• The Kremlin names conditions for Putin's meeting with Ukrainian President Zelensky

    The Press Secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov said that Vladimir Putin's meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky in the Normandy format would be possible only when the specific conditions will be met, reports TASS news agency.

    Kremlin's representative noted that after the change of power in Ukraine, the discussion of the fact that the Minsk agreements have not been implemented resumed.

    Peskov stressed that it is necessary to discuss this, including at the highest level in the Normandy …

  • Russia to expand blacklist of EU officials

     The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs will expand the list of EU member state representatives that are banned from entering Russia, according to an official statement released by the ministry.

    The ministry indicated that the European Union has recently taken unilateral restrictive measures against Russians.

    “For this reason, Russia will expand a reciprocal list of EU member state representatives and EU institutions that are banned from entering the territory of the Russian Federation. The …

  • Trump invites Ukrainian President Zelensky to visit Washington

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has received an invitation from US President Donald Trump to come to Washington on an official visit, the Ukrainian Presidential Administration announced.

    “Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is grateful to US President Donald Trump for the invitation to make an official visit to Washington,” the administration said in its statement.

    “The head of state also emphasizes that the bill ‘To provide support to Ukraine to defend its independence, sovereignty, …

  • Israel strikes Syrian military bases in response to the attack on the Golan Heights

    The Israeli military attacked several military targets in Syria in response to the bombing of the Golan Heights, which occurred last night, as reported by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

    "Last night, two rockets were launched from Syria to Israel, 1 landing within Israeli territory. In response, we struck a number of Syrian Armed Forces military targets, " the IDF stated  in a  Twitter post.

    Israel also attacked two artillery batteries, a number of observation and reconnaissance posts in the …

  • Japan abandons plan to sign peace treaty with Russia in June

    The Japanese government has decided to abandon its plan to sign a framework agreement for a peace treaty with Russia at the end of June, when the G20 summit will be held in Osaka, the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun reported on Saturday, citing government sources.

    The decision was reportedly made because Russia and Japan have been unable to overcome their disagreements on a number of historical matters and security concerns. Previously Japan had planned to sign a framework agreement for a …

  • Kyiv: the US considers making Ukraine its chief military and political ally outside of NATO

    A new bill submitted to US Congress’s House of Representatives proposes to give Ukraine the status of the US’s chief military and political ally outside of NATO, the Ukrainian Embassy to Washington said in a Facebook post. The status will be in effect until Ukraine joins NATO, and will facilitate the procedure for the US to give defense assistance to Ukraine.

    The bill is titled “To provide support to Ukraine to defend its independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity, and for other …

  • Putin not invited to 75th D-Day anniversary

    Russian President Vladimir Putin has not been invited to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Allied invasion of Normandy in World War II, also known as D-Day, Ukrinform reports.

    “Large-scale festivities and commemorative events on the 75th anniversary of the start of the Normandy Operation, or the Allied Operation Overlord in World War II, will be held in the south of England on 5 June and on 6 June on the coast of French Normandy,” the article states.

    Other countries that participated in …

  • Switzerland sends 400 tons of humanitarian aid to Donbas

    The Embassy of Switzerland in Ukraine sent 22 vehicles with humanitarian cargo with a total weight of more than 400 tons to the territories of the Donbas which are not under Ukraine’s control, states the message of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine.

    "Vehicles transported chemical reagents for water purification, salt, medical equipment, bleach and activated carbon with a total weight of almost 400 tons for residents of the Donetsk region," the report said.

    The trucks entered the …

  • US Congress releases bill on Nord Stream 2 sanctions

    The US Congress released a bill on the sanctions against individuals and legal entities involved in the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.

     It proposes to impose sanctions against companies that use their vessels to lay pipeline at a depth of 100 feet below sea level. Sanctions may also apply to the vessel insurers.

     According to the bill, the president of the United States may impose five or more types of sanctions against the targeted parties.

    The bill stipulates, among other …

  • Russian national survey agency changes poll questions after Putin’s rating falls to a historic low

    Russian government-funded Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) has changed the method of the survey it used to gauge the confidence of Russians in the government after the rating of Russian President Vladimir Putin fell to a historic low, reports the Current Time news outlet.

    Before that, sociologists asked Russians to answer an open-ended question, "Who is the politician you trust?". Now they added a closed question, "Do you trust Vladimir Putin?"

    According to published reports, the confidence …