Obama and Merkel: Sanctions against Russia should stay in force until the Minsk Agreements are fully implemented by Moscow
US President Barack Obama said that he and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have a common stance on sanctions against Russia because of its policy with regard to Ukraine: sanctions can only be lifted if Moscow fulfills the conditions of the Minsk Agreements. Obama said this on April 24th at a press conference in Hannover, after a meeting with Merkel as part of his 6-day trip abroad."Sanctions against Russia can and should be lifted only if Russia fulfills its commitments within the framework of …
Ukrainian Armed Forces: The number of attacks by separatists has doubled
The headquarters of Ukrainian military operations in the Donbas reported that on April 23rd, Russian-backed separatists fired at Ukrainian military positions more than 41 times. This is more than double the number of attacks by separatists on April 22nd, when there were only 19 recorded.
"The most active was the Donetsk area where the gunmen fired towards Avdiivka using 82 mm and 120 mm caliber mortars. Kremlin supporters also ignored the ceasefire in areas near the Ukrainian positions in …
Seperatist leader: An armed OSCE mission in the Donbas will be considered military aggression against us
The leaders of the so-called People's Donetsk Republic (DPR) stated that any armed OSCE mission in eastern Ukraine will be viewed as military aggression against the self-declared republic.
This position was stated by the leader of the so-called DPR, Aleksandr Zakharchenko, at a media briefing. It was later published by separatist media sources.
"If they dare to show up here armed, I will consider it to be a military invasion. They only have a mandate to be a monitory mission," he stated. …
US sends fifth generation fighter to Romania for Black Sea exercises
The US Air Force has sent F-22 Raptors from the UK to Romania to participate in exercises in the Black Sea region, Reuters reported.
Two of the 5th generation stealth fighters and one KC-135 tanker were sent to the Mihail Kogălniceanu Airbase in Romania in order to participate in exercises to support the eastern NATO member states.
Earlier, the US European Command (EUCOM) reported that the US Air Force had transferred the F-22s to the UK for exercises.
The US first deployed the multi-purpose …
OSCE to consider creating monitoring mission in Crimea
The question of creating an OSCE monitoring mission in the Crimea will be discussed when the Organization’s Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović, visits Ukraine, Krym.Realii reported.
According to the First Secretary of the National Union of Journalists (NUJU), Sergey Tomilenko, the issue was discussed at the congress of the European Federation of Journalists in Sarajevo.
“Dunja Mijatović will soon visit Ukraine and the mission in the Crimea will be a key issue in the …