US ambassador: Those who fight corruption are heroes, but the adherents of old Ukraine have gone to war with them

US Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch wrote an article for Novoye Vremya advocating the creation of an Anti-Corruption Court and the reformation of the National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP).

“Four years after Maidan, the question is haunting: isn’t the urge to bring Ukraine into the future fading? Political attacks on the NABU (National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine) and SAP (Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office of Ukraine) hinder their ability to take down …


Russian helicopter crashes in Syria

Citing the Ministry of Defense, the RIA Novosti news agency reports that a MI-24 helicopter crashed in Syria while flying from the Khmeimim base to the Hama region. Both of the vehicle’s pilots were killed.

A flight mechanic was also on board the helicopter. He was injured, and was evacuated by the search and rescue team on Khmeimim airbase.

The Department of Defense reported that the incident occurred on December 31. They stressed that the helicopter was not shot at, and that a technical …


Russian Alfa-Bank to stop servicing defense companies due to Western sanctions

The first deputy chairman of the board of directors of Alfa-Bank Oleg Sysuev told Ekho Moskvy (Echo of Moscow) radio that the bank has notified the Russian defense companies that they will not be providing them with service because of Western sanctions.

Sysuev clarified that the bank is not going to break off relations with defense companies at once. “We are trying to minimize the risks,” he explained.

On December 29, Forbes published an interview with the founder of Alfa-Group, Mikhail …


Kolomoyskyi’s claims against Ukraine in the Ukrnafta case reach $5.4 billion

The claims of Ukrnafta's minority shareholders controlled by Ihor Kolomoyskyi against Ukraine increased to $5.4 billion, according to Interfax-Ukraine with reference to the data of the Ministry of Justice published in Prozorro.

In September 2017, in the prospectus of Eurobonds of Ukraine, it was stated that claims of minority shareholders in accordance with the suit filed with the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce against Ukraine amounted to $4.7 billion. The …


Klimkin insists that US weapons are needed only for the defense of Ukraine

At a joint press conference with German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel on January 3, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said that the lethal weapons that the US will provide to Ukraine will be used only when provoked by Russia and the separatists, Interfax-Ukraine reports.

Klimkin stressed that the weapons will not be used to contribute to the escalation of the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

"We are talking about defense weapons. These weapons can and will be used in the event of …