Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Pavlo Klimkin said in an interview with Ukrinform that Russia is deliberately trying to block even a discussion of the possibility of deploying the UN peacekeeping mission in the Donbas.

Klimkin stated that Ukraine is now negotiating the possibility of discussing this issue in the Normandy Format at the level of political directors. "The discussion will take place next week in Berlin.  We will see if there is any progress,” he said.

According to Klimkin, …

The press service of the Defense Ministry of Ukraine reported that the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and the Ministry of Defense of the United Kingdom announced their intention to strengthen cooperation. One of the priorities is to increase the United Kingdom’s presence in the framework of operation Orbital.

Since the beginning of this program in 2015, British instructors have trained 9.5 thousand members of the Armed forces of Ukraine (as of September 2018). At first, they first taught …

During the meeting of the UN General Assembly, the Counsellor of the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the UN, Eduard Fesko, stressed that the UN Security Council should be truly reformed because it cannot guarantee peace and security in the present conflicts. 

"In its current form, the Council is ill-suited to effectively address Twenty-first Century challenges. While the United Nations procrastinates on Council reform, people are dying because the organ is simply incapable of helping them,” …

The Russian government’s tax fever shows no signs of subsiding. In the wake of a VAT hike, an increase in excise duties on petrol and a tax on carbonated drinks, the Cabinet of Ministers is preparing to impose an excise duty on sausages and frankfurters, finanz.ru reports.

The additional tax may amount to more than 160 rubles per kilogram of sausage, frankfurters or bacon. The Ministry of Health supported the initiative, saying that it will facilitate a healthy lifestyle for Russians, …

During an address to border guards in Cherkasy, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said that by the end of 2018, there will be a new sea guard system along the country’s entire coast, which will monitor the maritime border from Izmail on the Black Sea to Mariupol on the Sea of Azov, UNN reports.

“To protect Ukraine’s territory against an invasion from the sea, the relevant constituent is being expanded,” the head of state said.

He emphasized that the military drills which were held on the …

The Deputy Chairman of the Russian Federation Council Committee on Defense and Security, Vladimir Kozhin stated that Russia promises a response if the US establishes a military base in Poland, RIA Novosti reports.

“Establishing such a base in close proximity to our borders will, without a doubt, pose a direct and clear threat [to Russia]. Russia will be forced to respond to this,” said Kozhin.

Frants Klintsevich, a member of the Federation Council Committee on Defense and Security, also …

The Russian Southern Military district’s air defense divisions were put on “practice alert,” according to the press-service of the Russian Ministry of Defense. The ministry reported on November 20 that the air defense command of the 4th Army of the Russian Air Force and anti-air defense forces of the Southern Military District in the Crimea practiced changing positions during the exercise.

“As part of the operational readiness drills, combat squads of S-400 Triumf air defense systems carried …

The head of the committee of the All-Russian Officers' Assembly, Yevgeny Shabayev, in an interview with the radio station Echo of Moscow, stated that returning from abroad Russian mercenaries, who have taken part in hostilities in different countries, cause a threat to the stability of the situation in Russia. 

“One of the most important problems in the army today is the creation of certain forces that were unknown until this time, which in fact, replace the Russian Federation security forces …