• Baltic States expect a larger NATO presence

    The Baltic States are expecting an expansion of NATO troops on their territory, as was stated by the head of the Latvian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Edgars Rinkēvičs.

    In July, at the NATO Summit in Warsaw, the Baltic States will need a “very strong statement” from the alliance that “will stay there until as long as we’ve got such a neighbor [Russia],” he said in an interview with the Washington Post.

    According to the Minister, he “is convinced that the NATO Military Contingent staying in the …

  • US Ambassador to Ukraine: Sanctions will not be lifted against Russia until Minsk Agreements are implemented

    The Unites States Ambassador to Ukraine, Geoffrey Pyatt stated on the air of ZIK TV that sanctions against Russia can be reviewed only when the Minsk Agreements are fully implemented.

    “The President of the United States, Barack Obama, discussed this position in a talk with the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin. He also noted the special requirement of granting full access to OSCE observers to the whole territory of Ukraine – up to the internationally recognized borders. Now, there is nothing …

  • Ukrainian Foreign Minister to attend UN Human Rights Council Session

    Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin will attend the 31st session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva from March 1st to 2nd, Interfax reported.

    "The March session of the Council, held in Geneva from February 29th to March 25th, traditionally opens with the high-level segment, which is attended by about a hundred officials, among them more than 60 foreign ministers and heads of influential international organizations,”  said a statement released by the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry. …

  • Poroshenko explains his visit to Crimea on the eve of the 'referendum'

    The President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, explains why he went to Crimea on the eve of the referendum on the 28th of February in 2014.  A video explaining the situation was posted on the President’s Facebook page.

    Poroshenko said that the beginning of an “adventure story” had become clear starting with the appearance of the "green men" and other mass movements in Crimea.  The President said that he engaged in negotiations with the deputies of the Verkhovna Rada of the Crimea and with the …

  • EU Ambassadors in Moscow call for investigation into killing of Boris Nemtsov

    The Ambassadors of 28 EU countries and Norway laid flowers at the site of Boris Nemtsov’s assassination on the Moskvoretski Bridge in the Russian capital, as reported by a Dozhd correspondent.

    Vygaudas Ushatskas, the head of the representative office of the European Union in Moscow, was also present. “The organizers and perpetrators of the crime must be found,” he said. Peter Eriksson, the Swedish Ambassador to Russia also demanded an unbiased investigation of the killing.

    Boris Nemtsov was …

  • Ukrainian Intelligence: Russian generals coordinate separatists' activity near Mariupol

    Pro-Russian separatists have strengthened their position near Mariupol with two generals of the Russian Armed Forces coordinating their activity, the Press Service of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry reported.

    "The most alarming situation is near Mariupol. At the direction of the Commander of the First Army Corps (Donetsk), the General Major of the Armed Forces of Russia, Valery Asapov (according to the document cover – Valery Primakov), the ninth special motorized regiment of marines ( …

  • US acknowledges that power outages in Ukraine last year were the work of hackers

    The US government has officially acknowledged that hackers were involved in the power outages in the west of Ukraine in December 2015, as reported by Golos Amerikii, with reference to a report issued by the Department of Homeland Security.

    The American experts drew conclusions based on the interviews with the representatives of six Ukrainian organizations which have suffered due to the loss of electricity.  However, the report said that the experts had no opportunity for independent review of …

  • Russian Ministry of Labor predicts drop in real wages

    According to the Russian Minister of Labor, Maxim Topilin, there will not be a dramatic drop in real wages in the country.  “Maybe there will be a slight decline, between 3% and 4%,” Topilin was quoted as saying by TASS.

    Also Topllin explained an increase of the unemployment rate of between 6% and 6.3% is not critical, and it is an acceptable percentage.

    Topilin has said that the Ministry of Labor is in the process of drawing up legislation to increase the maximum amount of the unemployment …

  • Russian spy met with Ukrainian troops in Avdiivka

    According to volunteers from the Come Back Alive organization, a Russian military officer, Rustam Muradov, visited Ukrainian positions in Avdiivka, posing as a representative of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic working with the OSCE.

    As vchaspik.ua reported, Muradov attempted to negotiate with Ukrainian officers. 

    Shortly before the meeting, a battle occurred in Avdiivka between the Armed Forces of Ukraine and hostile reconnaissance and sabotage groups.  The latter consisted mainly of …

  • Putin plans to get around sanctions with the help of western banks

    Russia is planning to evade the European and US sanctions that were placed against them two years ago.  Their plan is to allow the Kremlin to release and make available a 3-billion-dollar loan with a 10-year maturity term.  Russia plans to achieve this with the help of Chinese, European and US banks.

    This was reported by the Insomi news website with reference to German newspaper, Die Welt.

    “Putin draws his net around the giants of Wall Street,” the newspaper reported.  The newspaper also …