• Russian military holds exercises in Crimea

    A new contingent of Russian troops arrived in Crimea earlier this week to participate in military exercises, as stated by Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu. The move comes after a surprise inspection of Russia’s Southern Military District on February 8th.

    The exercise includes the units of the Southern Military District as well as airborne troops, transport aircraft, and air defense systems. A total of 8,500 servicemen, 900 pieces of military hardware, 50 ships, and 200 aircraft are …

  • Ukraine to Receive $50 Million Loan from Turkey

    The Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers approved a loan agreement from Turkey worth $50 million.  The approval comes ahead of Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu's visit to Kiev on Monday. This was announced by the Minister of Finance, Natalia Jaresko, Interfax-Ukraine reports.

    "The draft resolution will authorize the Minister of Finance to implement the government’s external borrowing in 2016 by attracting loans worth no more than $50 million with a maturity not later than five years and at a …

  • New Mandate in Ukraine Requires all Phone Conversations between Civil Servants and Politicians to be Recorded

    The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine introduced a mandate to record all telephone conversations and meetings between Category 1 and 2 civil servants with politicians and business representatives, as announced by the Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk during a government meeting.

    "Recording of phone conversations as well as the personal meetings between political representatives or Deputies of the Verkhovna Rada, business entities or their representatives, is now required for all Category 1 and 2 …

  • Biden urges ruling coalition to restore unity of Ukraine

    US Vice President Joe Biden has called on the ruling coalition in Ukraine to quickly restore unity in the country so the government can move forward with reforms.  These reforms are in accordance with Ukraine’s obligations under the International Monetary Fund (IMF) program.  Biden stated this during a telephone conversation with the President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko.

    Biden and Poroshenko talked about the importance of achieving progress in security issues and political aspects of the …

  • Russian FSB carries out operation against 11 Crimean Tatars

    On the 11th of February, representatives of the Russian Federal Security Bureau (FSB), accompanied by Special Forces, stormed the houses of Crimean Tatars who adhere to the canons of Islam.  There were 11 cases of houses being searched on that day, and 12 people were detained.  Searches were performed in Yalta, Alushta and Bakhchysarai.

    The searches involved smashing windows and placing bags over the heads of suspected terrorists and traitors.  At 6 am, Russian Security servicemen entered the …