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Captain of ship captured by Russia tells investigators he is a prisoner of war
Bohdan Nebylytsya, captain of the Ukrainian armored boat the Nikopol, which was captured several weeks ago near the Kerch Strait, told Russia’s FSB that he considers himself a prisoner of war, reported attorney Mykola Polozov.
“As with the other sailors, Nebylytsya was investigated, we have been informed of several orders to set up expert assessments. They have also interrogated him. During the interrogation, he said that he is a prisoner of war,” Polozov noted.
“Emil Kurbedinov, the defense …
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Ukraine establishes autocephalous orthodox church
On Saturday, December 15, the Unifying Assembly of Ukrainian Orthodox Confessions, under the auspices of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, ruled to establish an autocephalous (independent) local Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU). The assembly also confirmed the church charter, and elected Metropolitan Epiphany, patriarchal vicar of the former Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate (UOC KP), as primate of the new church. Ukrainian religious scholars and political experts believe that this …
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Russia prepares to disconnect from the internet
Russian TASS news agency reports that the State Duma of the Russian Federation introduced a bill that, according to the authors of the document, will ensure proper operation of the Russian internet segment in case it is disconnected from the World Wide Web.
The group of deputies proposes in part to create a specialized infrastructure capable of replacing foreign root web servers with the further rerouting of the internet traffic.
The deputies claim that this bill will also reduce the amount …
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European Commission invites Russia and Ukraine to gas negotiations
Moscow and Kyiv have been invited to Brussels for trilateral negotiations on gas transit, Vice President of the European Commission Maroš Šefčovič stated on Twitter. “I expect that commercial entities will also attend. It is important to build on the positive momentum created in July,” he added.
Earlier, Russian Minister of Energy Alexander Novak stated that the meeting of experts from Russia, the European Commission and Ukraine for trilateral negotiations on gas would take place by the end of …
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Lavrov claims that Russian agent Butina was tortured in the US
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that the Russian spy Maria Butina, who was arrested in the US and later agreed to cooperate with the investigation, was subjected to “special methods of torture,” TASS reports.
“As far as I understand, the whole point of this deal with justice, which is a common practice in the US, is to bargain for an opportunity for freedom and to return home as soon as possible,” he said.
Lavrov said he “understands this woman,” because she “is in the most …