• Ukraine Increases Gas Imports from Europe By 24 Percent

    The spokesman of Ukrtransgaz Company, Maxim Belyavsky wrote on his Facebook page that Ukraine increased its daily volume of gas imports through Slovakia and Hungaryby 24% to 36%. This marks an increase of about 3 million cubic meters.

    “On the 16th of January, Ukraine imported 36.3 million cubic meters from Europe. Of that amount, 34.9 million cubic meters were imported through the Slovak gas corridor,” Belyavsky wrote.

    The spokesman of Ukrtransgaz Company noted that the previous day, 29.3 …

  • Turkish Hackers Attack Website of Russian Embassy in Israel

    The website of the Russian Embassy in Israel was hacked when a portrait of the first President of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, and the inscriptions in the Turkish language with a Turkish flag were put on the Embassy's home page. The normal operations of the website of the diplomatic mission eventually recovered.

    A group of Turkish hackers known as Bortecine Siber Timclaimed responsibility for the attack. The hackers made the announcement on their Facebook page while taking credit for hacking …

  • US Delivers $23 Million in Communications Hardware and Medical Equipment to Ukraine

    Military communications and medical equipment with total value of $23 million have been sent to Ukraine by the US, as reported by the American Embassy’s press service in Kiev. The shipment was delivered to Boryspil Airport last night.

    The total package included $21 million worth of secure radio equipment to aid Ukrainian soldiers in communicating effectively to ensure their safety. It also included $2 million in medical equipment for saving lives on the battlefield, according to the official …

  • Russia’s natural resource hegemony continues to decline

    With the lifting of sanctions against Iran and Tehran’s consequent participation in the global oil market, the price for Russia’s main export commodity—energy sources—continues to decline with no end in sight. With the fourth largest reserves in the world, Iran put its oil on the global market on Monday, contributing to oil prices dropping below $28 per barrel.

    What is more, the recent events in the Russian gas supply market exacerbate the situation, as traditional markets for Russian natural …

  • Protesters in Georgia Say No to Gazprom

    Another political scandal is growing in Georgia. The authorities cannot give any clear explanation why the country suddenly needed Russian gas when there are no problems with the supply of "blue fuel" from Azerbaijan. Moreover, the Minister of Energy still refuses to elaborate on the details of negotiations with the Gaprom for some reason.

    Former footballer and current chief power engineering specialist Kakha Kaladze at first had denied that there were any negotiations with Gazprom. Then he …

  • Klimkin asks EU Diplomats to Attend Savchenko Trial

    Pavel Klimkin, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, has asked Federica Mogherini, EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, to send European diplomats to court when the verdict in Nadia Savchenko’s case, a Ukrainia pilot, is made.

    “I asked Federica Mogherini to ensure the diplomats’ presence at a crucial phase of Nadia Savchenko’s trial,” Klimkin wrote on Twitter.

    “In light of the fact that the illegal criminal case against Nadia Savchenko is approaching its …

  • Ukrainian Entrepreneurs to Get Access to European Funding Program

    The Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers adopted a draft agreement on the participation of Ukraine in the European Union program "Competitiveness of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises” (COSME). The press service of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade indicated that Ukrainian small and medium businesses will have access to 2.3 billion euros.

    "It will create an ocean of new opportunities for Ukrainian entrepreneurs. Firstly, it's assistance with entering foreign markets because the …

  • OSCE Observers Fired on in Eastern Ukraine

    Ukrainian representatives at the Joint Centre for Control and Coordination (JCCC) reported that a sniper from the illegally armed groups opened fire on a car from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission on the 16th of January in Marinka (in the Donetsk region). The car was fired on within the territory under control of members of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic.

    “The representatives of the SMM weren’t injured. Their lives aren’t in danger but the car is damaged,” the report says.

    It was …

  • Russia to Cut Funds For International Space Station

    Russian media reports that the state authorities are planning to reduce the cost of maintenance of the International Space Station in the next decade.

    According to the newspaper Izvestia in the latest draft budget for the 2016-2025 years, the cost of servicing the ISS will be around 3.3 billion dollars (252.1 billion rubles), which is 10 percent less than was suggested in the draft budget drawn up in April last year.

    The Russian Space Agency is one of five departments that control the station …

  • OSCE Opens New Forward Patrol Base in Luhansk Region

    According to Glavnoye, the press service of the OSCE reported that on January 1st, a special monitoring mission of the OSCE in Ukraine opened an advanced patrol base in a village in Luhanskaya.

    This is the eighth patrol base in the Donbass region. The Luhanskaya base is intended to expand the presence of representatives of the monitoring mission in the region Luhansk so they could quickly and more efficiently respond to various incidents in eastern Ukraine.

    "Like other front line patrol bases, …