• Four tons of Turkish tomatoes destroyed in Crimea

    The Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance, Rosselkhoznadzor, reported that four tons of Turkish tomatoes were destroyed in the Crimea, according to the agency’s press service, RBC reported. The banned products were being smuggled into the Crimea using the Kerch Strait ferry.

    "An attempt to import four tons of tomatoes of Turkish origin to Crimea was prevented on the Kerch Strait ferry.  Products forbidden for import have been confiscated and buried in the …

  • OSCE mission came under fire in the Donetsk region

    On Saturday, April 9th, OSCE observers came under fire on territory controlled by the Ukrainian authorities in Zaitseve (Donetsk region), according to the Special Monitoring Mission’s report. No one was injured in the attack.

    The patrol, consisting of five OSCE monitors in two armored vehicles, as well as the Ukrainian representative of the Joint Center for Control and Coordination of the Ceasefire (STSKK), heard an explosion at 12:52 pm, most likely caused by an 82-mm mortar or gun, at a …

  • Belarus supports the territorial integrity of Ukraine without Crimea

    The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus, Vladimir Makei, emphasized the need to preserve the territorial integrity of Ukraine, not including the annexed Crimea, as reported by news agency RBC.

    Makei noted that Belarus’ support is based on the recognition of Crimea as part of Russia, who owns the peninsula. "In politics we must work within realities. As our President has repeatedly said: we must move forward based on who Crimea belongs to. Our economic cooperation in the past has not evolved …

  • Foreign Ministry of Belarus: Placing a Russian military base on Belarusian territory is meaningless

    Currently Belarus does not feel the need to place a Russian military base on its territory, as stated by the Head of the Belarusian Foreign Ministry, Vladimir Makei, Interfax reported.

    "As for the placement of the Russian military base on the territory of Belarus, nowadays it's meaningless to place additional bases on our territory. It won't improve security in the region. We have enough different military and air bases, which could be put to use at any moment, if the situation asks for it," …

  • MEPs: The fate of Ukraine's Association Agreement should not be decided by 0.6% of the EU population

    The fate of Ukraine's Association Agreement with the European Union should not be decided by 0.6% of the EU population, according to a joint statement of the head of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament, Elmar Brok, the co-Chairperson of the Association Committee of the EU and Ukraine, Andriy Plenkovich, and the Rapporteur on Ukrainian Affairs of the EP, Jacek Saryusz-Wolski.

    "We stress that the Association Agreement has already been ratified by 27 countries of the EU, the …

  • Canadian instructors trained 150 Ukrainian soldiers

    Representatives of the Ukrainian Military Law-Enforcement Service were trained in "pre-trial investigation" and "use of physical coercion" courses taught by instructors of the Canadian Forces Military Police Group. This was announced at a briefing by the press secretary of the Ministry of Defense, Oleksiy Chernobay, the UNN news agency reports.

    "Also, in the framework of the Committee of Reforms of the Defense Ministry and the Armed Forces of Ukraine, military training of the Military Law- …

  • Scheduled power cuts to occur in Sevastopol

    The authorities of annexed Sevastopol claim that they are preparing blackout schedules due to the repair work on the power bridge from neighboring Russia beginning on April 11th.

    "From April 11 to April 17 the repairs will begin in Crimea. As a result, the availability of electricity will significantly decrease again. We are preparing to introduce a schedule for temporary electric outages," said the commercial director of Sevastopolenergo, Vladislav Yakimovich as reported by the press service …

  • OSCE: Separatists prevent proper monitoring near Yasynuvata

    The Principal Deputy Chief Monitor of the OSCE, Alexander Hug, stated at his briefing in Kyiv that the OSCE is unable to properly monitor the situation near Yasynuvata.

    "Our access to Yasynuvata fully depends on the DPR [the so-called Donetsk People's Republic]. Almost every day of the week our monitoring mission has to be followed by their [DPR] representatives. This is the only way we could do monitoring in the area of Yasynuvata" he stated.

    According to Hug, there are multiple restrictions …

  • Member of the Russian Night Wolves motorcycle club expelled from Latvia

    State Border Guard representative Yevgeniya Pozniak told Latvia’s main information agency LETA that the State Border Guard deported Igor Lakatos to Russia. Lakatos is a representative of the Russian motorcycle club "Night Wolves" and is on the list of undesirable persons in Latvia. Richard Kozlovskis, the Minister of Internal Affairs, had blacklisted Lakatos on the basis of security services reports.

    The Night Wolves were responsible for organizing last year’s race from Moscow to Berlin in …

  • Poll: Nearly 80% of Russians live paycheck to paycheck

    About 80% of Russians, in one way or another, face a shortage of money before each payday. Nearly half (41%) of those surveyed by the Public Opinion Foundation (FOM) complain of a "frequent" shortage of finance.

    19% of the respondents have no problems with their pay. 39% face a similar problem but rarely so. Three-quarters of employed Russians are dissatisfied with their salaries. Only 23% of Russians believe that they have a sufficient monthly income. In contrast, 70% of Russian citizens were …