• Peskov: Putin's schedule will no longer be sent to journalists

     The Russian President’s press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, announced that the Kremlin will no longer send Vladimir Putin’s tentative schedule to media agencies, RBC reported.

    “The mailing will no longer exist because the President’s schedule is not a dogma,” Peskov said.

    According to him, this decision was made “in order to avoid needless discussions later on the cancellation of actions that had not been [finalized].”

    “Some events may be worked through and charted out, but officially we do not …

  • Activists in Kiev call on Russia to investigate disappearances in Crimea

    Activists held a protest in Kiev in support of Erwin Ibrahimov and other Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars who have disappeared in the Crimea. As a correspondent of Krym.Realii reports, about 20 people came to the Russian Embassy in Ukraine with “Where is Erwin?” placards.

    Human rights advocates, including representatives from the Crimea SOS public initiative and the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, as well as Crimean resident and former political prisoner in Russia Gennady Afanasiev, exhorted …

  • Green party candidate Jill Stein critical of Ukraine, says NATO 'encircled Russia'

    As the two main US political parties have officially nominated their candidates for the presidential elections in November, some embittered voters have thrown their support behind third party candidates, such as the Green Party’s Dr. Jill Stein. Disappointed with Bernie Sanders’ withdrawal from the Democratic race and subsequent endorsement of Hillary Clinton, many of Sanders’ supporters have found a number of similarities between their candidate of choice and Jill Stein, especially when it …

  • Ukraine receives surveillance drones from the US

    Ukraine has received another batch of technical assistance from the United States, namely AeroVironment RQ-11 Raven Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), according to the press service of the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

    The exact number of drones was not specified, though the cost of the UAVs totaled $12 million.

    “The assistance is non-lethal, as the UAV is not equipped with weapons,” the press service stressed.

    The RQ-11 has an operational radius of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) at …

  • Kuchma’s press secretary: Separatists refuse to negotiate on prisoner exchange

    In the framework of the meeting of the Trilateral Contact Group in Minsk, separatist representatives from the self-proclaimed Republics of the Donbas refuse to hold negotiations regarding the release of prisoners. This was reported on the Facebook page of Darka Olifer, the press-secretary of the Ukrainian representative in the Trilateral Contact Group, Leonid Kuchma, regarding the settlement of the conflict in the Donbas.

    According to Olifer, representatives from the so-called DPR and LPR “ …

  • Russia has to compete with Ukraine and Romania on the grain market

    Record yields of wheat in Ukraine and Romania reduced grain export prices, forcing Russian grain to compete with them. Bloomberg cited data from the Institute for Agricultural Market Studies stating that wheat export prices declined by 1.8% ($162 per ton) as a result of bumper crops.

    According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Russia and Romania are set for record crops and Ukraine is expected to reap its third-biggest since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. “Ukraine, Romania and …

  • Poroshenko agrees with Merkel’s call for stronger sanctions against Russia

    The President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, conducted a telephone call with the Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel. Both parties agreed to intensify the work in the Normandy format and in other sectors, the Presidential press service reported. In particular, the call concerned the development of a clear roadmap for the implementation of the Minsk Agreements, including Russia’s fulfillment of the security component.

    As noted in the report, the President of Ukraine pointed out Russia’s …

  • The US to deliver drones and radar systems to Ukraine

    The US intends to supply Ukraine with drones and radar equipment this week. Ukrainski Novyny reported that this was said by the US Ambassador to Ukraine, Geoffrey Pyatt, at the “Open World” discussion club.

    “We have set $600 million aside for security assistance. We have a large delivery of UAVs and night vision devices scheduled for this week, and radar equipment will be delivered in a few days,” Pyatt said. However, he did not specify how much of the equipment will be sent to Ukrainian …

  • Russia's Gazprom is ready to resume talks on the Turkish Stream pipeline

    Russia’s Gazprom is gearing up to resume talks on the adoption of the Turkish Stream gas pipeline project. The topic will also be discussed at the meeting of Russian Minister of Energy Alexander Novak and Turkish Minister of Economy Nihat Zeybekçi, Kommersant reports.

    Zeybekçi is the head of the Turkish delegation that arrived in Moscow to conduct negotiations on resuming economic relations between the two countries. Gazprom deputy chairman Alexander Medvedev reiterated on July 26th that the …

  • Lawyer: The Kremlin continues policy of suppression and expulsion of Crimean Tatars

    Russian lawyer Mark Feygin believes that the Kremlin did not stop the policy of squeezing the rebellious Crimean Tatars from the annexed Peninsula, as discussed in an interview with UKRINFORM.

    "There is a policy of squeezing out the Crimean Tatars from the Crimea and at the same time silencing them within its territory. It's awful. And there is no need to build illusions that the Kremlin will have difficulties, practical or moral with the implementation of such a policy as similar experiences …