• European Commissioner for Human Rights: Kiev has to minimize the isolation of the Donbas

    The Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, Nils Muižnieks, stated that Ukraine must minimize the isolation of the Donbas. "I know that it is difficult and all is in Ukraine’s hands but it is necessary to maintain contact with the people of that region and try to support them because it will benefit the interests of the future generation of Ukrainian people," Muižnieks said, as reported by zn.ua.

    According to the Commissioner, since July of 2015, when he visited Donetsk, life …

  • Poroshenko: International peacekeepers are needed in eastern Ukraine

    The President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, stated that international peacekeepers are needed to ensure security in the Donbas.

    “We need international peacekeepers that will ensure the safety in the Donbas during the withdrawal and transfer of authority. Take your Plotnitsky and Zakharchenko back, take your paratroopers, who you brought here, and we will restore Ukrainian sovereignty,” he said while addressing residents of Mykolaivka in the Donetsk region.

    Poroshenko noted that the main goal …

  • Russian Defense Ministry to award medals to those who participated in the Syrian operation

    The Ministry of Defense of Russia plans to give medals to the participants of the military operation in Syria. To this end, the Defense Ministry has announced its plan to purchase more than 10,000 medals according to the procurement website of the Russian Federation. It is noted that the Ministry of Defense is willing to pay more than 2 million rubles ($29,000) for this order.

    Russia has conducted airstrikes in Syria since the 30th of September, 2015.

    As previously reported, Russian bombers …

  • OSCE notes a high number of ceasefire violations in the Yasynuvata-Avdiivka area

    According to a press release issued by the OSCE’s Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine, observers heard 139 undetermined explosions, 125 bursts of heavy machine gun fire, and 300 single shorts of small arms fire on Monday in the area between government-controlled Avdiivka and the town of Yasynuvata, which is controlled by members of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic.

    The SMM noted “consistent but intermittent exchange of fire between 10:14 and 15:18hrs and noted a spike between 12:15 …

  • Japan criticizes Russia's decision to place armaments on Kuril Islands

    Japan expressed concern about the statement made by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu about the plans to deploy missile systems on the Kuril Islands. "We informed the Russian party through diplomatic channels that we are concerned about the statement of the Head of the Defense Ministry," the Chief Cabinet Secretary of Japan, Suga Yoshihide, said on Monday. According to him, Tokyo made it clear to Moscow that the strengthening of the Russian military infrastructure within the disputed …

  • Monument to Belarusians who died on Maidan and in the Donbas was unveiled in Kiev

    A monument to Belarusians who sacrificed their lives during the events during the Euromaidan protests and military campaign in eastern Ukraine was unveiled in Kiev on Belarusian Street, 22. According to Novoye Vremya, the sculpture is made in the shape of a cross in the colors of the Belarusian national flag. The center of the sculpture is decorated with the Belarusian coat of arms, the so-called Pahonia emblem.

    The Memorial is specifically devoted to three Belarusians: Michael Zhiznevsky, who …

  • Latvia has built the first 3 km of a fence along the border with Russia

    The representative of the State Border Guard of Latvia, Evgenia Poznyak, stated that the first three kilometers of a fence has been built along the Latvian-Russian border, Leta reported. The fence is three meters high and was built on the territory of the Ludza Border Guard Service.

    The Ludza region borders with the Pskov region of Russia and the Vitebsk region of Belarus. Latvian authorities are planning to complete the construction of the fence in four years. The building of the fence was …

  • Kerry: Russia is not an ally of the US in Syria, though it helps Washington in other areas

    Russia has not strengthened its position in the Middle East after the intervention in Syria, as stated by the US Secretary of State, John Kerry, in an interview with CBS that was conducted on Sunday, March 27, 2016. In his opinion, this idea is "ludicrous."

    Kerry stressed that Russia is not a US ally in Syria, although it helps Washington with other aspects that are in the "strategic interests" of the United States. In particular, according to him, Russia helped with Iran's nuclear agreement …

  • NATO jets follow Russian Defense Minister's plane over Baltic Sea

    NATO fighter aircraft followed a plane carrying Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu on his way to the Kaliningrad region, TASS reported.

    Shoygu’s plane flew over international waters with an escort of Russian Su-27 naval aviation fighters, and was followed by NATO Eurofighter Typhoons at a distance of approximately two kilometers.

    According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, Shoygu travelled to Kaliningrad in order to inspect the Chkalovsk airfield as well as the Admiral F. F. Ushakov …

  • Ukrainian Armed Force begin military exercises according to NATO standards

    The press service of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) reported on Facebook that the strategic command and staff exercise, ‘Spring Thunder 2016’ has started in Ukraine.

    "An important feature of the exercise is that all activities are carried out in a framework of the new organizational structure, which meets the standards of the NATO member countries that the Armed Forces of Ukraine are striving to implement in the course of the reforms," the report says.

    It is noted that …