Ukraine Urges World to Continue to Pressure Russia
The press service of Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement on Monday to urge other nations to continue to pressure the Russian Federation on the Donbas situation.
"We call upon our international partners not to yield to the deceptive maneuvers of the Russian aggressor, who constantly demonstrates a striking discrepancy between their rhetoric and real actions. Political pressure on the Russian Federation and the use of diplomatic tools and sanctions are critical to return …
Ukraine May Raise Transit Price for Gazprom
RIA Novosti reported that according to Ukrainian State Enterprise Energorynok, the tariff rate for transporting Russian gas through the territory of Ukraine may increase in 2016 from $2.73 to $4.07 per 1000 cubic meters per 100 kilometers. Taking into account a new method of calculating the transit cost approved by Kiev in the end of last year, it will cost Gazprom $7.91 per 1000 cubic meters.
According to the publication, the new method of calculating transit price is closely associated with …
Ukraine-EU Visa-Free Regime may Appear before the Middle of March
The European Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, Johannes Hahn, said that the Commission's proposal to abolish visas for Ukrainians may appear before the end of March, as reported by Radіo Svoboda.
"The President and the Prime Minister still have some commitments to fulfill, but we expect that we will obtain those reports very soon, be able to evaluate them, and during the first quarter of this year we will propose visa liberalization," he said.
During …
EU Presses Ukraine on Anti-Corruption and Judicial Reforms
After a session of the EU Council, at a meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs on January 18th, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier stated that the European Union expressed concern about the insufficient progress of Ukraine in carrying out reforms. Steinmeier noted that it is important for Ukraine to reform the justice system and put anti-corruption measures in place. According to him, these are the key steps to solving the economic problems in the country.
The High …
Russia Spend €1 Billion per Year on State Salaries and Pensions in DPR and LPR
An investigation conducted by the German magazine, Bild revealed that Russia spends about 1 billion Euros on the salaries and welfare of citizens of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics. According to Bild, this amount corresponds to 0.6% of the annual expenses of the Russian budget.
Moscow spends nearly 79 million Euros every month on salaries of state employees and pensions in so-called DPR and LPR, Bild wrote. About 2.4 billion Rubles (approximately 30 million Euros) …