and investment cooperation, including the …

Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman has confirmed that the country will be hosting the Eurovision Song Contest in 2017. He reported this to 1+1 TV channel.

“There is no way that Ukraine will give up hosting Eurovision. I think that it is a big honor for us and we must make every effort to host the contest at a highly professional level,” he said.

The Ministry of Culture had previously estimated the cost of hosting the contest will be approximately €14.4 million.

The National …

A decision on increasing funding will be made at the summit in Warsaw

The acting head of the Mission of Ukraine to NATO, Yehor Bozhok, in his interview with Kyivpost stated that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) can increase the funding for reforms for the Ukrainian Army if Ukraine is able to clearly identify its needs. The decision on the increase in funding can be made at the summit in Warsaw.

Bozhok recalled that four trust funds were created by NATO last year and all 28 NATO …

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine wished Happy Birthday to Mustafa Degermendzhi, one of the defendants in the “case of February 26th.” He is currently held in custody in the Simferopol Remand (SIZO).

"In a Crimean prison, Mustafa Degermendzhi celebrates his birthday. We wish durability. The truth will prevail," the Press Secretary of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Marian Betz, tweeted.

Mustafa Degermendzhi was detained on the 7th of May, 2015. On April 29th, 2016, the Kiev District …

The United States is likely making slow headway in the negotiation process with Russia on the crisis in Ukraine but this week demonstrated significant progress. Voice of America reports that this statement was released by the American analytical center Stratfor in a new analysis named "Anticipation of progress in negotiations on Ukraine."

On May 18th, Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland once again visited Moscow where she met with Russian Presidential Assistant Vladislav Surkov. This …

Russian Minister of Transport Maxim Sokolov believes that Ukraine has to pay the change of international transport codes after renaming of the city of Dnepropetrovsk, TASS writes.

"Changing the name is quite costly and those who decided to rename it bear responsibility. I don’t know whether they have changed the international codes,” Sokolov said. According to him, Russia is ready to make changes to their cartographic sources and databases "if all the costs of the international codes are …

The European Union intends to extend sanctions against Russia for another six months, Bloomberg reported, with reference to EU officials.

According to six European officials, the EU intend to extend sanctions "because of the unsuccessful efforts to completely cease hostilities in the East of Ukraine."

Earlier, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini suggested that European sanctions against Russia be extended in July. She explained …