Contents tagged with Ukraine

  • So-called Donetsk People's Republic begins mass distribution of passports

    The self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic has begun to issue its own passports to the population in the separatist areas of the Donetsk region. The leader of the self-proclaimed state and rebel group, of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic, Alexander Zakharchenko, called this an important step towards state building, as quoted by Interfax.

    According to Zakharchenko, who was one of the first to get the DPR issued document, passports will initially be issued to young people (including 34, …

  • Media: Adviser to the leader of the so-called Luhansk People's Republic killed

    Dmitry Kargaev, the adviser of Igor Plotnitsky, the leader of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic, was found dead in Luhansk. This was reported on CXID.info by a source close to the Administration of the Head of the so-called LPR.

    According to the source, Kargaev was killed in his home after being shot four times, including one to the head.

    Since November 2014, Kargaev had worked as the Deputy Head of the Administration of Plotnitsky, led by Olga Tarash. After her dismissal, he was …

  • Russian Foreign Ministry: Ukraine is preparing to return the Donbas using military means

    The Russian Foreign Ministry believes that Ukrainian authorities are preparing for a power struggle to secure the return of the Donbas, according to the State Secretary and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Grigory Karasin, as stated in an interview with TASS.

    According to him, "those activities carried out by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the vicinity of the contact line, including the rotation of the military and the strengthening of military components, are …

  • Nuland: The US will continue to provide Ukraine with military assistance and training

    The US will continue to provide Ukraine with military assistance, including training military personnel at the Yavorov training site in the Lvov region, as reported by the Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland.

    She noted that Washington has already provided $226 million in support to Kiev "in the security arena." Moreover, American specialists trained 1,200 soldiers from the Armed Forces and 750 military personnel of the National Guard of Ukraine.

    In …

  • Naftogaz to expand its claims against Gazprom

    As of the first quarter of 2016, NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine will increase its claims against Gazprom up to $1 billion under the gas transit contract, as reported by Business Development Director, Yury Vitrenko, on his Facebook page. “We will receive nearly $1 billion from Gazprom for the first quarter of 2016 for underpayment of gas transit costs,” he said.

    According to Vitrenko, the claims under the gas purchase contract will be also expanded.

    “Both parties will expand their claims before the …

  • US Secretary of State to meet with Putin in Moscow

    US Secretary of State, John Kerry, will visit Moscow next week to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He said this on Tuesday, March 15, 2016, Reuters reported.

    The purpose of his visit will be to discuss further settlements of the conflict in Syria. However, he stressed that the world has received the best opportunity to end the conflict in Syria with the withdrawal of the Russian Forces.

    In turn, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia confirmed the possibility of the US Secretary …

  • Estonia urges the EU to implement an entry ban on those involved in the Savchenko case

    The Estonian Parliament wants the European Union to ban entry to the Russian officials responsible for the arrest, detention and unlawful condemnation of Nadiya Savchenko. This is reported in the statement taken during the meeting of the Estonian Parliament on the 15th of March, 2016.

    "The Parliament calls to ban the officials of the Russian Federation responsible for the detention, imprisonment and illegal trial of Savchenko from entering into the territory of the European Union", a statement …

  • Ukrainian lawmakers approve draft on combating corruption

    Ukrainian lawmakers approved draft legislation aimed at combating corruption by imposing control over the assets of senior and junior level officials and their families.

    Under legislation passed on March 15th, these officials are required to file electronic asset declarations and will be held criminally responsible for inaccurate or misleading information.

    The data will be available on the web for monitoring purposes.

    The European Union is putting pressure on Ukraine to implement anti- …

  • US expert calls for new sanctions against Russia during Senate hearings

    Ukrinform reported on Ian Brzezinski’s remarks during recent hearings in the US Senate. Brzezinski, the Senior Fellow in the International Security Program on the Atlantic Council’s Strategic Advisors Group, said that the acting sanctions against Russia weren’t sufficient to make them cease aggression against Ukraine. He added that was reason enough for the West to impose additional restrictions against whole sectors of Russian economy, instead of simply extending them.

    “The West should get to …

  • Dzhemilev: Turkey didn't impose sanctions against Russia until later in an attempt to protect Crimean Tatars

    The Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, Mustafa Dzhemilev, stated in his interview with Radio Svoboda that Turkey joined the sanctions imposed against Russia for the annexation of Crimea only after the deterioration of their relationship with the Russian Federation. Prior to that, Turkey hadn’t joined the group of countries that impose sanctions against Russia.

    According to Dzhemilev, officials in Ankara believed the Turkish leader would be more powerful and better able to …