On December 30th, the Russian ruble reached its lowest level against the U.S. dollar in a year, falling to 73 rubles and 20 kopecks to the dollar.

The ruble lost 40 percent of its value last year. Its present value is 20 percent lower than a year ago. This is an indication of how the Russian economy has suffered from Western economic sanctions and falling oil prices.

Russia's economy was hit hard by the sanctions imposed by the United States, the European Union and other countries. The …

The Ukrainian Government confirmed its decision to impose a moratorium on the payment of debt to the Russian Federation worth $3 billion, that was loaned to the government of Viktor Yanukovych in 2013. In December of 2015, it was recognized as an official debt of Ukraine.

This was said by the Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk during a Cabinet meeting.

"We succeeded in stopping the military aggression of Russia, and now we are stopping the economic, financial and diplomatic …

The Honorary Consul of Ukraine in Jerusalem, the founder and owner of the City Capital Group, Ofer Kerzner, together with other representatives of the business circles of Israel met recently with the President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko.  During the meeting they discussed the creation of the most favorable conditions for investments in the country’s economy.  Mr. Kerzner, who is an investment pioneer and has over 20 years of experience in Ukraine, shared details of his work. He told them how …

The State Duma of the Russian Federation passed a bill expanding the Federal Security Service’s (FSB) the power to use weapons. The MPs approved the bill via an emergency order, which was then signed into law by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The new law authorizes officers of the FSB in some cases to use weapons "against women, persons with obvious signs of disability" and minors.  The law was posted on the internet via the Russian Federation's official legal portal on Wednesday, December 3 …

The Head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), Alexander Zakharchenko, has opposed the creation of the European Union’s Special Mission for the observance of peace conditions in the Donbas.

"If the Press Service of Mr. Poroshenko is telling the truth and he indeed offered to organize the Special Mission of the European Union to keep peace, order and security in the Donbass region, then this is completely unacceptable," Zakharchenko said. The DPR Head claims that such actions …

During a visit to the Aerotekhnika-MLT Company to examine the production and modernization of air defense systems, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Oleksandr Turchynov, spoke about ceasefire violations and the Minsk Agreements.

The news agency Ukrinform reported Turchynov as saying "Russia has completely disrupted the implementation of the Minsk Agreements. Of course, the Minsk process is not halted. It will continue next year and, hopefully, more effectively …

From August 6th to December 28th, the Russian government destroyed 1,762 tons of goods as part of the government's counter-sanctions in response to those imposed by the European Union and the US. The Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor) reported to the news agency Interfax that 1,647 tons were for crop production and 115 tons were for livestock breeding.

Since August 6th there may have been as much as 2,500 tons of smuggled goods destroyed including …

The press service of the Prosecutor’s Office reported that the Prosecutor General’s Office is investigating 30 criminal cases of abduction in occupied Crimea. The Prosecutor’s Office stated that the People’s Deputy of Ukraine, Mustafa Dzhemilev, has processed evidence relating to the abduction of 30 Crimean Tatars in Crimea.

“Currently, measures are being taken to locate the almost 30 missing citizens of Ukraine and bring the perpetrators to justice. The pre-trial investigation of these cases …