• Security Service of Ukraine releases names of 1,400 of its employees who defected

    The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) disclosed the names of 1,391 of its former employees who defected following the Ukrainian Revolution in the spring of 2014. The list was published on the SSU’s website on Saturday, RBC reported. Most of the SSU employees on the list were stationed in the Crimea prior to its annexation in March of 2014.

    The list was primarily comprised of individuals who served in the 3rd SSU Alpha Group, located in Simferopol in the Crimea, as well as employees of the Main …

  • Peskov: Russia is not ready to initiate reconciliation with Turkey

    Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia is not willing to initiate any type of reconciliation with Turkey, Rosbalt reported.

    Relations between Moscow and Ankara have deteriorated significantly following the downing of a Russian Su-24 frontline bomber by a Turkish F-16 fighter over the Syrian-Turkish border in November of last year.

    Ankara claims that the Su-24 violated Turkish airspace. Russia, in turn, insists that the aircraft stayed on the Syrian side of the border.

    During an …

  • Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council approves Savchenko sanctions list

    The National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC) has approved the list of sanctions against persons involved in the illegal convictions of Nadiya Savchenko and other Ukrainian citizens in Russia as reported by the Press Secretary of the President, Svyatoslav Tsegolko, on Facebook.

    "The National Security Council has approved the 'Savchenko and Sentsov sanctions list' against those who fabricated the case against the Ukrainians in Russia. This list will later be expanded to include …

  • Russia to deploy missile systems on Kuril Islands

    The coastal missile systems Bal and Bastion, as well as a new generation of drones will be available during a planned upgrade on the Kuril Islands in 2016, the Russian Defense Minister, Sergei Shoigu, said on Friday.

    "A planned re-equipment of formations and military units are being carried out in the Kuril Islands. This year the shore-based missile complexes Bal and Bastion, and new generation unmanned aerial vehicles, Eleron-3 will be accommodated here," Shoigu said at the a meeting of the …

  • Putin backs Kadyrov to stay on as head of Chechnya

    Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree appointing Ramzan Kadyrov as the acting head of the Chechen Republic.

    "On the fifth of April, your term will expire," the head of the state said to Kadyrov. "Based on what has been done in recent years for the Chechens, for the inhabitants of the republic, first of all, and as a derivative for the whole Russia, I have signed a decree today appointing you acting head of the Chechen Republic, with your further success, hopefully, in the elections …

  • Poroshenko signs demobilization decree

    The President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, at a meeting of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine (NSDC) on Friday, March 25th, signed a decree demobilizing soldiers who were called up during the fourth wave of the military draft.

    "I signed a decree demobilizing those servicemen, drafted by the decrees of July 21, 2014 and January 14, 2015", Poroshenko said, according to a statement on the website of the President of Ukraine. Poroshenko stated that the document affects about 45,0 …

  • Ukrainian Intelligence: Protest sentiments are growing in Crimea

    Protest sentiments are growing in Crimea, and clear proof of this is an emergence of pro-Ukrainian inscriptions and symbols in the annexed territory, as stated by a representative of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, Vadim Skibitskiy, Krym.Realii reported.“The problems with the electicity and water supply remain unresolved. Public-sector employees wages are declining. Meanwhile, the cost of living is increasing in the occupied Crimea. Such situation leads …

  • Petro Poroshenko Bloc proposes Groisman for next Prime Minister of Ukraine

    During an assembly of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc party, a decision was made to support the resignation of the current Prime Minister and the Cabinet and nominate Vladimir Groisman for Prime Minister of Ukraine.

    At a meeting of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc political party "Solidarity" on the 25th of March, it was decided to nominate the speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Vladimir Groisman, for the post of Prime Minister. Delegates of the congress supported the proposal of the leader of the …

  • Belarus initiates 135 criminal cases against individuals who fought in Ukraine

    As the Head of the Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption Nicolai Karpenkov said in an interview with the newspaper Zvezda on March 25th, criminal cases have been initiated against Belarusians fighting on both sides of the conflict in Ukraine, as reported by Radio Polsha.

    “It is important not to let in foreign militias-mercenaries, radicalized Muslims, members involved in military actions in Ukraine and in the Middle East to Belarus. We are developing operational records …

  • Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan begin negotiations over border dispute

    The Heads of the Customs Services of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan met to hold negotiations on the current situation at the borders between the two countries. According to the press service of the domestic border agency, the meeting was held on the initiative of Uzbek party at a checkpoint on Kyzyl-Kiya highway in the Batken region, Radio Azattyk reported.

    The Head of the Kyrgyzstan’s State Border Service, Raimberdi Duyshenbiev, is participating in negotiations on the part of Kyrgyzstan and the …