• Russian human rights groups support the continuation of prisoner exchanges with Ukraine

    Leading Russian human rights advocates welcome the transfer of Nadiya Savchenko to Ukraine and Evgeny Erofeev and Alexander Alexandrov to the Russian Federation. They hope to continue the exchange of prisoners.

    “I’m very happy for Nadiya Savchenko and our guys. Nadiya Savchenko is going to have a triumphal life. She is a hero. I’m very pleased that common sense has prevailed here. The trial was a failure, as was her conviction to long years behind bars,” said Lyudmila Alexeyeva in her …

  • Inhabitants of Russian villages asked Obama to help them with gas supplies

    Valery Slesarev, an activist and resident of the town of Yegoryevsk, has visited the US Embassy in Moscow to ask US President Barack Obama to provide gas to several Russian villages.

    According to MK, Slesarev has been asking local authorities for nearly 10 years to provide several large villages in the area with gas. The majority of the residents are weak pensioners and war veterans who are forced to chop fallen trees for firewood.

    “What is happening in the city of Yegoryevsk is an outrage! …

  • Russian citizen sentenced in US for economic espionage

    On the 25th of May, the deputy representative of the Bank for Development and Foreign Economic Affairs, Evgeny Buryakov, received a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence for economic espionage while in the US. He was also fined $10,000 for the crime.

    According to AP news agency, the Russian received sensitive information concerning possible US sanctions against Russian banks between 2012 and 2015. Buryakov also received information on the development of alternative energy programs.

    Buryakov had …

  • Russian Eurobonds find little enthusiasm in western debt markets

    The Minister of Finance of the Russian Federation, Anton Siluanov, announced the successful placement of Russian Eurobonds in the amount of $1.75 million. According to him, 70 percent of the investment came from abroad although market analysts doubt that is the case.

    Moscow has returned to the Eurobond market for the first time after the introduction of the Western sanctions due to Russia's policy towards Ukraine. On Tuesday, May 25th, Russia proposed a ten-year bond for $1.75 million with a …

  • OSCE Mission opens forward patrol base in Shchastia, Ukraine

    The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine has opened a new Forward Patrol Base in the government-controlled town of Shchastia in the Luhansk region. According to the OSCE press service, the base was opened on the 25th of May and will improve the Mission’s ability to monitor the security situations in all areas.

    “The new Forward Patrol Base is located less than 500 meters from the contact line. Our observers can now be closer to the areas where the most violations take place. They will …

  • European Parliament sees no reason to lift sanctions on Russia following release of Savchenko

    The Member of the European Parliament for Alliance 90/The Greens, Rebecca Harms, stated in her interview with Deutsche Welle that the European Parliament sees no reason for lifting sanctions against the Russian Federation following the release of Ukrainian pilot, Nadiya Savchenko. According to Harms, the exchange of prisoners and hostages is only a part of Minsk Agreements and isn’t the most essential part.

    Harms noted that the restoration of Ukraine’s control over certain areas of Ukrainian- …

  • Court acknowledges lawsuit filed by relatives of MH17 victims against Russia

    The Secretariat of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) officially received a claim from the relatives of the deceased passengers of MH17 flight from Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand which was filed against Russia. UKRINFORM quoted this information from the Press Attaché of the ECHR, Nina Salomon.

    "We can confirm that a statement against Russia on the crash of MH17 flight was received by the Secretariat of the Court on May 9, 2016. There are 33 applicants who are relatives of the …

  • John Kerry welcomed the release of Nadiya Savchenko

    The United States Secretary of State, John Kerry, welcomed the release of the former Army pilot in the Ukrainian Ground Forces, Nadiya Savchenko, and her return from Russia to her homeland. In his statement, he called Savchenko’s release an important element of Russia’s implementation of the Minsk Agreements.

    Secretary Kerry called on Moscow to meet its other obligations to these agreements, namely the release of prisoners and hostages, withdrawal of troops and restoration of Ukraine’s control …

  • New evidence emerges in Nemtsov murder investigation

    Evidence in Boris Nemtsov’s murder indicate that those accused of the crime made phone contact three times before the murder, and destroyed their phones after it was committed.

    A source close to the case told Rosbalt that after studying mobile phone calls made in the area surrounding Nemtsov’s house, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation (Sledcom) were able to identify the phone numbers used by the accused. Up until the 14th of February 2015, the suspects were using two SIM …

  • 137 print media entities are subject to de-communization in Ukraine

    The State Committee for Television and Radio-broadcasting of Ukraine (SCTRU) has demanded that 137 print media entities be renamed within de-communization process, the press service of SCTRU reported. These include 25 companies in Crimea and on the territory of the so-called DPR and LPR that are subject to de-communization.

    56 newspapers and magazines had not responded to the requests of the agencies of the Ministry of Justice on implementation of legal requirements. Four took measures for re- …