• Geoffrey Pyatt: It will be difficult for the new US President to support Ukraine if there is political chaos

    Any new U.S. President who comes to power after the elections will support Ukraine if Ukraine demonstrates progress in reforms and stops the slide into political chaos, the U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, Geoffrey Pyatt, stated in a speech before the students of the Kyiv Mohyla Academy on Friday.

    "If Ukraine continues to move forward, I have no doubt about the position of the next U.S. President, whether he or she is to adhere to the commitments made by President Obama. On the other hand, if …

  • Georgia refuses to purchase more gas from Gazprom

    Georgia has no need to purchase additional gas from Russia's Gazprom, the Minister of Energy of Georgia, Kakha Kaladze, said on Friday, Georgia Online writes.

    "The talks with Gazprom have not yet been completed and the contract not yet executed. A few days ago we sent them our final offer, which was announced by Georgia. We should continue to receive 10 percent in raw form, i.e. natural gas. We do not need additional volumes. Georgia will be provided with gas within a few years," the Minister …

  • Savchenko's lawyer says his client is in critical condition

    According to Nadiya Savchenko's lawyer, Nikolai Polozov, his client is in critical condition and her dry hunger strike has led to severe health complications.

    “The condition of her already harried health is getting worse. This affects her old problem of kidney stones, which is aggravated by stress to the body in the form of hunger (especially dry). Her high temperature has not fallen for several days which, at a minimum, reflects a serious inflammation of her internal organs,” Polozov wrote on …

  • Lawyer representing detained Russian Special Forces member flees Ukraine

    Yuri Grabowski, the lawyer who had represented a member of the Special Forces of the Russian Main Intelligence Directorate, Alexander Alexandrov, has allegedly left Ukraine among security fears. Alexandrov is currently detained in Donbas. “I am sorry that I have let you down my friends, I do not know when I will come back. I will communicate with you wherever possible but I really want to go back to my homeland,” Grabowski posted on his Facebook page. The Egyptian resort, Sharm el-Sheikh, was …

  • Russia to close UN High Commissioner for Human Rights office in Moscow

    Russian authorities intend to close the Moscow Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). This was stated by the UN Commissioner Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, speaking at the Human Rights Council session in Geneva, the BBC reported.

    "I am concerned about the signals received from the government that indicate an intention to close our office in Moscow" Al Hussein said. According to him, it's necessary to intensify communication with the Russian authorities, including discussion of …

  • Savchenko's lawyer says letter sent to her client from Poroshenko is a fake

    Nadiya Savchenko’s lawyer, Mark Feygin, has reported that a letter sent to her from Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, is a fake. Feygin had previously published the letter.

    “This morning, the Consulate General of Ukraine, Vitaly Moskalenko, and I have been part of a special operation. The fake letter given to Nadiya, which was allegedly written by the President of Ukraine, was aimed at discouraging her from her dry hunger strike,” Feygin said.

    According to him, Moskalenko received a phone …

  • Dzhemilev: Turkish and Ukrainian cooperation may lead to the de-occupation of Crimea

    The national leader of Crimean Tatars, Mustafa Dzhemilev, said that Turkey has embarked on economic and military rapprochement with Ukraine. In his opinion, it may help the de-occupation of Crimea. Dzhemilev told Krym.Realli, commenting on the meeting of the President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, and the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

    "We are heading towards economic and military rapprochement with Ukraine. It is certainly in our favor and I think in favor for de-occupation of …

  • Amnesty International: Russia fails to protect those who defend human rights

    Amnesty International released a statement on Friday in which it criticized the Russian government for failing to protect those who promote human rights.

    According to Amnesty International, the violent attack on human rights defenders and journalists in the Russian territory of Ingeshetia “is further evidence of the authorities’ abject failure to protect those who work to safeguard human rights.”

    The statement comes after members of the Committee for the Prevention of Torture as well as …

  • NATO chooses US Army General Curtis M. Scaparrotti as next Supreme Allied Commander

    The North Atlantic Council, NATO’s principal decision-making body, approved the nomination of General Curtis M. Scaparrotti of the United States Army as the next Supreme Allied Commander in Europe (SACEUR), as stated in a NATO press release.

    “Upon completion of national confirmation processes, he will take up his appointment as successor to General Philip M. Breedlove, United States Air Force, at a change of command ceremony at the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe in Mons, Belgium, …

  • Kremlin responds to Poroshenko's offer to exchange prisoners for Savchenko

    The Press Spokesman for the President of Russia, Dmitry Peskov, has responded to Ukrainian President, Petro Poroshenko, with regard to the release of Nadiya Savchenko. RBC reported that Poroshenko has officially stated his readiness to exchange Savchenko for Russian prisoners.

    “We have noted President Poroshenko’s statements regarding Savchenko. I am not ready to say more. I can however state that we have recorded the statements of Savchenko’s lawyer, Mark Feygin. He has said that the …