US Chargé d’Affaires in Ukraine William Taylor thinks that Russia would already like to get out of the Donbas on account of the sanctions and the expense of maintaining troops in Crimea and in the Donbas.

“I think that there are signs that Russians and especially the Kremlin would like to get out of the Donbas. I see signs that the economic burden, which Russians are sensing – and it’s not just the sanctions, but the sanctions too, because sanctions still have a real effect on each Russian and …

Mykola Karpyuk, a Ukrainian citizen who was held as a political prisoner in Russia until recently, described on Ukrainian TV how he was tortured in the Russian prison in Vladikavkaz.

“As soon as it got dark, they took me to the corridor, handcuffed, hands behind my back, put a cellophane bag over my head, wrapped around duct tape, cotton wool, so that I could see nothing from below, and then took me out. We traveled for 10-15 minutes, they took me to some kind of facility, took me up to the …

The Russian gas monopoly Gazprom said that before a new transit contract with Ukraine can be discussed, arrangements for supplying gas to Ukraine must be made.

During a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller said that “the matter of the transit contract is extremely important, but nevertheless the primary issue is whether or not Ukraine will buy Russian gas on a direct contract”.

According to Miller, this will determine the capacity that Gazprom should …