Section: News & Summaries

      Memo to the West: Reject Russia’s Illegal Duma Elections
      Sep19

      Memo to the West: Reject Russia’s Illegal Duma Elections

      On September 18, Russians went to the polls to elect 450 members of parliament. The big news is that Vladimir Putin’s United Russia performed surprisingly well, taking approximately 54 percent of the vote. But the underreported news is this: Russians elected four MPs from occupied Ukrainian Crimea, which is illegal and grossly violates...

      Ukraine`s gross foreign debt shrinks to $115 bln
      Sep19

      Ukraine`s gross foreign debt shrinks to $115 bln

      Ukraine`s gross foreign debt in Q2, 2016 shrank by 2%, or $2.391 billion, as compared with Q1, 2016, to $114.966 billion, according to the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU). In the first half of the current year, Ukraine`s gross foreign debt decreased by 3.2%, or $3.763 billion. In the second quarter, the debt of the sector of general public...

      Elections to the Russian Parliament in occupied Crimea is illegitimate – Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine
      Sep19

      Elections to the Russian Parliament in occupied Crimea is illegitimate – Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine

      Official statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine on illegitimate elections to the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation in the temporary occupied territory of Ukraine Ukraine condemns in the strongest possible terms the organization by Russia in the temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation territories...

      Interpol cancels ex-Health Minister Bohatyriova`s red notice
      Sep19

      Interpol cancels ex-Health Minister Bohatyriova`s red notice

      Interpol has cancelled its red notice issued for Raisa Bohatyriova, the former Ukrainian Health Minister during Viktor Yanukovych`s presidency, according to espreso.tv. The Interpol National Central Bureau (NCB) for Ukraine notified Bohatyriova`s lawyer, Dmytro Beliayev, that his client was not on the international wanted list as of September 2,...

      Fitch downgrades Kyiv`s long-term issuer default ratings to `CC`
      Sep19

      Fitch downgrades Kyiv`s long-term issuer default ratings to `CC`

      Fitch Ratings on September 16 downgraded the City of Kyiv`s Long-Term Foreign and Local Currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) to `CC` from `CCC.` The agency also downgraded the city`s National Long-Term rating to `BB+(ukr)` from `BBB(ukr)` with negative outlook, Fitch said in a statement. Kyiv`s domestic senior debt ratings were downgraded to...

      Ukraine reports 26 attacks in Donetsk region in last day amid lull in Luhansk
      Sep19

      Ukraine reports 26 attacks in Donetsk region in last day amid lull in Luhansk

      The Russian occupation forces opened fire on Ukrainian positions in eastern Ukraine 26 times in the past 24 hours; shelling was reported in Donetsk region only, according to the press center of the Ukrainian Anti-Terrorist Operation headquarters. View map in full size In the last day, there were 12 instances of the violation of the ceasefire in...

      Reuters: Moscow says strikes on Syria army threaten U.S.-Russia ceasefire plan
      Sep19

      Reuters: Moscow says strikes on Syria army threaten U.S.-Russia ceasefire plan

      Moscow stepped up its war of words with Washington on Sunday, saying air strikes by a U.S.-led coalition on the Syrian army threatened the implementation of a U.S.-Russian ceasefire plan for Syria and bordered on connivance with Islamic State, Reuters reported. The diplomatic dispute heated up on the last day of a seven-day ceasefire marred by a...

      NATO`s Baltic deterrent force to be in place by May 2017 – WSJ
      Sep19

      NATO`s Baltic deterrent force to be in place by May 2017 – WSJ

      The new allied deterrent force for the Baltic region will be in place by May 2017, with some units arriving earlier, the head of the Western alliance`s military committee said Sunday, according to The Wall Street Journal. Military leaders from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, gathering in Split, Croatia, last weekend, discussed the...

      Ukraine under fire over gas group revamp – FT
      Sep19

      Ukraine under fire over gas group revamp – FT

      Ukraine`s creditors have warned that a surprise decision by the government to impose direct control over the war-torn country`s prized natural gas transportation company could jeopardise hundreds of millions of dollars of additional financing linked to a $17.5bn International Monetary Fund bailout package, according to The Financial Times. ”The...

      Oil rebounds as fighting halts Libya`s Ras Lanuf export return
      Sep19

      Oil rebounds as fighting halts Libya`s Ras Lanuf export return

      Oil rebounded from the lowest close in more than a month after clashes halted what would be the first crude shipment from Libya`s Ras Lanuf export terminal since 2014, according to Bloomberg. Futures rose as much as 2.1 percent in New York after losing 2 percent Friday, Bloomberg wrote. The tanker Seadelta suspended loading after fighting started...