The press service of Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement on Monday to urge other nations to continue to pressure the Russian Federation on the Donbas situation.

"We call upon our international partners not to yield to the deceptive maneuvers of the Russian aggressor, who constantly demonstrates a striking discrepancy between their rhetoric and real actions.  Political pressure on the Russian Federation and the use of diplomatic tools and sanctions are critical to return …

RIA Novosti reported that according to Ukrainian State Enterprise Energorynok, the tariff rate for transporting Russian gas through the territory of Ukraine may increase in 2016 from $2.73 to $4.07 per 1000 cubic meters per 100 kilometers. Taking into account a new method of calculating the transit cost approved by Kiev in the end of last year, it will cost Gazprom $7.91 per 1000 cubic meters.

According to the publication, the new method of calculating transit price is closely associated with …

After a session of the EU Council, at a meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs on January 18th, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier stated that the European Union expressed concern about the insufficient progress of Ukraine in carrying out reforms. Steinmeier noted that it is important for Ukraine to reform the justice system and put anti-corruption measures in place. According to him, these are the key steps to solving the economic problems in the country.

The High …

The European Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, Johannes Hahn, said that the Commission's proposal to abolish visas for Ukrainians may appear before the end of March, as reported by Radіo Svoboda.

"The President and the Prime Minister still have some commitments to fulfill, but we expect that we will obtain those reports very soon, be able to evaluate them, and during the first quarter of this year we will propose visa liberalization," he said.

During …

The Donetsk City Court in the Rostov region rejected a petition from the lawyers of the Ukrainian servicewoman, Nadiya Savchenko, requesting the admission of a video of the defendant's arrest in the Luhansk region of Ukraine in the summer of 2014. The judge explained his decision indicating that the admission of the video "doesn't mean that the defense will acquire anything," according to Anton Naumlyuk a correspondent for Radio Svoboda.

Earlier Savchenko’s lawyers presented evidence that the …

According to Russian State Duma Deputy Dmitry Gudkov, the Kremlin's support for the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, could lead to a sharp drop in the government’s ratings. It would also send the message that to kill, intimidate or terrorize anyone and anywhere is allowed.

There is no doubt that sooner or later the problem of Chechnya will show up on the national level, stated Gudkov on Facebook.  He said that there was evidence of Chechen involvement in the murders of journalist and human …

In an interview with espresso.tv, Russian historian and opposition leader Andrei Piontkovsky said that Ukraine should invite not only the heads of Germany and France to take part in the negotiations to find a solution to the war in the Donbass region, but also representatives of other Western countries.

"Merkel and Hollande have already acquired some kind of Stockholm syndrome in relations with Russia and the Donetsk bandits… The Minsk Agreement is their child. They, as a father and a mother …

According to Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė, the Lithuanian people are better than the most European countries at understanding their Russian neighbor.

In an interview with ICTV, Grybauskaitė stated that most European countries have a certain quality of remoteness in their relationships with the Russian Federation.  "The people of Lithuania in their own skin understand this relationship.  Italy and Greece are too remote.  They never had historical relations with Russia like we have.  …