The head of Gazprom, Alexey Miller, stated at a press conference in Moscow on June 30th that the Russian gas company has supplied the occupied Donbas with $718 million in gas under the contract price initially granted to Naftogaz of Ukraine, Ukrainian news portal UNIAN reports.

“As for the gas supplies to the Southeast of Ukraine, we have only one contract signed with Ukraine in 2009. The contract defines the entry point for the gas supply to Ukraine, including the entry points in the …

According to Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade, Natalia Mykolskaya, in response to the extension of food restrictions by Russia, Ukraine will extend its own food embargo until the end of 2017.

“The proposal of the Ministry is to extend our embargo [against Russia], measures that we take in retaliation, to the same term. We are ready to contact the Cabinet of Ministers with this proposal and consider this decision,” Mykolskaya said in her interview with journalists in …

The President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Pedro Agramunt, has urged members to maintain communication with the Russian parliament. He said this after a two-day visit to Moscow.

“Russia is a member state of the Council of Europe. Russia is important because without its active participation, we will be unable to effectively fight against terrorism. We will not be able to find a solution to the crisis in Syria. We will not be able to solve the crisis in Ukraine,” …

The Armenian Parliament has ratified the government’s decision to combine its air defense system with that of Russia. The governmental proposal was adopted by the Armenian Parliament on the 30th of June despite protests from the opposition. 102 People’s Deputies voted in favor of this proposal while 8 voted against it.

Armenia, Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are all members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). Moscow strengthened its military …

Canada will take the lead role in the battalions’ creation, in order to support a program of deterrence and defense in Central and Eastern Europe, according to the government of Canada’s website.

“As one of the four leading nations, Canada intends to create and lead the rotary multinational battle group of NATO, which will contribute to increasing the presence of NATO in Eastern and Central Europe, along with the United States, Britain and Germany,” stated the message.

More information about …

United States Secretary of State John Kerry will visit Kiev on the 7th of July before the start of the NATO Summit, Interfax-Ukraine reported, citing sources in diplomatic circles. The Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States, Valeriy Chaly, also confirmed Kerry’s visit. However, Chaly didn’t provide the exact date of the visit.

“I think that Kerry will discuss the coordination of actions before NATO Summit in Warsaw. Ukraine and the USA hold common positions that will allow us to agree on …

On Thursday, President Petro Poroshenko awarded the fighter and opera singer Vasyl Slipak the "For Courage" honor posthumously.

“For the personal courage shown in the protection of the state sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and his dedicated service to the Ukrainian people I decree the awarding of the "For Courage" honor to Vasyl Yaroslavovych Slipak for his participation in the anti-terrorist operations (posthumously),” the decree reads.

Vasyl Slipak was born in the Lviv …

If Russia's position does not change, the number of NATO forces near the eastern flank of the Alliance may increase as was stated by the head of the National Security Bureau of Poland, Paul Solokh, Radio Poland reports.

"We expect that at the summit in Warsaw, the decision to increase the presence of NATO forces will not be final. These forces can be increased if the Russian position does not change," Paul Solokh said.

At the same time, he stressed that the process of preparation for the NATO …