• US imposes sanctions on head of Chechnya Kadyrov

    Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov was sanctioned by the United States under the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012 (the Magnitsky Act), according to the updated sanctions list published on the website of the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

    Besides Kadyrov, four other Russians were targeted under the Magnitsky Act: Ayub Kataev, Yulia Mayorova, Andrei Pavlov, and Alexei Sheshenya.

    The American authorities consider Kadyrov guilty of “killings, torture, and other gross …

  • Russia ready to return its servicemen to JCCC

    Russia is ready to return its servicemen to the Joint Center for the Control and Coordination (JCCC) for issues related to the ceasefire and the stabilization of the contact line.

    “Russia’s representative in our security group just made an official statement that Russia is ready to return its representatives of the military to the JCCC under certain conditions. This the approval of the provision on the JCCC, its status, guarantees for security, etc.” wrote Ukrainian special representative in …

  • U.S. Congress approves sale of Javelin missile systems to Georgia

    The U.S. Congress has decided in favor of selling the Javelin anti-tank missile system to Georgia, as reported by Georgia Online, citing as a source a statement by the head of the Defense Ministry of Georgia Levan Izoria.

    According to him, the decision of the U.S. Congress means recognition of the reforms carried out by the Georgian Defense Ministry.

    “An important step has been taken toward acquiring the Javelin missile system. On March 29 of this year, I wrote to the U.S. Department of …

  • SBU finds Russian agent in Ukrainian government

    The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) reported the uncovering of a Russian agent who worked in the secretariat of the Ukrainian government.

    Ukrainian News agency reported the arrest of Stanislav Yezhov, deputy protocol supervisor of the Ukrainian prime minister.

    According to the SBU, the official was recruited by Russian intelligence during a “long trip abroad”. “On the instructions of Russian supervisors, using special equipment, the official collected information on the operation of the …

  • Yavlinsky speaks about conversation with Putin regarding situation in Ukraine

    Grigory Yavlinsky, co-founder of the Yabloko party, spoke on air during a broadcast of the television channel Dozhd about a prior meeting between him and President Vladimir Putin, during which they discussed the situation in Ukraine.

    Yavlinsky said that he considered it “necessary to meet" with Putin, "because this is politics." "And we need to conduct a dialogue. If there is no dialogue, then it is a big, big disaster," he said.

    Regarding whether Putin thinks that "something needs to be …

  • Ukrainian general: Russia’s withdrawal from JCCC will escalate the situation in Donbas

    The withdrawal of the Russian military from the Joint Center for the Control and Coordination of the ceasefire and stabilization on the contact line in the Donbas (JCCC) will exacerbate the situation in the Donbas, according to the former Deputy Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant-General Ihor Romanenko, in his comments to InfoResist news website.

    "I think that they are deliberately doing it. Because, as you know and remember, Putin's message is that the UN mission should, in this purpose, …

  • Ukrainian politician: pressure and sanctions will force Russia to return Crimea to Ukraine

    Pressure and sanctions against Russia should lead to the return of Crimea to Ukraine, as stated by the Ukrainian Deputy Minister on issues of the temporarily occupied territories and internally displaced persons, Yuri Hrymchak in an interview with Apostrophe.

    "I believe that at some point keeping the occupied Crimea will become so toxic to the Russian Federation that abandoning it will be a salvation for Russia itself as a state," Hrymchak said.

    According to the Deputy Minister, a similar …

  • EU: assistance for Ukraine contingent on implementation of reforms

    Delays in the implementation of anti-corruption reforms could endanger not only the progress Ukraine has made in this direction, but also the European Union support of the country, as stated by the Office of the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, in response to the open letter signed by RPR (Reanimation Package of Reforms) and a number of public organizations prior to the Association Council’s meeting on December 8th, Evropeyska Pravda reports.

    " …

  • Lithuania intends to demand the seizure of Gazprom's European property

    Lithuania accused Gazprom of abuse of its monopoly position in the natural gas market and imposed a fine of EUR 42 million, TASS reports. Vilnius expects to collect the fine using Gazprom’s property in other European countries.

    Lithuanian Ministry of Justice has prepared a special action plan for the recovery of the fine and any accrued interest. The plan outlines the actions of various Lithuanian ministries and departments. The accusations of Lithuania relate to the events of 2012, when the …

  • Volker: By dragging out conflict, Russia wants to involve DPR and LPR in discussion of peacekeeping

    The main difficulty in working to resolve the crisis in Donbas is that Russia continues to deny its role in the fighting, stated Kurt Volker, the U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations, as reported by Voice of America.

    “Russia is continuing to deny its own role in this and that it has nothing to do with the separatist governments that it has set up, and that it changes the leaders at will as they did in Luhansk just last month,” Volker said.

    According to him, by dragging out the …