A strong NATO presence is required in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, according to Estonian Prime Minister Taavi Rõivas.

“We need NATO to provide a permanent military presence in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. These forces may be subjected to a rotational schedule,” Rõivas said this in an interview with Die Welt newspaper, which was published on the 26th of May.

He stressed the need for the constant presence of these troops. “These troops should always be present to act as a deterrence,” Rõ …

The State Emergency Service of Ukraine (SESU) received equipment from NATO for pyrotechnical experts who carry out the de-mining of the Donbas region. The ceremony of transfer of equipment was held on Thursday in Kiev, Interfax-Ukraine reported.

NATO Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges Sorin Ducary, who attended the ceremony, noted that the equipment was transferred within the boundaries of the NATO program. Assistance to humanitarian mine clearance in Ukraine was …

The Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel, stated on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Japan that G7 countries want to preserve sanctions against Russia, Finanznachrichten.de reported. “As for me, it is too early to talk about lifting or easing of sanctions,” Merkel said. 

“We should do everything in our power to make progress in the political settlement in the coming weeks. There are no large-scale hostilities but there is no stable truce either,” the Chancellor of Germany stated, adding that …

Estonian Prime Minister Taavi Rõivas stated in an interview with Die Welt that the key to the implementation of the Minsk Agreements is in Putin’s hands. "The restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity is an integral part of the Minsk agreements. But obviously, this is not happening,” he noted.

Rõivas emphasized that "It is Putin who is holding the key for this [implementation of the Minsk Agreements]. In my view, Russia should take two steps back if they want to continue to sit at the …

The former General Secretary of the Sovet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, has been banned from entering Ukraine. This was stated by a source in the Security Service of Ukraine, as reported by 112 Ukraine.

According to the information received, the politician is banned from entering the country for five years. This was after Gorbachev, during an interview with The Sunday Times, said that Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol was the right decision.

After the interview was published, the …

The US does not support the possibility of holding a referendum to allow the state of South Ossetia to join the Russian Federation. This was said by the State Department spokesman, Mark Toner, and was reported on the department’s website.

“We support the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Georgia, which includes South Ossetia. This means that we do not accept any attempts by South Ossetia to break away or declare its sovereignty,” Toner said.

South Ossetia has changed the date for …

Moldova has deployed, without warning, Carabinieri units into the so-called security zone. According to RIA Novosti, this was reported by the Co-chairman of the Joint Control Commission (JCC), Oleg Belyakov, at a meeting of the Transnistria Security Council.

“On the 1st of May 2016, the Republic of Moldova unilaterally deployed Carabinieri law enforcement units to the security zone. The number of these units is currently being investigated,” Belyakov said.

According to him, these actions …

Members of the OSCE’s Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine came under fire near Avdiivka, according to a statement released by the mission’s head Alexander Hug.

“OSCE SMM patrol came under small arms fire in the area of Avdiivka/Yasynuvata. Nobody injured,” the Organization wrote on Twitter

Further details on the incident have not yet been released.

Avdiivka has seen heavy fighting over the last several months. Reports suggest that the distance between Ukrainian forces and members of the so- …