The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has started the criminal proceedings of the Head of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic (LNR), Igor Plotnitskyi, in absentia. The case against him was brought to court, the Chief of Staff to the Head of SBU, Oleksandr Tkachuk, said."The Security Service has started the criminal proceedings in absentia of Mr. Plotnitskyi. The conviction concerns the kidnapping of Nadezhda Savchenko and her illegal traffic to the Russian Federation. In the framework …

Vladimir Putin has ordered the withdrawal of the main part of Russian forces from Syria, as reported by TASS.

During a meeting at the Kremlin, Putin said that the pullout would start on Tuesday, March 15th.

"I believe that the tasks assigned to the Ministry of Defense, as a whole, were met. Therefore, I order to begin withdrawing the main part of our military factions of the Syrian Arab Republic starting tomorrow," Putin stated.

The comments come amid new peace talks in Geneva aimed at …

According to the leader of the All-Ukrainian Union "Fatherland" (Batkivshchyna), Yulia Tymoshenko, the dismissal of Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk should be considered at the plenary session of the Verkhovna Rada on the 15th of March.

This was said by Tymoshenko during a discussion on the Inter TV channel on the 13th of March.

“Firstly, the issue of the dismissal of the Prime Minister should be put on the agenda. The whole government should then be relieved of their …

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has signed a decree to dismiss Mikheil Saakashvili from the post of Governor of the Odessa region, according to Odessit.ua, citing a source close to the presidential administration.

The dismissal decree was signed by Poroshenko with an “open date” because, according to the publication, the Ukrainian President has not yet found a suitable replacement for Saakashvili.

The Presidential administration is currently considering several well-known candidates for …

A total of 23 pro-Russian separatists were killed and 34 were injured during clashes near Avdiivka. However, pro-Russian forces have already received reinforcements from Russia and are continuing their activities near the town.

This was reported in a statement issued by the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

According to this statement, separatists have created a strategic defense group consisting of the 11 separate motorized rifle regiment of Makiivka, and …

Members of the Rostov Civic Observers Commission report that Nadiya Savchenko is in stable condition. She drinks water and has no intention of ending her hunger strike. On Saturday, public observers Valentina Cherevatenko and Vladimir Katasonov visited Savchenko, who is being held in isolation in Novocherkassk, Russia.

Cherevatenko and Katasonov later related her condition to noted Russian photojournalist Victoria Ivleva, who relayed the observations on Facebook. According to her post, …

Over a 24 hour span on Saturday and Sunday, Russian-backed separatists initiated 62 attacks near Donetsk. This record number was reported by the press center of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on Sunday. Eight more attacks were reported near Mariupol, while one was recorded near Lugansk.

“There were 19 mortar attacks recorded along the demarcation line. The situation near Avdiivka remains tense. In addition to mortars and grenade launchers, militants also used a tank and a 122 mm cannon on two …

Over the last week, reports from the battlefield in eastern Ukraine have been overshadowed by news of Nadiya Savchenko. Nevertheless, the conflict remains very much active, especially in the strategically important town of Yasynuvata, where the Donetsk-Horlivka and Donetsk-Konstantinovkа junction is located, as Chetvertaya Vlast reported.

Reports suggest that Ukrainian forces have advanced towards the Yasynuvata and even managed to take control of the Donetsk-Horlivka route as well as a …