Contents tagged with Russia

  • Russia Halts Transit of Ukrainian Goods

    The Russian Federation has imposed customs duties as well as a food embargo against Ukraine in an effort to protect its market from the influx of duty-free supplies entering the Ukraine from the European Union. The Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine (MEDTU) reported that Russia has fully halted the transit of Ukrainian goods into its territory as of 4 January 2016.

    “This ban by the Russian Federation is not clear. It is unacceptable and discriminatory in nature. Therefore, …

  • New Gas Corridor to be Constructed between Poland and Ukraine

    A new gas corridor, named the “North-South” corridor, will make it possible for gas to be transported from a Polish gas port in Świnoujście to other countries in Central and Eastern Europe. The Polish gas pipelines, Lwówek–Odolanów and Hermanowice–Strachocina, that will be constructed by the State “Gaz System” are critical parts of the gas corridor “North-South.”

    Among other things, this corridor will provide the opportunity to pump liquefied natural gas, delivered to the Polish gas port in Ś …

  • No end in sight for Russia’s economic woes

    With the Russian economy continuing to plummet as a result of western sanctions and low oil prices, the Kremlin seems to be sticking to its reliance on hydrocarbon exports, as oil revenues still account for 44% of the federal budget. For the 25 years since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Russian government has done little to relieve the economy from its dependence on oil and gas, and with the value of the ruble at a record low, many experts worry that it may be too late to diversify …

  • Ukrainian intelligence determines location of 57 prisoners in Donbas

    An Adviser to the Chairman of the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU), Yuri Tandit, stated that illegally armed groups hold about 140 Ukrainian citizens as prisoners, and the SSU has found the exact location of 57 of them. “We know the exact location of 57 people. We have seen traces of others, there are almost 140 hostages in Ukraine. We hope that Russia, as a participant of the Minsk Agreements, will do everything in its power to accelerate the exchange of prisoners,” Yuri Tandit said.

    Tandit …

  • Russian Spy Chief Dies

    According to a statement released by the Interfax news agency, Colonel General Igor Sergun, the director of GRU (Russia’s military intelligence agency) unexpectedly died on Sunday at the age of 58.

    Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu did not specify the cause of death and offered no additional details.

    Igor Sergun joined the Soviet military in 1973, in 1984 he joined military intelligence and became chief of the GRU in 2011.

    Last year the US and European Union added Sergun to the sanction …

  • Crimea’s Electricity Problems Continue

    Crimea continues to experience power shortages, which are especially pronounced at peak hours. The head of the Crimean Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia, Sergey Shakhov, said that Crimea now needs up to 1350 megawatts, but the supply is still short. This was the reason why the planned blackouts were to take effect during peak hours.

    "As of 6:00 PM on January 3rd, the total amount of power generated on the peninsula is 931 megawatts. Crimea itself generates 513 megawatts while the …

  • OSCE Informed Of Pro-Russian Separatists' Weapons Violations

    The General Intelligence Directorate reported that Ukraine has informed the representatives of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine about the placement of prohibited weapons in the regions of three settlements: Lobachyov, Bezymyannoye and Jubileynoye.

    “The situation in the ATO zone remains challenging. Pro-Russian militants shelled Ukrainian positions 20 times using small arms and grenade launchers,” the report said. Intelligence officers noted that they provided information about …

  • ATO command names Russian agent in charge of removing insubordinate separatist officers

    Gangs suspected of being accomplices to the terrorist Evgeny Wagner were recently found in occupied territory in the region of Ozeryanovki near Horlivka. The ATO press-center reported this discovery, citing a source living in militant-controlled territory. Wagner is a Colonel in the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, and has taken part in many conflicts since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

    The Ukrainian military belives that groups are involved in the elimination of pro- …

  • Moscow: Kiev is aggravating the situation in Transnistria

    Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Grigory Karasin, expressed Moscow’s concern over the lack of progress in the negotiations on the Transnistrian issue, stating that the Ukrainian position has a negative impact on the situation in the region.

    "The change of Kiev's position on the Transnistrian issue supports the delay of an appointment of a new Ukrainian representative in the "5 + 2" negotiation that was supposed to happen in May of 2015. We are concerned about the …

  • 40 tons of Belgian pears destroyed at Russian border

     Russian Federal Security Bureau (FSB) agents and Roskomnadzor’s employees found two batches of pears at the Troitsk checkpoint in the Chelyabinsk region. The shipment of pears falls under the Presidential Decree issuing retaliatory sanctions, the Rosselkhoznadzor press service reported.

    Fresh pears from Belgium were imported to Russia by two cars from Kazakhstan. Kazakh certificates, indicating Serbia as the country of origin, were attached to them. The total weight of the two batches was 40 …