The Netherlands Public Prosecution Service has reclassified Vladimir Tsemakh from a witness to a suspect in the case concerning the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014, European Parliament member Kati Piri told DW in an interview.

According to her, the Joint Investigation Team and the Dutch prosecution service have distributed a letter stating that Tsemakh is now considered a suspect.

Kati Piri was the author of an open letter signed on September 4 by 40 …

US Chargé d’Affaires in Ukraine William Taylor thinks that Russia would already like to get out of the Donbas on account of the sanctions and the expense of maintaining troops in Crimea and in the Donbas.

“I think that there are signs that Russians and especially the Kremlin would like to get out of the Donbas. I see signs that the economic burden, which Russians are sensing – and it’s not just the sanctions, but the sanctions too, because sanctions still have a real effect on each Russian and …

Bulgaria accuses former MP from the Bulgarian Socialist Party Nikolai Malinov of spying for Russia and money laundering for Russian organizations, reports Radio Liberty. According to Bulgaria's Prosecutor-General Sotir Tsatsarov, Malinov could be sentenced to 5 -15 years in prison.

On September 10, Malinov was released on bail of 25,000 euros. He was banned from leaving the country.

Malinov is accused of receiving money for the transfer of Bulgarian state secrets to two Russian organizations. …

Mortgage bonds, which gained infamy in 2007-2008 when they bankrupted Bear Stearns, sent markets plummeting and caused a global financial crisis, will now be promoted in Russia using national pension savings.

The Russian Finance Ministry, Central Bank and the Agency for Housing Mortgage Lending (Dom.RF) have approved a roadmap to develop the mortgage bond market, with banks “packaging” physical entities’ mortgage loan payments and reselling them to investors.

Such bonds will be included in …

Mykola Karpyuk, a Ukrainian citizen who was held as a political prisoner in Russia until recently, described on Ukrainian TV how he was tortured in the Russian prison in Vladikavkaz.

“As soon as it got dark, they took me to the corridor, handcuffed, hands behind my back, put a cellophane bag over my head, wrapped around duct tape, cotton wool, so that I could see nothing from below, and then took me out. We traveled for 10-15 minutes, they took me to some kind of facility, took me up to the …

Chairman of the State Council of the Republic of Crimea Vladimir Konstantinov said that Russian President Vladimir Putin submitted to the Crimean State Council three candidates for the post of the Head of the Republic, reports TASS news agency.

Putin proposed Sergey Aksenov, who is the head of the region since 2014, the first secretary of the Crimean Communist Party Sergey Bogatyrenko and the Deputy of the State Duma from LDPR Pavel Spirov.

Under the regional law, the Head of the Republic …

The US is considering the option of imposing additional sanctions on the Russian oil company Rosneft, which has not merely continued trading oil with Venezuela, but has increased its trade despite the sanctions on the Nicolas Maduro government, said US Special Representative for Venezuela Elliot Abrams at a press conference on Tuesday.

“Throughout this entire year, we have been seeing the growing dependence of the Venezuelan PDVSA and regime on the Russian government and on Rosneft. Constantly …

Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed the reports that a US intelligence agent had been operating in the Russian Presidential Administration.

Oleg Smolenkov, who is linked to a recent US-Russia espionage scandal, actually worked in the Russian Presidential Administration, but at a low level.

According to Peskov, Smolenkov “was fired several years ago, his position did not fall under the category of senior officials, the so-called decree positions, however he was fired around two or …