• Poroshenko considering Jaresko or Sadovyi for next Prime Minister

    A spokesman for President Petro Poroshenko announced that he is considering current Minister of Finance Natalie Jaresko or mayor of Lviv, Andriy Sadovyi, for the position of Prime Minister.

    On Monday, March 14, the President held meetings with leaders of factions and with Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi, the leader of the Self-Reliance (Samopomich) political party, aiming to fast-track the solution to the political crisis. Svyatoslav Tseholko, spokesman for the President, posted the details on his …

  • PACE calls for Savchenko's immediate release

    The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has called on Russia to immediately release former Ukrainian pilot, Nadiya Savchenko.

    “The continued detention of Savchenko is only worsening Russia’s international image and its relations with European countries. Savchenko’s release would be a strong move towards complying with the Minsk Agreements. It would also be a step towards resolving the current conflict in eastern Ukraine. Russia should not waste this opportunity,” a statement …

  • Bourbaki: Yatsenyuk is prepared to step down as Prime Minister if parliament votes him out

    The Ukrainian Prime Minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, has said that he is ready to resign if parliament can garner the 226 votes needed for a successful vote of no confidence.

    This was announced on the 14th of March after negotiations were held. These discussions were attended by President Petro Poroshenko; Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, Vladimir Groysman; Yatsenyuk and leaders of the Verkhovna Rada factions.

    “Yatsenyuk has said that if parliament can secure 226 votes in favor of a new government, …

  • Kadyrov's spokesman files request to open criminal case against Russian opposition leader Ilya Yashin

    Alvi Karimov, spokesman for Chechen head Ramzan Kadyrov, has filed a request to open a criminal case against Russian opposition leader Ilya Yashin, who recently published a report criticizing the leader of Chechnya.

    The request was filed with the Russian Investigative Committee and Prosecutor General, Interfax reported.

    Karimov said that the report written by PARNAS’ Deputy Chairman Ilya Yashin was done in a “provocative and aggressive manner” directed against Kadyrov and the people of …

  • Pyatt: Crimea has become a disaster area in regard to human rights

    The US Ambassador to Ukraine, Geoffrey Pyatt, stated that the annexation of Crimea and the retaliation against the Crimean Tatars has not fallen off the American diplomatic radar. “We aren’t going to forget about the situation with the Crimean Tatars. Crimea has become a human rights disaster area,” the Ambassador said in his interview with the ZIK Ukrainian TV Channel.

    Pyatt added that this issue is present in their constant dialogue with Russia. The US Ambassador to Ukraine reiterated that …

  • Leader of Ukrainian Self-Reliance party comments on being a candidate for Prime Minister

    The leader of the Self-Reliance party (Samopomich), Andriy Sadovyi, commented on the possibility of his appointment as the Prime Minister of Ukraine should all pro-European factions unite with him as the leader. In a conversation with Dozhd, he stated that it was wrong and irresponsible to participate in a process over which he has no control. Sadovyi said that it is indecent to talk about new candidatures, while there is an active Prime Minister of Ukraine.

    “It took longer than expected and …

  • Ukrainian Embassy in Austria to respond to right-wing references to 'Russian Crimea'

    Ukrainian Ambassador Alexander Scherba wrote on Facebook that the Ukrainian Embassy in Austria will take official steps regarding the statements of Austrian right-wing politician Norbert Hofer “regarding the fallacy of recognizing Crimea as Russian territory.”The Ambassador noted that by failing to recognize Russia’s annexation of Crimea, the leader of the Freedom party of Austria “decided to try on the Kosovorotka (traditional Russian shirt) of the Russian nationalists.” Scherba summed up his …

  • French newspaper raises questions over Lesin's death

    Recently deceased Mikhail Lesin, former mass media adviser to the Russian President and former head of Gazprom-Media, could also have been the “main formal liaison” between Russian authorities and the United States. French newspaper Le Figaro quoted a source close to US intelligence in their report that offers to carefully study Lesin’s apparent assassination.

    Lesin was one of the richest men in Russia. Le Figaro’s source said that he could have filled the role of “informal liaison” under …

  • Additional police forces deployed to Avdiivka, Ukraine

    A Spokesman for the Interior Ministry in the Donetsk region, Vyacheslav Ambroskin, wrote on his Facebook page that a detachment of police officers from the regional Chief Directorate was deployed to Avdiivka in order to prevent infiltration by subversive and reconnaissance groups.

    "In agreement with ATO leadership [Ukrainian Armed Forces], I have made a decision on the deployment of a combined detachment of police officers from the regional Chief Directorate... This is primarily due to the …

  • Head of OSCE Mission in Ukraine to visit Donbas region

    The Principal Deputy Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine, Alexander Hug, is scheduled to visit the Donbas region from March 16th to 20th to assess the security situation, Interfax reports.

    "From the 16th to the 20th of March, Principal Deputy Chief Monitor of the Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) of the OSCE in Ukraine, Alexander Hug, will visit eastern Ukraine to assess the security situation as well as to call upon all parties concerned to contribute to peace and …