President of Belarus Lukashenko no longer calls Russia a brother state 

During a meeting on the current state of cooperation with Russia, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said that he will not call Russia a brother state, because relations between the countries have started to be perceived differently. 

“I no longer talk about a brother state, because, as I am informed, this is not perceived in Russia. Apparently new people have come, to whom this concept is unacceptable. So, we will be partners,” Lukashenko said, as cited by the official Belarusian …


President Poroshenko signs bill giving OUN and UPA fighters status of combatants for independence of Ukraine

On Saturday, December 22, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko signed Bill 8519 "On the status of war veterans and guarantees of their social protection" which aims at strengthening the social status of participants in the war for the independence of Ukraine, as reported on the Verkhovna Rada’s website. 

The bill would provide the status of combatant to persons who took part in all forms of armed military activities for the independence of Ukraine in the 20th century, including the Ukrainian …


Media: Poland is concerned by the outflow of Ukrainian migrant workers 

About 500,000 Ukrainian migrant workers could migrate from Poland to Germany, negatively affecting the country’s economy, the Polish Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers told the newspaper Die Welt on Sunday, December 23. About two million Ukrainians live in Poland; most of them are migrant workers. 

"According to a moderate scenario that we consider realistic, five hundred thousand Ukrainians will leave the Polish market. The worst-case scenario suggests that there will be twice as many,” …


Ukrainian politician suggests sending British warship through the Kerch Strait to see Russia’s reaction

Speaking on the Ukrainian Pryamyi TV Channel, Yuriy Hrymchak, Ukrainian Deputy Minister of the Temporarily Occupied Territories, suggested that Britain should send the British ship HMS Echo, which recently visited in Odessa, to the Kerch Strait together with the Ukrainian vessels. 

While speaking about the attack of Russians on the Ukrainian ships, Hrymchak said that the British ship should try to go through the Kerch Strait. 

“When people say that Russia will allow the British ship to pass, …


Ukrainian flotilla in the Sea of Azov receives a new boat

The Mariupol Maritime Border Guard detachment of the Ukrainian State Border Service was supplemented by a new UMS-1000 PC 12 M-2 small patrol boat, reported the Ukrainian military portal. During exercises, this boat showed a maximum speed of 45.5 knots, the statement reads. 

Moreover, tests showed that even when running at maximum engine power of three thousand revolutions per minute, it makes less noise than the basic UMS-1000 model. According to developers, the improvements were achieved  …