• Russian Minister of Energy Skeptical About Continued Crimean Reliance on Ukrainian Power Supply

    Russian Minister of Energy Skeptical About Continued Crimean Reliance on Ukrainian Power Supply

    According to the Russian Minister of Energy, Alexander Novak, he had no clear understanding concerning the continuation of work with Ukrainian electrical power system. Authorities of the Russian Federation do not anticipate the renewal of power supplies from Ukraine to Crimea.

    “The peninsula counts on its own strength,” Novak said in Simferopol. Earlier, the Russian Ministry of Energy denied the …

  • EU to discuss extension of sanctions on Russia

    In the next two weeks the Council of the Committee of Permanent Representatives in the European Union (Coreper) will begin its work preparing proposals for the heads of EU Member States on the extension of economic sanctions against Russia. RIA Novosti reports that sources close to EU leadership believe that during the summit in December, members will decide on the renewal of these measures, presumably for another six months. 

    According to one source, the draft document on economic sanctions …

  • Poroshenko met with the Prime Minister of Canada

     

    The Ukrainian President, Petro Poroshenko and the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, discussed the prospects of an expansion of the special cooperation between the two countries at the meeting that was held in Paris. Poroshenko told Trudeau about the current situation in Donbas and emphasized the importance of a unified view concerning the issue on the maintenance of sanctions against Russia until full restoration of the territorial integrity of Ukraine is achieved, the presidential …

  • Ukraine promises to increase food exports to Turkey in response to Russian sanctions

    Ukraine made a statement about its readiness to ensure food security for Turkey in case of export restrictions from the Russian side. Kiev intends to increase export of grain, corn and oil to the Turkish market. The Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, Alexander Pavlenko, posted on his Facebook page, November 29, a statement which explains that Ukraine is ready to provide food for Turkey.

    According to Pavlenko, if traditional partners of Turkey suspend grain export, Ukraine is …

  • Widespread human rights violations in Pro-Kremlin separatist republics

    The majority of Ukrainian prisoners of war were roughly treated and even outright tortured in the detention centers of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, areas which are out of the Ukrainian government’s control. Ukrinform, the National News Agency of Ukraine reports that this information was made public on Friday by the representatives of public organizations together with the Verkhovna Rada's (Parliament of Ukraine) representative for human rights.

    Human rights defenders interviewed more than 1 …