The President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, said that the country has demonstrated its independence from Russian gas during the autumn-winter heating season, as reported by Interfax-Ukraine.

"Russia thought that they would bring us to our knees by offering gas at $212/cubic meter.  I discussed this with the Minister who called Russia and said: 'No, we will not take your gas,'" Poroshenko stated.

According to Poroshenko, Ukraine now buys gas from Europe, which costs less than buying gas from …

Deputy Chief Monitor of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's (OSCE) Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine, Alexander Hug, held a news conference in Kiev in which he outlined the general security situation in the Donbas region. Hug highlighted several areas in eastern Ukraine where tensions are rising between the Ukrainian Armed Forces and Russian-backed separatists of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and the so-called Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR).

The …

In March, the list of EU sanctions against Yanukovych's supporters may be significantly reduced. Ukraine has not yet proven the illegality of the funds withdrawn overseas by ex-officials.For almost two years, Ukrainian law enforcement officers have been investigating the economic crimes of ex-President Viktor Yanukovych and his associates. During this time the European Union has levied sanctions against former Ukrainian officials by blocking their accounts in European banks. According to the …

Recently, forces of the Lebanese Hezbollah group and the Syrian army, along with the support of the Russian Air Force, has established control over the city of Darya, located in southern Syria near the Syria-Jordan border, as reported by Al Arabiya.

This strategically important city is located just 25 kilometers from the Israeli part of Golan Heights, about 30 km from the nearest Israeli city.  From the beginning of the civil war the Syrian city of Darya, with a population of about 100,000 …

Freight transport between Russia and Poland may soon cease, warned the Russian Ministry of Transport on Thursday, January 28th. The agreement that allows each country to transport cargo through the other ends on February 1, 2016, and a new agreement has not yet been reached.

According to the website of the Ministry of Transport, Poland doesn't agree with the new Russian requirements which are aimed at strengthening state control over freight transportation and also increases the penalty for …

Allan Widman, the Chairman of Sweden’s Parliamentary Defense Committee, suggested that Russia may become a potential enemy that Sweden needs to watch out for. The events in Ukraine, the weak economy and the sharp plunge in oil prices may spawn unwanted conflict at Sweden’s doorstep.

"My assessment is the following: Sweden has been at peace for over 200 years but now the situation is serious enough that we have to be ready for a spillover of violent conflicts from our neighboring countries,” …

Adam J. Szubin, Acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, made statements about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s corruption—statements that accurately reflected Washington’s position. Reuters cited White House Official Spokesman Josh Earnest as stating that during an official White House briefing on Thursday, January 28th.

"The US Treasury official’s assessment reflects the opinion of the administration best of all," said Earnest. At the same time he found it difficult …

Canada’s Foreign Minister Stéphane Dion said that the statements about Ukrainian Diaspora made by the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergey Lavrov, were inadmissible. Liga.net reported that Dion was quoted by Boris Wrzesnewskyj, a member of Canadian Parliament.

In particular, Dion noted that Canada is outraged by the Russian invasion of Ukrainian territory, and emphasized Ukraine's important role in Canada’s history. “We absolutely disagree with this invasion and with Russian government …