• Pro-Russian Separatists Acknowledge Debt Owed To Kiev

    Following the results of the negotiations of the Trilateral Contact Group in Minsk, the self-proclaimed LPR (the Lugansk People`s Republic) and DPR (the Donetsk People`s Republic) have acknowledged debts to the Ukrainian budget and their repayment.  Agreements on the exchange of prisoners have not yet reached.

    The acknowledgements were reported by Daria Olifer, the Press-Secretary of former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma.  This became known after the meeting of the Trilateral Contact Group …

  • Putin's Comments on Donbas to Be Considered At Next UN Security Council Meeting

    The Ukrainian delegation initiated a discussion in the UN Security Council about the recent statements of Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding the Donbas that purport to cast doubt on Ukraine's border.  This was stated on the website of the delegation of Ukraine to the UN.

    During the discussions, the representative of Ukraine, Vladimir Yelchenko, stated the inadmissibility of attempts of the top leadership of Russia to rewrite history and to question the territorial integrity, …

  • Ukrainian Foreign Ministry calls on OSCE to react to human rights violations in Crimea

    The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has called on the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to react to human rights violations in Crimea and other regions of Ukraine which are beyond the control of the country.  This was stated by the Deputy Director of the Department of International Organizations of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Vasyl Pokotylo, at a round table dedicated to Germany’s presidency of the OSCE in 2016.Pokotylo continued, “We believe that the …

  • Freedom House report suggests human rights and civil liberties are deteriorating in Russia

    A report issued by Freedom House stated that Russia is considered to be a “non-free” country”, and was given a rating of 6. States that have the lowest rating of 7 include North Korea, Uzbekistan, Syria, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, and Turkmenistan.

    The US-based international human rights group found that freedom worldwide declined in 2015 for the 10th consecutive year.

    The discussions relating to Russia began with the observation that the country’s worsening economic situation compelled the …

  • Former Swedish PM Says he does not Intend to Succeed Yatsenyuk

    Former Swedish Prime Minister, Carl Bildt, said that he doesn't intend to replace Arseniy Yatsenyuk as Prime Minister of Ukraine, as reported by Dagens Nyheter on Tuesday, January 26th.

    "Ukraine has a good Prime Minister. There is no reason to change it," Bildt said. According to the politician, the information about his possible appointment as Prime Minister of the country is untrue.

    Earlier, on January 26th, the Ukrainian newspaper Glavcom, citing a source in the Presidential administration, …

  • Dzhemilev: Turkey Supports International Effort to Return Crimea to Ukraine

    The Minister of External Affairs of Turkey, Mevlut Cavusoglu, supports the creation of an international group that will work on freeing the Crimea from Russian occupation.

    This initiative was requested by Ukraine and was discussed in Strasbourg at a meeting between the Turkish Foreign Minister and the Commissioner of the President of Ukraine on the Affairs of Crimean Tatars, Mustafa Dzhemilev, on January 26th.

    According to Dzhemilev's Facebook page, the meeting was also attended by Ukrainian …

  • Poroshenko: Russia is the Main Military Threat to Ukraine

    At a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC), the President of Ukraine said that there is a need to establish a system of cybersecurity in Ukraine, and also reported on an agreement with foreign partners on the joint production of weapons.

    Poroshenko said that Russia is the main military threat to his country. "In a long-term historical perspective the main military threat to Ukraine is Russia and, unfortunately, they will be the aggressor country," the Ukrainian …

  • NATO looks to actively combat Russian propaganda

    The North Atlantic Alliance intends to confront the use of information for military purposes.  This was reported by Reuters in reference to a draft of a document containing the basis of the NATO information policy.  It is also reported that the Alliance believes that Russia will possibly use TV and the Internet as weapons for propaganda.

    Furthermore, NATO intends to reveal important information about the possible military activities of enemies more efficiently in order to confront this tactic.  …

  • Steinmeier: There Is No Justification for Using Children for Propaganda

    The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, stated that using children for political propaganda is unacceptable. “There should be no justification for using an innocent, 13-year-old girl for political propaganda,” Steinmeier said.

    On January 16th, the Russian First Channel aired a program about temporary suspension of the Schengen Agreement because of cases of violence in Germany. During the segment a story was told about an underage girl named Lisa from a Russian- …

  • The ICC in The Hague to begin investigation into war crimes in South Ossetia

    The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague has made the decision to start an investigation into the war crimes committed in South Ossetia in 2008.

    On the 27th of November 2015, the Pre-Trial Chamber of the ICC authorized the Prosecutor to initiate an investigation into these crimes under the ICC jurisdiction.  These crimes were allegedly committed in Georgia and linked to South Ossetia.  They allegedly occurred between the 1st of July and the 10th of October 2008.

    The court stated …