By the end of 2015, territories in Iraq controlled by the so-called Islamic State (known as ISIL or simply IS) had been reduced by 40%, as reported by Reuters. In Syria, ISIL lost 20% of its territory. This was reported by Colonel Steve Warren, a spokesman for the U.S.-led,anti-terrorist coalition.

In 2014 the extremist group, then known as ISIS, captured one third of Iraq, including the town of Mosul and launched an attack on Baghdad. The blitzkrieg was stopped only because Iran’s Armed …

According to the Justice Minister of Ukraine, Pavel Petrenko, the number of civil cases against Russia is constantly growing. Additionally, Kiev officials have filed three interstate suits against Russia.

On Tuesday, January 5th, in an interview with national media, Petrenko announced that citizens of Ukraine have submitted to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) more than 700 lawsuits against Russia. Moreover, almost all of the lawsuits were filed by people from Crimea, Lugansk and …

The U.S.-based, multinational beverage corporation Coca Cola has apologized for the use of a map of Russia that includes the territory of Crimea on a popular social network. They said the map was developed by a third party agency without the company's consent.

On January 5th, Coca-Cola responded to a statement by the Ukrainian Embassy in the United States, which included the complaint about the corporation’s use of the map. The company claimed that the agency that developed the map "later …

According to the Press Center of the Ministry of Finance, Ukraine has announced its readiness to resume negotiations with Russia on restructuring the Eurobond worth $3 billion.

"Despite any legal actions and without bias towards the whole debt situation, Ukraine is ready to negotiate in good faith with Russia about the restructuring of $3 billion worth of Eurobonds, which should have been paid in December of 2015," the Press Center stated.

The Ministry of Finance has taken into account the …

Two former U.S. Presidential Administration staff members are encouraging the U.S. Government to improve the effectiveness of American foreign diplomacy.

The former administration staffers, who both worked for prior Republican administrations, encouraged the U.S. Government and Congress, “to revitalize America’s public diplomacy infrastructure,” in the context of intensified Russian propaganda, which they characterized as, “racist and obscene.”

“Consistent with our core values, the United …

The Ukrainian Justice Minister, Pavlo Petrenko, stated in an interview with the Ukrainian 5th Channel that Ukraine will file a lawsuit with the International Court of Justice against Russia for supporting terrorism (ICJ). “The next year will be associated with the initiation of a major lawsuit before the International Court of Justice, which is the principal judicial arm of the United Nations (UN),” Petrenko stated.

The Minister of Justice stressed that the evidence has already been collected …

Ukrainians have requested that the President revoke the citizenship of all separatists and their collaborators. On the 24th of September, a petition in support of this request was posted on an electronic petition website. Ukraine can make the decision to provide amnesty to some of the separatists from the DPR (Donetsk People’s Republic) and at the same time revoke their citizenship.

The self-proclaimed head of the Donetsk People’s Republic, Alexander Zakharchenko, fears that those involved in …

Polish Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz stated that the Polish Defense Ministry plans to station three brigades along the eastern border of the country in 2016. Poland shares its eastern border with Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania.

“We have already started work on the creation of three defensive brigades along the eastern border of the country. These brigades will be an integral part of the Polish Armed Forces. They will become the fifth type of Polish Armed Forces,” Polish Radio quoted …