Ukraine began collecting Gazprom’s first payments from anti-monopoly case
The Kyiv Economic Court finally decided to allow the State Executive Service to collect 79.87 million hryvnia or about $3.07 million of the dividends of PJSC Gaztransit (Kyiv), which were to be paid to the Russian Gazprom.
The money will be used to pay off the fine and interest imposed on Gazprom by the Anti-monopoly Committee, which amounts to 172 billion hryvnia or $6.6 billion. Ukraine was able to seize shares of Gaztransit as part of the enforcement proceedings in collecting the said fine. …
Swedish Foreign Minister: Sweden and Lithuania oppose the annexation of the Crimea
Sweden and Lithuania oppose the illegal annexation of the Crimea by Russia and wish to end its aggression in the Donbas, as stated by Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallström, Interfax-Ukraine reports.
"We came to offer our support and assistance. We stand for international law and for Ukraine to freely choose its future. We also insist that the Crimea is part of Ukraine. We oppose the illegal annexation of the Crimea, and we want an end to Russian aggression in the eastern part of Ukraine," …
Belarus will exclude Russian rubles from gold and forex reserves
Starting on July 1, 2017, the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus (NBRB) will no longer use the national methodology for calculating the amount of its international reserves where the foreign currency reserve assets included assets in Russian rubles, as stated in a message published on the bank's website.
After that date, the NBRB will use only the International Monetary Fund (IMF) standard, which does not consider the Russian ruble as a reserve currency.
As of June 1, 2017, the NBRB's …
Human rights advocates accused Russia of exploiting workers at the stadiums built for World Cup 2018
International human rights organization, Human Rights Watch, said that workers building stadiums for the World Cup and the Confederations Cup in Russia are being exploited, according to a statement issued by HRW.
As follows from the report by the human rights advocates, the salary of workers at six stadiums was paid late or not at all. In addition, they were forced to work without additional protection when the temperature was minus 25 degrees Celsius. Many worked without an employment …
Kyiv invites Russian diplomats to a concert in honor of the Crimea
The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has invited Russian diplomats to a jazz concert dedicated to the de-occupation of the Crimea, reports UNIAN, citing Anatolii Solovei, the head of the Public Diplomacy Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
It is reported that journalists asked if a representative of the Russian embassy was invited to the jazz concert "Music of Free People" (part of the third OPEN AIR event organized by the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs).
"As far as I …