Section: International
Putin quietly detaches Ukraine`s rebel zones as U.S. waffles
Vladimir Putin is seizing on mixed signals from the U.S. to quietly tighten Russia`s grip on two rebel regions of Ukraine, burying hopes for a European-brokered peace deal and relief from sanctions anytime soon, according to Bloomberg. While the Kremlin continues to publicly back the accord that Germany and France oversaw in 2015, Putin`s real...
Ombudswoman`s Office appeals to Russia to extradite Ukrainian convict from Crimea
Secretariat of Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Valeria Lutkovska sent a letter to the Russian Ombudswoman regarding prisoner Andriy Lugin, who launched a hunger strike in a penal facility in the annexed Crimea, according to the secretariat representative, Mykhailo Chaplyga, RFE/RL`s Krym-Realii media project reports. The office...
Russia`s Eurovision act to perform in Crimea instead of Kyiv on May 9 – media
Russia`s 2017 Eurovision act, Yulia Samoylova, will perform at a concert in Crimea instead of at the competition in Kyiv, according to The Moscow Times. Samoylova will take to the stage in Sevastopol on May 9, the day of the first Eurovision semi-final, local officials confirmed, The Moscow Times wrote. Russia formally withdrew from this year`s...
Lukashenko voices position on Ukraine issue
Belarus will be working for peace in Ukraine, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said as he visited the Chornobyl nuclear power plant on April 26, BelTA has learned. ”The Ukrainian president and the Ukrainian people know our position – peace and only peace. The Ukrainians have never been strangers for Belarusians. We are close people, may...
Russia uses OSCE car blast for propaganda purposes, attempts to blame Ukraine – media
The Kremlin-controlled media have resorted to using the recent tragic incident involving the death of an OSCE monitor in militant-controlled part of Donbas region for propaganda purposes, accusing Ukraine`s military of shelling the site where the land mine blew up the OSCE patrol vehicle, claiming Kyiv is impeding the investigation, Stopfake.org...
EU ambassadors support visa waivers for Ukraine
On April 26, the Committee of Permanent Representatives of the EU member states (COREPER) supported the move to grant the Ukrainians a visa-free travel across the EU, the Council of the European Union told an UNIAN correspondent in Brussels. The Committee supported without further consideration a draft legislative act of the European Parliament...
Ukraine Embassy in U.S. explains reports on Washington`s possible assistance cut
Information on 68.8% U.S. assistance decrease to Ukraine should be viewed in correlation with American financial assistance in the form of a loan guarantee, the Ukrainian Embassy in the United States wrote on Facebook. ”In 2016, the U.S. Government provided to Ukraine $1 billion loan guarantee that was funded from the U.S. budget in the amount of...
Ukraine offers China Railways to invest in subway, bridge and high-speed rail link
The Ukrainian government on Tuesday offered China Railway International Group (CRIG) a number of infrastructure investment opportunities, including the fourth line of the Kyiv Metro and the construction of a bridge, the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade wrote on Twitter, Global Construction Review reports. The ministry published two...
Council of Europe puts Turkey on notice over rights, democracy
A leading European human rights body on Tuesday put Turkey on a watchlist over the crackdown on dissent since last year`s coup attempt, rights violations and concerns about President Tayyip Erdogan`s increased grip on power, according to Reuters. Turkey reacted furiously to the vote at the Strasbourg-based Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of...
So-called Yalta Forum unlikely to bring investment to sanctioned Crimea – European Commission
Unlawful ”international” events, like a recent economic forum in Yalta in Russia-occupied Crimea, which took place on April 20-22, will not bring foreign investment to the peninsula as it is under sanctions, according to a representative of the European Commission. ”The EU does not recognize the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol by the...