Contents tagged with Ukraine

  • Russia arrests DPR’s ‘Black Lenin’ at Ukraine’s request

    Beness Aijo, a militant from the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) who also goes by the name of “Black Lenin”, has been arrested in Russia’s Arkhangelsk region, the Russian news agency Regnum reports, citing Russian Communist Party member Dmitry Saraev.

    Beness Aijo is a Latvian national who studied in the UK and has spent several years fighting for the terrorists in eastern Ukraine.

    Saraev said that the militant was arrested at around 7:30 PM in the town of Yarensk, where he had gone “to …

  • Ukraine offers water for Crimea in exchange for Russia’s concessions in Donbas

    Ukraine could resume the water supply to Crimea in exchange for concessions in the negotiations on the Donbas, said Servant of the People party leader Davyd Arakhamia to the Verkhovna Rada, as broadcast by the TV channel Pryamiy.

    “If we give water to Crimea, we will have a big advantage in the negotiations on the Donbas – that’s my personal position, I’d consider it an adequate compromise,” said the MP. He said that Kyiv could send water to the occupied peninsula if the Russians “withdraw to …

  • Ukraine will not send ambassador to Moscow because of Russian aggression

    Kyiv does not intend to raise its level of diplomatic relations with Russia, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said in a statement, excerpts of which were cited by the UNIAN news agency.

    “There is no reason to raise the status of diplomatic relations by appointing a Ukrainian ambassador,” the ministry remarked, adding that its stance on the matter is based on the “continued Russian aggression” and “Russian occupation of Ukrainian territories”.

    On February 10, the newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta …

  • Moscow open to possibility of exchanging ambassadors with Kyiv

    In an interview with Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Russia is not opposed to the idea of sending an ambassador to Kyiv.

    In December 2015, Kyiv recalled its ambassador from Moscow, with no plans to reassign him.

    “Ukraine recalled its ambassador and threatened to break off diplomatic relations. Now, however, it seems that someone there mentioned the possibility that Zelensky will decide to send the ambassadors back. We would not be opposed to that,” said …

  • Lavrov: Zelensky ‘saddened’ Russian delegation in Paris

    During the Normandy Format summit in Paris, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky rejected the idea of disengaging forces and heavy weaponry along the entire demarcation line in the Donbas, which “saddened” the Russian delegation, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, as cited by Rossiyskaya Gazeta.

    The minister said that ahead of the summit, the two sides had agreed to a withdrawal along the entire front line, and had even drafted the corresponding document. According to Lavrov, as …

  • Ukrainian Naftogaz considers filing new lawsuits against Gazprom

    Naftogaz is considering the possibility of filing new lawsuits against Gazprom, the Ukrainian company’s executive director Yuriy Vitrenko wrote on Facebook.

    He said that this could involve a complaint to the European anti-monopoly office regarding Gazprom’s “abuse of its dominant position”, with possible litigation in the EU Court of Justice, as well as an international arbitration in Zurich regarding the new transit contract, on the basis of Swiss law.

    Naftogaz might also appeal to the …

  • Ukraine: Council of Europe’s new sanction policy too mild for Russia

    The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said that it is disappointed in the new sanctions which the Council of Europe (CoE) Committee of Ministers introduced on February 5. The Ukrainian department believes that the new procedure for responding to member-states’ violations of statutory obligations eradicates the possibility of punishing countries for the most severe violations.

    The ministry drew attention to the fact that for more than five years Ukraine has been subjected to Russian armed aggression, …

  • Ukrainian President invites Pope Francis to visit Donbas

    During his visit to the Vatican, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky invited Pope Francis to visit Donbas, as reported by the press service of the Ukrainian President.

    Zelensky said that the pontiff is very much expected in Ukraine, where he has extremely great support and trust.

    "I invited him to Ukraine. I am sure that he will visit Ukraine - not only the capital. I said that in order to fully understand what is happening in the east, we have to visit the east of Ukraine," Zelensky said …

  • Ukraine to build two military bases in Donbas compliant with NATO standards

    The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense will build two military bases in the Donbas. Both military facilities will meet all NATO standards, stated the Ukrainian Defense Minister Andriy Zagorodnyuk.

    According to Zagorodnyuk, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense has planned the construction of two military bases, fully in compliance with the standards of the North Atlantic Alliance. One will be built in Mariupol, the second - in Sievierodonetsk. At the same time, the construction terms and the timelines …

  • Russian vice governor becomes ‘prime minister’ of DPR

    Vladimir Pashkov, former vice governor of Russia’s Irkutsk region, has become the so-called “prime minister” of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR).

    Pashkov has been appointed acting Prime Minister. The separatist media has not yet published any official statements about a cabinet reshuffle in the DPR, but the change has been reported on the website of the terrorists’ ringleader, Denis Pushilin.

    Pashkov is known to be a Russian citizen. In 2005, he was vice mayor of the city of Bratsk in …