Contents tagged with crimea
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Austrian Foreign Minister urges Russia to release Ukrainian sailors
During a joint press conference with the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov in Moscow, Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl urged the Russian authorities to release the captured Ukrainian military sailors, as well as other illegally detained Ukrainian citizens, in particular, director Oleh Sentsov and activist Vladimir Balukh, reports Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform.
“Austria regrets the military escalation in the Kerch Strait on November 25th. In connection with this, we …
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The US House of Representatives prohibits recognition of Russia’s annexation of the Crimea
The US House of Representatives adopted a bill prohibiting the United States Government from recognizing Russia’s annexation of the Crimea as legitimate. The bill is known as the Crimea Annexation Non-recognition Act. 427 members voted in favor, and one voted against, the House’s press service reported on Twitter.
The text of the bill consists of two articles. The first relates to the name of the document. The second stated that It is the policy of the United States not to recognize the de …
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Kremlin: Russia increased its military presence in annexed Crimea
Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu stated at a meeting of the State’s Duma Committee on Defense that Russia strengthened its military presence in annexed Crimea to provide security for the peninsula, TASS reports.
“Our military position has been strengthened in the Crimea. We maintain the territorial security of the peninsula and the interests of Russia in the Black Sea,” said Shoygu. He recalled that the Operational Command was also created in the far maritime zone. It controls ships that …
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Latvia builds a 93 km fence on the border with Russia
The news outlet f Delfi reports that Latvia has completed the construction of a 93-kilometer stretch of barbed wire fence on the border with Russia.
The construction project includes a fence with a length of 193.6 km, and also wooden footpaths, patrol booths, and culverts. The height of the fence is 2.7 meters, and the total cost of construction is 21.168 million euros.
As of December 31, 2018, 207 km of border zone was equipped and 93 km of the fence. The entire border zone is expected to be …
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Kyiv: 3,233 people released from militants’ captivity since the beginning of war in Donbas
The Anti-Terrorist Center of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) reported that since the beginning of the armed conflict in the Donbas, 3,233 people have been released from the militants’ captivity.
"According to the information records of soldiers and civilians who were unlawfully imprisoned or went missing in the anti-terrorist operation zone, starting April 7, 2014, 3233 people are listed as found or released," said the Anti-Terrorism Center representatives, as quoted Novosti Donbasa news …
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President Poroshenko: Russia unlikely to release Ukrainian prisoners before elections
During an interview on ICTV, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said that he does not expect Russia to release the Ukrainian soldiers it is holding prisoner before Ukraine’s presidential elections on 31 March, the Presidential pres-service reports.
“Putin clearly stressed that he will not take a single step,” Poroshenko said, adding that work to have the Ukrainians released is still underway.
“Not a single international meeting happens on the highest level where the matter of the release of …
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Italian Prime Minister says he is working on lifting sanctions against Russia
The Prime Minister of Italy, Giuseppe Conte said that he is working on lifting international sanctions imposed against Russia, Reuters news agency reports.
During a speech at a foreign policy conference in Genoa, Conte said that sanctions that were introduced after the annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014, should not become an end in itself.
In addition, in his opinion, the sanctions are ineffective and harm the Italian economy.
Responding to a question if Italy wants to lift these …
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Financial problems force former DPR commander Girkin to sell gold medal for Crimean operation
Igor “Strelkov” Girkin, the former ringleader of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) militants, will be auctioning the gold medal he was awarded for his role in the occupation of Crimea.
According to Novaya Gazeta, the auction will be held on 13 April on a Russian website. Girkin hopes to fetch at least 1 million rubles ($15,000) for his 79 gram, 18 karat medal.
“Yes, it is my medal, a non-state [medal]. It was awarded to me by [Konstantin] Malofeev in the spring of 2014, before the start of …
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Ukrainian Foreign Minister: Number of Russian military in Crimea nears 50 thousand
The Ukrainian Minister of Foreign, Affairs Pavlo Klimkin stated that the militarization of the Donbas territories which are not under Ukraine’s control, continues and in the next few years the number of Russian military personnel may reach 50 thousand people, reports Ukrinform.
“The militarization of the Crimea has reached a certain limit, but it will continue. We know that in the following years there will be almost 50 thousand Russian personnel [ in the Crimea],” said Klimkin.
The Foreign …
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Italian Embassy in Ukraine still investigating reports about Italian equipment in Crimea
The Italian Embassy in Ukraine is continuing to investigate the reports of shipments of Italian-produced equipment to the Zolotaya Balka factory in Russian-annexed Crimea, said Italian Ambassador Davide La Cecilia while giving a presentation on Ukraine-Italy relations in Kyiv, Krym.Realii reports.
“We are currently trying, through the ministry, to obtain information in order to find out what actually happened, because there are mechanisms for contravening sanctions. And when we clear up the …