• Head of Crimea wants to create Silicon Valley on the peninsula

    Crimean authorities believe that it possible to create an IT technology hub, similar to Silicon Valley in the American state of California, on the peninsula, as stated by the head of the republic, Sergey Aksyonov, TASS reports.

    Aksyonov noted that authorities in the region want "people” who will be engaged in the development of IT technologies “to come" to the Crimea. "We thought about creating a center here similar to Silicon Valley, and we are thinking about how this can be accomplished," …

  • UN warns of humanitarian disaster due to hostilities in the Donbas

    The UN is concerned that the increased hostilities near the water supply infrastructure in the Donbas may lead to the leakage of lethal chlorine gas, as stated by the UN Resident Coordinator, Neal Walker, Radio Liberty reports.

    Walker said that during the past few days, two water treatment plants on both sides of the demarcation line were fired at.

    "The UN is extremely concerned about the possible leakage of the dangerous chlorine gas stored at both plants. If one 900-kg container is …

  • Media: Polish firm sells coal from separatist-held areas of Donbas to Italy and Austria

    The Polish company TD Anthracite, which imports coal from the Donbas, supplies its coal not only to Warsaw but also to other EU countries. This has been reported by the Polish publication Gazeta Prawna. "Coal was exported to at least five other EU countries, including Austria and Italy," said the publication.

    A statement from the official website of the Austrian company Carbones, which is linked to the TD Anthracite, is provided as evidence. "We offer Ukrainian anthracite from our permanent …

  • Lithuanian Security and Defense committee investigates why Lithuanian trains are equipped with Russian security system

    The Lithuanian parliament’s Committee on National Security and Defense has begun an investigation into who decided to install the Russian “CLUB-U” security system on Lithuanian Railways trains during their modernization, stated Committee chairman Vytautas Bakas after a closed meeting in the Seimas, reports Delfi news agency.

    According to Bakas, the Russian system may pose a threat to national security, since it is linked to the Russian military industry.

    "We will find out the circumstances of …

  • Prosecutor General of Ukraine confirmed that Ukraine has received funds confiscated from Yanukovych

    Prosecutor General Yurii Lutsenko has stated that the money confiscated from an organized criminal group operating under former President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych has been credited into the accounts of the State Treasury. Lutsenko made the announcement on Facebook.

    “Not all of the USD 1.5 billion seized from the Yanukovych-led criminal group disappeared. It was placed into the Treasury accounts a long time ago and was subsequently invested into the National Army and infrastructure projects, …

  • Kremlin wants to verify that Facebook follows Russia’s data collection laws

    The officials of the Roskomnadzor, Russia’s Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media announced they intended to check whether the social network Facebook was complying with Russian legislation governing the processing of personal data. The announcement was made by the executive body’s press service, reported Interfax.

    "Soon, the Roskomnadzor will plan supervisory actions  aimed at analyzing the activities of the administration of the social …

  • Ukrainian Vice-Prime-Minister: Hungary blocking development of relations between Kyiv and NATO

    Budapest is blocking the effective development of Ukraine's relations with the North Atlantic alliance due to their displeasure with the paragraph on language in the Ukrainian law on education.

    According to the Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration, Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, Ukraine will try to solve this problem with the support of other NATO members, since Budapest "blocks the effective development" of things planned between Ukraine and the Alliance.

    "Ukraine is concerned with …

  • Ukraine intends to stop water supply to separatist-controlled areas of Luhansk region

    The Luhansk Energy Association (LEA) is preparing to shut down the Zapadna (Western) filtering station, which supplies water to the separatist-held territories of the Luhansk region, as announced by the Director General of the LEA, Volodymyr Hrytsay, Hromadske Radio reports.

    "Permission from the Ukrainian National Power Company, UkrEnergo is needed to disconnection this facility. We have been requesting permission from UkrEnergo for a year and have not received any response. Today, the debt …

  • Media: EU assistance plan for Ukraine lacks sponsors

    On Monday the Lithuanian parliament was presented with an assistance plan for Ukraine. This will involve 50 billion euros which Kyiv is supposed to receive over the next 10 years as support for small and medium enterprise (SME).

    As Rzeczpospolita reports, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevičius commented that the so-called “Marshall Plan for Ukraine” needs to involve the EBRD and IMF in addition to EU states. There should also be a corresponding agency in Kyiv to oversee the financing of …

  • Amendment on breaking of diplomatic relations with Russia introduced in draft bill on reintegration of Donbas

    A group of independent MPs introduced an amendment which proposes to obligate the Cabinet of Ministers to break off diplomatic relations with Russia, for the second reading of bill No. 7163 on ensuring Ukraine’s sovereignty in the Donbas.

    This was announced by MP Andriy Teterev (People’s Front), a member of the Committee on National Security and Defense, Interfax-Ukraine reports.

    “This amendment exists. It is with number 595. Introduced by a group of [independent] MPs from the UKROP political …