The Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Oleksandr Turchynov, stated at a meeting with the Director of the State Security Department of Lithuania, Darius Jauniškis, that the issue with Western partners supplying Ukraine with lethal weapons is still unresolved. The Ukrainian defense industry isn’t able to supply a sufficient number of weapons to effectively counter Russian military aggression.

"Currently, the Ukrainian defense industry is the only producer of …

On the 23rd of May 2016, Ukraine and the US will sign an inter-governmental agreement on mutual assistance between Customs Administrations, according to the Minister of Finance of Ukraine, Oleksandr Danylyuk.

“I have just initialed a draft agreement between the governments of Ukraine and the US on mutual assistance between Customs Administrations. Tomorrow, I will submit a draft order on approval of the agreement to the Cabinet of Ministers. The signing of the approved agreement is scheduled …

The Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Viktor Muzhenko, will discuss the issue of arms supplies to Ukraine with the newly-appointed NATO Supreme Allied Commander, General Curtis Scaparrotti. The meeting will be held at NATO headquarters on Thursday.

“We will certainly discuss the issue of weapons to Ukraine- in what amounts and what weapons may be provided to us in the near future,” Muzhenko said during an interview with UNIAN.

“We are talking about weapons, starting …

Elections in the occupied regions of Donetsk and Luhansk will not happen for at least a few more years, as stated by the Chairman of the Committee of Voters of Ukraine, Oleksiy Koshel.

According to him, some reasons for this are the ongoing conflict, an armed population and a lack of a voter registry. “Another issue is that there may be expatriates who might decide to come back. They also have the right to vote. These issues first need to be resolved. Also, more than a year is needed to …

The Defense Minister of Poland, Antoni Macierewicz, said that the country plans to increase the size of their army to 150,000 soldiers.

This, in addition to implementing changes in the leadership and command of the Polish forces, is the main objective of the Ministry, according to statements made by Macierewicz on the 17th of May.

He added that the first steps towards increasing the army include the removal of restrictions on promotions of junior officers, as well as the removal of 12-year …

Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Volodymyr Omelyan announced on his Facebook page that Ukraine has joined the Trans-Caspian international transport route and reached an agreement to reduce tariffs for transportation of containers along the so-called "New Silk Road.” Director for Freight Transport and Logistics at PJSC Ukrzaliznytsia Ivan Fedorko signed the relevant protocol in Tbilisi on May 17th.

"It was agreed to reduce the transportation rate from $5,559 to $3,980 per 40-foot container …

On Wednesday, Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter jets were scrambled to escort Russian military aircraft that approached Estonia, reports the Daily Telegraph’s website. British fighter jets left their base in Estonia and intercepted two Su-27 fighter jets flying with IL-20 electronic reconnaissance aircraft. Two more Su-27 fighters were detected and also intercepted.

The newspaper notes that Russian aircraft were flying in the international airspace along the northern and western borders of …

The Deputy Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatars, Ilmi Umerov, has said that on the 17th of May 2016, he was visited by police who warned him that any activities planned for the 18th of May will not be allowed. The Mejlis had previously organized events to take place on Memorial Day in remembrance of the 1944 deportation of the Crimean Tatars.

“I was referred to as the organizer of a public event. I then had to explain to members of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia that on the …