Russian media confirmed that the EU will remove only deceased individuals from sanctions list

Only three people will be removed from the EU sanction list- people who have died since the sanctions were first imposed.  These sanctions were placed on individuals and organizations who were found guilty of violating the territorial sovereignty of Ukraine.

This was reported by Interfax, citing its own sources in the EU.

According to the news agency, the EU Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER) will meet on Wednesday in Brussels.  They will then approve the decision to extend …


Russian judge refuses to allow doctors to examine Savchenko

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that doctors will not be allowed to examine Nadiya Savchenko in the midst of her dry hunger strike because of her behavior in court on Wednesday, Ukrainskaya Pravda reported.

According to the press service of the Russian authorities, this information was conveyed during a phone conversation between Lavrov and his Ukrainian counterpart Pavlo Klimkin.

During the phone call, Klimkin raised the issue of allowing doctors to examine Savchenko after six …


Poroshenko urges Turkish Parliament to recognize deportation of Crimean Tatars as genocide

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko called on the Turkish Parliament to recognize the deportation of the Crimean Tatars in 1942-1943 as a genocide, as reported by the President’s spokesman, Svyatoslav Tsegolko, on Twitter.

The protection of the rights of the Crimean Tatars is one of the issues being discussed by Poroshenko with Turkish leaders during his visit to Ankara.

Moscow has faced criticism over reports of human rights abuses against Crimean Tatars following Russia’s annexation of the …


French fighters escorted two Russian Tu-160 bombers flying over English Channel

According to the French daily newspaper Le Figaro, General André Lanata, Chief of Staff of the French Air Force, announced that on February 17th two Russian Tu-160 strategic bombers flew over the Channel Tunnel and were immediately escorted by French fighter planes in order to avoid further incident.

"The aircraft remained over international waters.  They turned back without entering French airspace," Lanata reported.  The General said that the Russian bombers were escorted by Rafale and …


Poroshenko and Erdoğan: We cannot accept the transformation of the Crimea into a Russian military base

The presidents of Ukraine and Turkey affirmed their opposition to what they called the transformation of the Crimean Peninsula into a Russia military base, Interfax reported.

“We discussed in detail the situation in the occupied Crimea, and consider it unacceptable that, as a result of the temporary occupation of the Crimea, it has in fact turned into a military base,” Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko stated at a press conference in Ankara with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan …