On Thursday, December 12, Ukrainian Parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, extended the law on special provisions for local governments in certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions until December 31 next year.

The bill was supported by 320 MPs.

According to the document, the possibility of an introduction of a temporary special status of local governments in the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, established by Article 1 of the current law, has been extended for a year. 

The law …

A new cardiac center will be built in Yevpatoria (Crimea) "with the support of Israeli doctors," reports Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper, citing a member of the Coordination Council of International Association of Friends of Crimea and the future Director of the medical institution Alexander Lichstein.

"Anti-Crimean sanctions will not stop the project. Over the past year alone, three delegations from Israel have visited Crimea. And we concluded that the Peninsula looked much worse before the …

Polish oil and gas state company PGNiG stated that Poland is prepared if the transit of Russian gas to Europe through Ukrainian territory stops. The company has also presented possible options for fuel supplies in 2019-2023.

“If gas transit stops from the beginning of 2020, gas production in Poland, its reserves, and imports, including through Belarus, will amount to 25.6 billion cubic meters of gas per year with a total consumption of 19 billion.  If, after the expiration of the agreement …

A fire broke out on the Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov which was undergoing repairs in the port of Murmansk, reports Interfax news agency.

"The area of the fire is about 600 square meters in the power compartment. Firefighters are working to put the second degree fire,” the source of the agency said, noting that the area of the fire cannot be accurately determined due to the thick smoke.

According to preliminary reports, diesel fuel on the ship caught on fire.

The Ministry of …

On December 11, ceremonies to mark the commissioning of the Estonian-Finnish gas pipeline Balticconnector were held simultaneously in Paldiski (Estonia) and Helsinki (Helsinki), reports Delfi news outlet.

The gas pipeline was launched by the Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid and Finnish President Sauli Niinistö.

The length of the underwater part of the Balticconnector gas pipeline from Paldiski to Inkoo municipality in Finland is 77 km. The land part covers 55 km in Estonia and 21 km in …

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in a telephone conversation with the President of the European Council Charles Michel, said that he hopes that the sanctions against Russia will be extended, reports the press service of the Ukrainian President.

"I expect that the leaders of the EU Member States will maintain unity in support of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, as well as in the continuation of sanctions against the Russian Federation until full implementation of the …

The revenue from exporting natural gas is no longer sufficient to subsidize Gazprom’s operation within Russia’s internal market, where the gas prices are one third of what they are in Europe, said Viktor Yatsenko, deputy head of Gazprom’s economic analysis and pricing department, at the Gas Russia 2019 forum.

“Let’s be honest with each other and admit that this ‘junction’, when we supported the internal market through export, this situation will probably no longer continue,” said the senior …

The largest Polish oil and gas company PGNiG plans to produce gas in the Lviv region with the Ukrainian ERA trading company, reports PGNiG.

"The agreement we signed today will allow us to produce natural gas in a very promising region. I am confident that our partnership with the ERA trading company will contribute to the value of both companies," said PGNiG's Board President Piotr Woźniak.

The agreement between ERA trading and PGNiG provides for joint operations in the Lviv region.

First, …