The Council of Venice recognized the Crimea as part of Russia

The Council of Venice calls for the lifting of sanctions against Russia

The regional Council of Venice passed a resolution calling on the Italian Government to condemn the policy of the EU Council on Crimea and demand the lifting of sanctions against Russia, RIA Novosti reports. Venice also recognized the Crimea as part of Russia.

27 of the 51 members of the regional council voted in favor of the document. 

The document states that due to the anti-Russian sanctions Italy lost 3.6 million …


Polish President accuses Russia of undermining European security

During his visit to Italy, Polish President Andrzej Duda spoke out against the isolation of Russia, Polish radio reports. “No one is interested in a new cold war,” Duda stated during his speech at the NATO Defense College in Rome.

President Duda called for dialogue with Moscow based on the principles of international law. At the same time, he noted that Russian actions in Ukraine undermine the security system in Europe.

Earlier, Andrzej Duda spoke of the new phases of deployment of an  …


Human rights groups: Ukrainian language education has almost disappeared in the Crimea

The Coordinator of the Crimean Human Rights Group, Olga Skrypnyk, stated that only one of seven Ukrainian schools is still working in annexed Crimea, Krym.Realii reported. According to Skrypnyk, Russia has manipulated the situation such that parents no longer wish classes to be taught in the Ukrainian language.

“For example, there was a case in Yalta Ukrainian High School, when an employee of the City Education Department urged and intimidated parents to reject the use of the Ukrainian …


Committee of Voters of Ukraine: It is impossible to hold elections in the Donbas

Elections in the occupied regions of Donetsk and Luhansk will not happen for at least a few more years, as stated by the Chairman of the Committee of Voters of Ukraine, Oleksiy Koshel.

According to him, some reasons for this are the ongoing conflict, an armed population and a lack of a voter registry. “Another issue is that there may be expatriates who might decide to come back. They also have the right to vote. These issues first need to be resolved. Also, more than a year is needed to …


Ukrainian defense industry isn’t able to supply a sufficient number of weapons to defend the country

The Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Oleksandr Turchynov, stated at a meeting with the Director of the State Security Department of Lithuania, Darius Jauniškis, that the issue with Western partners supplying Ukraine with lethal weapons is still unresolved. The Ukrainian defense industry isn’t able to supply a sufficient number of weapons to effectively counter Russian military aggression.

"Currently, the Ukrainian defense industry is the only producer of …