The Ukrainian government has extended the embargo on a number of Russian products until 2020, the press service of the Ukrainian cabinet of ministers announced on Monday 15 July. Originally the embargo was imposed at the end of 2015 as a response to similar restrictions imposed by Russia. On 15 May 2019, Kyiv decided to significantly expand the list of goods that may not be imported from Russia.

Since 1 July 2019, the embargo has applied to the raw materials for producing cement, all prepared …

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has decided to update Ukraine’s diplomatic corps, the presidential administration announced on its Telegram channel.

“The decision has already been made to replace 12 heads of embassies around the world. The Ukrainian ambassador to the US will also be ending his stay in Washington,” the post states.

The other countries where Kyiv is replacing ambassadors were not mentioned. Zelensky’s administration is already selecting new candidates for the ambassador …

The Italian police have uncovered a network of Neo-Nazis and seized an arsenal of weapons that includes automatic rifles, pistols and objects with Nazi symbols.

In a special operation, the anti-terrorist division of the Italian state police in Turin arrested three people and seized an arsenal of weapons, which included an air-to-air missile, which presumably belonged to the right-wing extremists who had been involved in the Donbas conflict, the Italian police announced in a statement on 15 …

Athens could suffer if it gives Israel information about S-300 aerial defense systems and lets the Israeli Air Force practice against such systems, writes the Russian site Avia.pro.

“If the key problem of the S-300s is the difficult attacking conditions for Israeli fighters, which are still taking cover behind civilian aircraft, then Iran will certainly be willing to act, attacking any hostile objects without restraint. Obviously, Israel is aware of this, which is why this country’s air force …

The influx of foreign investors into Russian government securities has sharply declined: by the end of June, their share in the Russian government debt market had effectively ceased to grow, said Elizaveta Danilova, head of the Bank of Russia’s financial stability department.

According to her, on 29 June, non-residents owned 30.1% of the federal loan bond market, as opposed to 30% at the start of the month.

The data comes from the National Settlement Depository, and may not take into account …

The newly proposed provisions of Russia’s law “On the national payment system” could result in the international payment system (IPS) wrapping up its activity in Russia, and Russian citizens being unable to use their cards abroad, writes Kommersant. Within Russia, cards belonging to foreign credit institutions may no longer be accepted. Russia’s State Duma will consider the second reading of the law on 23 July.

The amendments themselves are supposedly meant to maintain the continuity of card …

A new round of Russian-Japanese peace treaty negotiations has come to nothing. Since the end of World War II, a peace treaty between Japan and Russia, as the legal successor to the Soviet Union, has still not been signed. A declaration that the state of war between the counties has ended was signed in 1956.

Until now, Japan has demanded that Russia return the southern islands of the Kuril chain – Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and Habomai. In negotiations on 14 July, Russia refused to even discuss …

Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman said that Ukraine can not severe the railway communication with Russia. Speaking on the program “Opposition” on Nash TV channel, Groysman explained that Ukraine has obligations to the European Union on the transit of goods. "We simply cannot stop the railway traffic, because we have obligations under the European Union Association Agreement," said Ukrainian Prime Minister.

At the same time, Groysman noted that Ukraine does not intend to restore air …