Contents tagged with Ukraine

  • Ukrainian Foreign Minister outlines plan for returning Crimea to Ukraine

    In a television interview, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin outlined the strategy to return Crimea to Ukraine, stating that the plan consists of three basic parts: political, diplomatic and informational. 

    According to Klimkin, the first phase of the plan consists of the political and diplomatic elements, and includes western countries providing support to Ukraine.  It also involves gaining support of the non-recognition policy of Crimea’s occupation, as well supporting sanctions …

  • EU expects Ukraine to implement two more reforms before visa-free regime can be established

    The European Union expects full implementation of two out of five commitments in the so-called “visa-free” package from Kiev. 

    A European diplomat said this to the correspondent of UKRINFORM in Brussels, commenting on the package of "visa-free" legislation approved by the Verkhovna Rada last week.

    "Yes, indeed, there are still two important questions left: the National Anti-Corruption Agency and the law on electronic declarations," the diplomat said.

    At the same time, he believes that the …

  • US and Ukraine sign deal for construction of grain terminal in Odessa's port

    Ukraine and the US have signed a $100 million investment agreement for the construction of a gain terminal in Odessa.  The signing ceremony was held in the presence of US Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt and Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, as reported by Gordon.

    According to Pyatt, the construction of the new grain terminal in the Yuzhny Port in Odessa will increase Ukraine’s export opportunities and create hundreds of jobs. 

    “I want to congratulate the American and Ukrainian …

  • NATO to supply Ukraine with demining equipment for use in Donbas region

    NATO intends to supply Ukraine with equipment to be used in the clearing of land mines in the Donbas region.  This was reported by the Acting Head of the Mission of Ukraine to NATO, Yehor Bozhok, during the workshop entitled "Research challenges in the field of border security of Ukraine".

    “Ukraine will receive the demining equipment in the spring.  It will be ready by the beginning of the so-called season of clearance, which is in May,” Bozhok explained.  According to him, the need for this …

  • Russian S7 Airline finds way to circumvent ban on flights over Ukraine

    The largest private Russian airline company, S7 Airlines, wants to provide service through another airline in Bulgaria’s capital for flights from Moscow to Europe through Ukraine, RIA Novosti reported.

    “Yes, we have sent the documents for the registration and purchase of the local airline company. Ukraine’s airspace is closed to us and it is impossible to fly to Bulgaria while bypassing Ukraine,” S7 co-owner, Natalya Fileva, stated in her interview with journalists.

    She noted that a few …

  • Visegrad Group says it's ready to facilitate visa-free regime between Ukraine and EU

    The Visegrad Group (Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and the Czech Republic) has declared its readiness to facilitate a visa-free regime between Ukraine and the European Union, as reported by RBC Ukraine.

    Representatives of the four members of the Group are currently in Lviv attending a meeting on energy efficiency.

    “The Visegrad partners position remains unchanged with respect to the support of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine and [the group] expressed its readiness to support …

  • Lawyer says the exchange of Sentsov and Kolchenko will only be possible after Ukraine sentences 2 Russian soldiers

    Lawyer Svetlana Sidorkina said that the exchange of her clients who were detained in Russia, Crimean activist Alexander Kolchenko and Ukrainian director Oleg Sentsov, is only possible when two members of the Russian Special Forces, who were arrested in Ukraine, are sentenced.

    "As long as a final decision isn't made, I believe that the question of the exchange will not be considered. Although, I still hope that the issue of the exchange will be the subject of negotiations by the two countries, …

  • Five Ukrainian companies file lawsuit against Russia

    Five Ukrainian companies, DneprAzot, Ukrinterinvest, Lugzor, Lisbet and Aberon Ltd., filed a lawsuit against Russia with the International Court of Arbitration in The Hague, as published on the Court’s website on the 24th of February. According to Ukrainian media, all companies are part of the Privat group, owned by the oligarch, Ihor Kolomoyskyi.

    According to Interfax, a bilateral agreement between Ukraine and Russia regarding the protection of investments, signed in 1998, is the basis for …

  • Representatives of Ukraine and so-called LPR agree to exchange prisoners

    Representatives of Ukraine and the so-called Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) have agreed to exchange a total of 12 prisoners on the 26th of February.  This exchange will occur in Minsk and is a result of the Trilateral Contact Group's meeting on the conflict settlement in the Donbas region.  This was reported to Interfax by the OSCE representative, Martin Sajdik.

    “On the 26th of February, the release of another group of people is planned,” Sajdik said.  He also reported that on February 20th, …

  • The Lithuanian Foreign Minister believes that it is too early to lift sanctions against Russia

    The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, Linas Linkevičius, commented on statements given by French politicians regarding the possible dangers of ongoing sanctions, saying that they not only affect the country’s economy, but the European Union (EU) as a whole. 

    Linkevičius noted that "no one is proud of the sanctions, but they were introduced for a reason".

    In an interview with Radio French International (RFI), Linkevičius stated that Russia’s annexation of Crimea was the reason for the  …