Contents tagged with Ukraine

  • OSCE monitoring equipment was turned off by separatists in Donetsk

    The leader of the DPR, Alexander Zakharchenko, ordered the cameras to be disabled

    According to a report by the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission for the 20th of May, OSCE monitoring equipment was turned off in the Donetsk region.

    "Armed DPR members stopped work on the SMM’s remote monitoring equipment at the Donetsk airport, … SMM found out that they had disconnected the power supply to the SMM equipment in Donetsk city, claiming they had an order to do so by Mr. Alexander Zakharchenko," the …

  • Switzerland sends humanitarian aid to the Donbas

    Two convoys with medicine and materials for water purification were delivered from Switzerland to the east of Ukraine, as announced by the Swiss government.

    As the government explained, a train carrying supplies for water treatment went from Switzerland to Donetsk on Sunday morning.

    "The goods are intended for water pumping stations in the Donbas region which provide drinking water to the population on both sides of the line of contact," the message states. In addition, medical supplies, in …

  • Latvian court brings charges against organizer of tours to Crimea

    The Riga District Prosecutor's Office has indicted one person who is accused of organizing tourist trips to Crimea as reported by the Latvian news portal, Delfi, citing the press center of the Prosecutor General of Latvia.

    As it was previously reported in late April of this year, the Security Police (SP) of Latvia appealed to the Prosecutor of the Riga Judicial District to prosecute a person who organized a tourist trip to Crimea. The criminal process was initiated based on the violation of …

  • Ukrainian Navy to add 30 warships by 2020

    The Ukrainian Navy plans to dramatically upgrade its fleet by 2020 by building an additional 30 warships and boats, Rosbalt reported with reference to the Ministry of Defense.

    "Ukraine's Armed Forces are taking measures to strengthen the Navy and its combat capabilities. Currently… units of the Navy are involved in the fighting in the conflict zone of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions and therefore are ready to repel armed aggression from the sea. Fleet capacities are being expanded,” the …

  • Normandy Four supports deployment of OSCE Police Mission in the Donbas

    Negotiations between the Normandy Four leaders were held via telephone

    The Press Secretary of the President of Ukraine, Svyatoslav Tsegolko, posted on Twitter that Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko conducted a telephone call with the members of the Normandy Four leaders during which they discussed their support for the deployment of an OSCE Police mission in the Donbas.

    Poroshenko also called on the Russian Federation to release all Ukrainian prisoners including Savchenko, Afanasiev and …

  • Herashchenko: Attempts to postpone visa-free regime is a double standard by Europe

    Any attempt to postpone the EU visa-free regime for Ukraine will be an example of double standards. This was posted by the First Deputy Chairman of the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada, Iryna Herashchenko, on her Facebook page.

    According to her, certain German and French officials have said that a visa-free regime is not yet relevant and that it is necessary to wait months for it to be so. She has said that these statements reminded her of events in 2008 when Germany and France blocked Ukraine from …

  • Media: Disputes surround possibility of police mission in the Donbas

    According to an article written by the deputy chief editor of ZN.UA, Serhiy Rakhmanin, Kiev and Moscow have differing views concerning the amount of police required at the Donetsk and Luhansk local elections.

    The smallest possible police contingent will consist of 1,500 officers while the largest will consist of 11,000 officers. Kiev is firmly against the former, while Moscow does not approve of the latter. Members of the contingent will be armed with light weapons and will make use of armored …

  • Prominent Ukrainian MP: We need an alternative to the Minsk Agreements

    Semen Semenchenko, Deputy of the Verkhovna Rada and member of the Samopomich (Self-Reliance) Party, has called for an alternative to the Minsk Agreements as a resolution to the war in eastern Ukraine. Semenchenko, who is also the founder of the volunteer territorial defense battalion “Donbas”, insists that the Minsk Agreements are in any case invalid because, according to legislative changes in Ukraine, the Verkhovna Rada must approve all international treaties, which it has not done for the …

  • Groysman confirms that Eurovision 2017 will be held in Ukraine

    Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman has confirmed that the country will be hosting the Eurovision Song Contest in 2017. He reported this to 1+1 TV channel.

    “There is no way that Ukraine will give up hosting Eurovision. I think that it is a big honor for us and we must make every effort to host the contest at a highly professional level,” he said.

    The Ministry of Culture had previously estimated the cost of hosting the contest will be approximately €14.4 million.

    The National …

  • NATO can increase funding of Ukrainian Army

    A decision on increasing funding will be made at the summit in Warsaw

    The acting head of the Mission of Ukraine to NATO, Yehor Bozhok, in his interview with Kyivpost stated that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) can increase the funding for reforms for the Ukrainian Army if Ukraine is able to clearly identify its needs. The decision on the increase in funding can be made at the summit in Warsaw.

    Bozhok recalled that four trust funds were created by NATO last year and all 28 NATO …