During his annual Q & A session with journalists, Russian President Vladimir Putin encouraged those who demand progress in the investigation of the assassination of Boris Nemtsov to be patient.

"I knew him personally. He chose a path of political battle, and he was not alone...and I believe that is a crime that must be investigated thoroughly", Putin stated.

Nemtsov, an outspoken critic of Putin, was gunned down in February of this year, just steps from the Kremlin. The former Minister had …

MP and leader of the Crimean Tatars, Mustafa Dzhemilev, spoke about the nuclear situation in Russian occupied Crimea.

The People's Deputy said that the Kremlin has decided to position its nuclear power on the occupied peninsula and has restored the abandoned nuclear storage facility. 

“It is known for certain that they have almost completely restored the nuclear repository in the natural boundary of Kyzyltash near Yalta, which was closed and emptied after the signing of the 1994 Budapest …

Turkish authorities cite the formal reason for the detention as the lack of completed documents, minor technical defects and violations of safety regulations.Since the beginning of the deterioration of relations between Moscow and Ankara, a total of 27 Russian merchant vessels have been detained in Turkey. These actions were in response to the detention of eight merchant ships in the Black Sea, as reported on December 16th by the Hürriyet. According to the newspaper, Turkish authorities …

In a controversial decision, the District Administrative Court of Kiev ruled to sustain the order of the Ukrainian Justice Ministry in full, banning the activities of the Communist Party of Ukraine.

The relevant information is available on the court’s website.

The Justice Ministry had brought a lawsuit against the Communist Party, requesting a ban on all activities of the political party. On Wednesday, Kiev’s Administrative Court ruled in favor of the plaintiff after deliberations with the …

During his trip to Brussels, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said there is mounting evidence that Russia has violated the Minsk Agreements.

"Regarding the discussion between members of the EU about extending the sanctions against Russia, I brought even more evidence of Russia's failure to comply with the Minsk Agreements; the supply of arms, and the sending of troops to the territory of Ukrainian”, Poroshenko said.

Poroshenko is in the midst of his two day trip to the Belgian capital. …

Ukrainian intelligence has received indications that Russia is ready to expand the scope of the armed conflict in the Donbas region, and open hostilities may resume as early as the end of December, reported Ukrinform.

"The situation in eastern Ukraine is extremely complicated.  An increase in the number and the scale of enemy provocations is leading to a deterioration of the situation in the Donbas region.  This includes attacks on Ukrainian Army positions by rebel soldiers… reinforced by …

The Central Bank set a record U.S. Dollar rate against the Ruble. The American currency has reached an historic high. On Tuesday, December 15th, the Central Bank of Russia set the Dollar exchange rate against the Ruble at around 70.82 rubles. This was the highest rate for the U.S. currency since 1998. Compared to the previous trading day, the Dollar rose more than 60 cents.

The Euro exchange rate of the Central Bank was set at 78.23 rubles. The European currency has not yet exceeded its …

A Russian FSB ship has been tasked with ensuring the safety of the drilling rig "Tavrida" to protect "the economic interests of the Russian Federation." On Tuesday, December 15, the Border Service of the FSB in annexed Crimea sent a patrol ship, the "Amethyst," to protect from Ukrainian Navy the drilling rig "Chernomorneftegaz,” as reported by the Press Service of the Ministry.

On the morning of December 15, the ship of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine came to the floating drilling …