An extended embargo on newly listed banned goods from Russia will take effect in early February as stated in the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers decision № 28 from 20 January. Added to the extended list of banned goods approved on December 30th 2015 were onions, green tea, prepared or preserved fish, white chocolate, pellets, candies containing alcohol, chewing gum, marmalade and jelly, corn flakes, biscuits and crisp breads, soya and tomato sauce (ketchup).It is worth noting that the list of …

The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) fined Gazprom 85 billion Hryvnia (around 3.4 billion dollars) for an abuse of dominance in the gas transit market in Ukraine, as reported on 22 January, by the head of AMCU, Yuriy Terentyev.  “The decision has just been made concerning the abuse of the dominant position in the market by the monopoly gas producer Gazprom. The amount of the fine is 85 billion Hryvnia," wrote Terentyev on his Facebook page. Yaroslav Teklyuk, Director for Legal and …

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko ignored Russian journalists at the World Economic Forum in Davos. As reported on Friday, January 22nd by RIA Novosti, reporters tried to get a comment from the Ukrainian leader several times, but upon learning that they were Russian media representatives, he flatly refused to communicate.

A Russian journalist from the news agency Sputnik posed a question in English. Poroshenko asked what country he was from, and learning that he was from Russia, the …

US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov have spoken over the phone about the upcoming UN-sponsored Syrian peace talks in Geneva. The talks will be the largest effort yet to find a peaceful solution to the Syrian Civil War that has raged for almost 5 years.

Kerry’s call to Lavrov comes three days after a face-to-face meeting between the two in Zurich, following which a joint statement was released saying "particular attention was given to the need to form a …

In 2012, the Russian State Duma adopted a law requiring all nongovernmental organizations engaged in political activity that receive funding from abroad to register as “foreign agents” with the Ministry of Justice, a designation that severely hinders an NGO's ability to operate in the Russian Federation. While the law initially provided a vague definition of "political activity", the Ministry of Justice adopted a new amendment on Friday defining it as any work in the sphere of federal or …

The United States reported that during a meeting on Wednesday, January 20th, Vice President Joe Biden and the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko discussed the need for Ukraine to continue its fight against corruption. According to the White House this was agreed upon by both leaders.They also agreed on the importance of the continuation of compliance with the Minsk Agreements by all participants of the conflict in Ukraine, the brief statement said.The Press Service of the President of …

According to ZN.ua, the U.S. State Department will consider Ukrainian Prosecutor General Shokin’s dismissal as clear support for the fight against corruption in Ukraine, as well as a main condition for a $1 billion loan to Ukraine.

This was revealed during the visit to the USA of Deputy Prosecutor General David Sakvarelidze, the Director of the Anti-Corruption Bureau Artem Sytnik and anti-corruption Prosecutor Nazar Kholodnitskyi. Ukrainian officials are in the US on a working visit now, where …

The Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine, Andriy Pyvovarsky, announced on January 21st the completion of the first phase of the new double track Beskidian tunnel construction running from Beskid to Skotarske in the Carpathians. A celebration marking the completion of the first phase was attended by Deputy Prime Minister Gennady Zubko, Deputy Minister of Infrastructure Mykola Snitko and the acting President of PJSC "Ukrainian Railways" Alexander Zavgorodniy.

The most difficult part of the work …