In 2018, Ukraine passed a law “On currency and currency operations” which enables the National Bank to simplify the conditions for foreign currency operations and the movement of capital, at its own discretion, which was not previously possible. However, the bank regulator is in no hurry: free movement of capital was sacrificed for the sake of inflation stability, instead of reviving lending. The restriction has been lifted only partially, and hardly any investments are being made in Ukraine, …

The US has stepped up the pressure on EU countries to halt the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, the German newspaper Handelsblatt reports, citing an anonymous White House official.

Despite the cold winter months, work on the German-Russian gas pipeline has continued. One third of the 1,230 km gas pipeline has already been laid on the bottom of the Baltic Sea, and the construction is scheduled to finish by the end of the year.

However, this is not to the US’s liking, …

Russia is strengthening its forces near the Ukrainian border and preparing a large-scale offensive, stated joint Forces Commander Serhiy Nayev in an interview with Novoe Vremya magazine.

According to Nayev, the proof lies in the presence of twelve tactical battalions near the Ukrainian-Russian border where there used to be only eight battalions. The number of combat-ready aircraft on the other side of the front line near Donetsk has also increased.

The General explained that Russian …

The Press Secretary to the Russian President, Dmitry Peskov said that one of the obstacles to signing a peace treaty is that Japan actively supports the sanctions against Russia, Interfax reports.

“They support the sanctions and this is one of the questions and one of the situations that prevents us from signing the peace treaty,” Peskov noted during the program “Moscow.Kremlin.Putin” on channel Russia-1.

He recalled that last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed to sign the peace …

The Czech Republic is investigating the involvement of at least 10 of its citizens in combat in support of the so-called Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics (LPR & DPR) in eastern Ukraine.

The Czech news outlet Denik N reported that a Czech by the name of Pavel K traveled to the Donbas through Russia at 22 years of age, and stayed there between the summer of 2015 and May 2016.

The news outlet would not disclose the suspects’ names or cities of origin before the trial, in order to protect …

The Russian Press Secretary for the President Dmitry Peskov stated on the “Moscow. Kremlin. Putin” television program that Russians were not sent to Venezuela to protect the country’s president, Nicolas Maduro.

He responded, “of course not,” to the corresponding question from a journalist, as quoted by Interfax quote.

When the host of the program reminded that media is reporting more than 400 militants in Russia, sent to protect Maduro, Peskov said: “fear has a vivid imagination.”

Earlier, …

During the program “Moscow. Kremlin. Putin” broadcast on Russia 1 TV channel, Dmitry Peskov, Press Secretary of Russian President, said that in the negotiations with Tokyo, Moscow’s basic task is to conclude a peace treaty with Japan rather than find a solution to the issue of the Kuril Islands.

“Our basic task is to conclude a peace treaty, not to give or receive anything,” TASS quoted Peskov as saying. “We need to end World War 2 and sign a peace treaty with a very important partner of us in …

On Sunday, the US Treasury Department announced that it was lifting the sanctions previously imposed on three companies associated with Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska: US Rusal PLC, En + Group PLC and JSC EuroSibEnergo.

The decision was made despite the demands of Democrats in Congress to keep the restrictions imposed on these companies. Earlier, Republican legislators who hold the majority in the Senate blocked an attempt to keep the sanctions in effect.

According to the administration, …