• Russia introduces fines for insulting authorities on the Internet

    The Russian State Duma adopted a law that introduces punishment for disrespectful Internet publications about the government and government officials.

    According to the Current Time  news outlet , individuals accused of “disseminating information expressed in an indecent manner that offends human dignity and public morality, [that shows] a clear disrespect of society, country, the official state symbols of the Russian Federation, the Constitution of the Russian Federation or bodies exercising …

  • Kremlin confirms that four American Mormons have been detained in Novorossiysk

    Four US citizens were detained in Novorossiysk, two of whom have already been deported from Russia by a court order, said the spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova on Thursday, Interfax reports.

    According to her, the Americans were detained for violating Russian migration rules. Zakharova referred journalists to law enforcement agencies for further details.

    Russian media earlier reported that several Mormons were detained in Novorossiysk. It was reported …

  • Italian Embassy in Ukraine still investigating reports about Italian equipment in Crimea

    The Italian Embassy in Ukraine is continuing to investigate the reports of shipments of Italian-produced equipment to the Zolotaya Balka factory in Russian-annexed Crimea, said Italian Ambassador Davide La Cecilia while giving a presentation on Ukraine-Italy relations in Kyiv, Krym.Realii reports.

    “We are currently trying, through the ministry, to obtain information in order to find out what actually happened, because there are mechanisms for contravening sanctions. And when we clear up the …

  • Slovak Foreign Ministry summons Russian ambassador over Crimea comments

    The Russian ambassador to Bratislava has been summoned to the Slovak Foreign Ministry and reprimanded for publicly criticizing statements by a Slovak official concerning the illegal annexation of Crimea.

    On February 26, Slovak State Defense Secretary Robert Ondrejcsak wrote that now, five years after the annexation of Crimea, “war is not taboo in Europe” and that “whether we want it or not, for the Russians we are the enemies”.

    In a social network post, the Russian embassy to Slovakia …

  • Kyiv denies Austrian pro-Russian journalist entry to Ukraine

    The Head of Ukrainian Bureau of the Austrian television channel ORF, Christian Vershutsu has been banned from entering Ukraine.  According to the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU)The reason is the threat he poses to national security.

    “The head of the Ukrainian bureau of the Austrian television channel ORF, Christian Vershutsu, was banned from entering Ukraine for one year. This is reported by my sources in the Ukrainian Security Service,” the first deputy head of the Rada Committee on Freedom …