The self-proclaimed People’s Council of LPR passed a law on Friday, September 23 “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Luhansk People’s Republic.”Changes have been introduced to the laws “On Martial Law” and “On the Status of People’s Council deputies of Luhansk People’s Republic.” These amendments establish the specifics of the travel of MPs outside the LPR during the martial law period.

“In a state of war, the uninterrupted operation of the National Council as the legislative …

The Russian Federation has deployed two S-400 anti-aircraft long and medium-range missile systems near the Finnish border, according to the Finnish Broadcasting Company, Yle. The Minister of Defense of Finland, Jussi Niinisto, said that this move was predictable.

"Earlier Russia indicated it was making such moves, for example, the placement of the S-400 in the Kola Peninsula as well as in the Crimea. It is normal practice. Russia is using these systems to replace older S-300s," Niinisto said. …

Japan does not recognize the illegal annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation in March 2014, and, therefore, the legitimacy and results of the "elections to the State Duma of the Russian Federation," which were held in the Crimea on September 18, 2016, according to a statement by the Japanese Embassy in Ukraine.

The Embassy also stressed that Japan “supports the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine and does not recognize the attempts to change the status quo by force.”

On …

The Polish Petroleum and Gas Mining Company, PGNiG, has blocked the payment of about 200 million dollars in dividends from the EuRoPol Gaz union to the Russian company Gazprom, which will prevent Russia from financing the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, as reported by Gazeta Polska Codziennie.

"PGNIG received consent from the Polish government on this action," the newspaper notes. The whole operation began at the General Meeting of EuRoPol Gaz on the 27th of June, 2016. At that …

The billion-dollar loan guarantee received from the United States, as well as the provision of a tranche from the IMF and the promise of a visa-free regime with the EU, can be considered an “advance fee” for Ukraine for the implementation of the political part of the Minsk agreements. This was the opinion expressed by Director of the Ukrainian Institute of Strategies of Global Development and Adaptation (UISGA) Victor Levitsky.

“Many people talked about ‘Putin’s insidious plan’ to make Europe …