The U.S. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Bulgaria, Eric Rubin, stated that the United States plans to increase its military personnel in Bulgaria beginning 2017.

“We expect the significant increase not only in the number of joint military exercises and training with Bulgaria but also in the number of military units deployed in Bulgaria, including Navy Seals in the Black Sea region,” Rubin said.

The Ambassador emphasized the successful conduct of the number of joint military …

Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski stated that the USA, Canada and Great Britain will send their troops to Poland to strengthen NATO's eastern flank, Polish Radio reports.

Waszczykowski met with diplomats of these three countries during the meeting of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs. After the meeting, Waszczykowski confirmed that he received an application from representatives of each of these countries for deployment of military contingents in Poland.

"I received assurances from …

The Minister of Defense of the Republic of Moldova, Anatol Şalaru, stated that Russia is the only country that doesn’t respect Moldova’s neutrality, Newsmaker reported. The statement was Şalaru’s response to the scandal caused by the Ministry’s decision to deploy NATO military equipment on the main square of the country on the 9th of May. According to Şalaru, it was only a memorial tribute.

“We were told that we can’t have fun on that day, that we may only pay tribute to the memory. There was …

The European Union should not delay the decision to cancel visa regimes for Georgia and Ukraine, as stated by the Minister of Internal Affairs of Latvia, Rihards Kozlovskis, Delfi reported.

According to an Advisor to the Minister, Daiga Holma, at a meeting concerning the European Commission's proposal to abolish visa regimes for citizens of Ukraine, Georgia, Turkey and Kosovo, Kozlovskis supported abolishing visas for citizens of these states.

He particularly singled out Georgia and Ukraine, …

The Kremlin appears to still be unaware of the fact that relatives of some passengers of the Boeing-777 that crashed over the Donbas filed a lawsuit against Russia and its President, Vladimir Putin with the European Court of Human Rights. Dmitry Peskov, the Press Secretary for the President of Russia told Interfax that he has no information on this lawsuit yet.

On July 17, 2014, Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was shot down over the Donbas. All 298 people on board …

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is planning an official state visit to Ukraine, Ukrinform reported, citing several sources involved in the preparation of the visit.

According to sources, Trudeau plans to sign an agreement on a free trade agreement while in Kiev.

"Now, the agreement on a free trade zone between Ukraine and Canada must pass legal and linguistic proofreading, and then it will be ready for signing,” the source stated.

Details of the visit have yet to be approved, but most …

Ukrainian military command reported that on Saturday, at around 11:00 pm Kiev time, heavy bombardment of the Ukrainian positions began near Avdiivka.  According to the reports, several mortars hit residential area near Avdiivka, setting several houses on fire.

"Today around 11 pm the enemy opened intense fire on our positions near Avdiivka. Several shells hit houses in residential area causing them [the houses] to catch fire," a statement issued by Ukrainian Command read.

The statement, …

The party Lega Nord (Northern League) will soon submit a resolution to the Council of the northern Italian region of Lombardy demanding that the Crimea be officially recognized as a part of the Russian Federation.

According to the secretary of Lega Nord, the national MP Paolo Grimoldi, the document will be submitted to the regional Council in early June.

"We are optimistic and hope that the resolution will be adopted," the politician said.

The document calls for the regional executive body, …