• Poland proposes making Ukraine the primary focus of the NATO-Russia Council meeting

    The Head of the National Security Bureau of Poland, Pavel Soloh, stated that the Ukrainian crisis should be the main subject of the forthcoming NATO-Russia meeting, Rosbalt reported.

    When Soloh visited Berlin, he noted that Russia violated international law by annexing the territory of another state, which led to an increase of tensions in relations between NATO and Moscow. According to the Head of the National Security Bureau of Poland, the decision on the council meeting was taken only after …

  • Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs concerned over Savchenko's health

    The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has expressed deep concern over the deterioration of Nadiya Savchenko’s health after 4 days on a dry hunger strike.

    "Ukraine strongly protests that Ukrainian doctors and consular officials are not allowed to visit the Ukrainian pilot, [and] that the Russian political leadership ignores numerous complaints of world leaders, [and] the Ukrainian MFA,  concerning this issue, [as well as the complaints of] human rights organizations and public leaders,” a …

  • Baku and Yerevan accuse the other of violating the ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh

    Armenia and Azerbaijan have accused each other of violating the ceasefire in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone, Radio Svoboda reported.

    The two camps stated that there were attacks on Friday but no casualties were reported.

    According to a statement issued by Azerbaijani authorities on Saturday, the Armenian-backed forces of Nagorno-Karabakh violated the ceasefire 120 times on Friday night. At the same time, Armenia accused the Azerbaijani armed forces of carrying out mortar attacks on their …

  • Fighting continues in Avdiivka

    Fighting and artillery exchanges continue near Avdiivka, and both sides accuse the other of using artillery banned by the Minsk agreements. The distance between the positions of the separatists and the Ukrainian positions has shrunk to a mere 300 meters.

    Both sides admit that the  intensity of the fighting increases when OSCE monitors are not present in the area.

    On Saturday a 71 year old woman was hit and killed by a mortar shell while working in her backyard in Avdiivka.

    There are …

  • Medvedev: If Russia stopped supplying arms to Azerbaijan and Armenia, they would get them elsewhere

    Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev explained the supplies of Russian weapons to Armenia and Azerbaijan, stating that if Moscow abandons these sales, the situation in the region will become more complicated. Medvedev said this during the weekly “Vesti on Saturday” program on April 9th.

    “If we imagine for a minute that Russia declined playing this role, we are accurately aware that this place would not be empty,” the Prime Minister stated, meaning that Armenia and Azerbaijan would continue …

  • Prime Minister of Ukraine announces his resignation

    The resignation will be submitted to the Parliament of Ukraine, Verkhovna Rada, on April 12th.

    Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk announced his decision during his weekly TV address.

    "I have decided to submit my resignation from the position of the Prime Minister of Ukraine. On Tuesday, April 12th, the resignation will be submitted to Verkhovna Rada." Yatsenyuk stated.

    The rumors about Yatsenyuk's resignation circulated as early as February. The Press Secretary of the Prime Minister …

  • Four tons of Turkish tomatoes destroyed in Crimea

    The Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance, Rosselkhoznadzor, reported that four tons of Turkish tomatoes were destroyed in the Crimea, according to the agency’s press service, RBC reported. The banned products were being smuggled into the Crimea using the Kerch Strait ferry.

    "An attempt to import four tons of tomatoes of Turkish origin to Crimea was prevented on the Kerch Strait ferry.  Products forbidden for import have been confiscated and buried in the …

  • OSCE mission came under fire in the Donetsk region

    On Saturday, April 9th, OSCE observers came under fire on territory controlled by the Ukrainian authorities in Zaitseve (Donetsk region), according to the Special Monitoring Mission’s report. No one was injured in the attack.

    The patrol, consisting of five OSCE monitors in two armored vehicles, as well as the Ukrainian representative of the Joint Center for Control and Coordination of the Ceasefire (STSKK), heard an explosion at 12:52 pm, most likely caused by an 82-mm mortar or gun, at a …

  • Belarus supports the territorial integrity of Ukraine without Crimea

    The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus, Vladimir Makei, emphasized the need to preserve the territorial integrity of Ukraine, not including the annexed Crimea, as reported by news agency RBC.

    Makei noted that Belarus’ support is based on the recognition of Crimea as part of Russia, who owns the peninsula. "In politics we must work within realities. As our President has repeatedly said: we must move forward based on who Crimea belongs to. Our economic cooperation in the past has not evolved …

  • Foreign Ministry of Belarus: Placing a Russian military base on Belarusian territory is meaningless

    Currently Belarus does not feel the need to place a Russian military base on its territory, as stated by the Head of the Belarusian Foreign Ministry, Vladimir Makei, Interfax reported.

    "As for the placement of the Russian military base on the territory of Belarus, nowadays it's meaningless to place additional bases on our territory. It won't improve security in the region. We have enough different military and air bases, which could be put to use at any moment, if the situation asks for it," …