Contents tagged with Ukraine

  • Former US Ambassador to Ukraine: Sanctions will make Russia leave Donbas

    Sanctions significantly hurt the economy of the Russian Federation, so they are likely to make Russia leave the Donbas, stated John Herbst, the former US Ambassador to Ukraine in 2003-2006.

    “I think this could eventually happen in 2.5 years, it could happen in 15 years. As part of the package, sanctions will convince Moscow to leave the Donbas. Crimea is another matter. Before this day comes, sanctions are much more important to our interests. Because the Kremlin’s policy is aggressive. Today …

  • Kyiv: Hundreds of OSCE observers will monitor Ukraine's presidential elections

    The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine  wrote on Facebook that about 850 representatives of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) will arrive to monitor the presidential elections in Ukraine.

    Ministry advisor Ivan Stoiko said the Ministry is ready for close cooperation with the OSCE and ensuring the safety of observers. “We are ready to provide full assistance to the work of OSCE observers… we’re doing everything to ensure that the elections are fair, transparent …

  • US calls on Russia to release Ukrainian sailors

    The United States calls on Russia to release the Ukrainian sailors and not use them in their political game, reads the statement of the US Embassy in Ukraine published on Facebook.

    “Russia must release Ukraine’s sailors immediately, not use them as pawns in their political game,” the statement reads.

    It is noted that for over 50 days, Russia has unjustly detained Ukrainian sailors who were exercising Ukraine’s freedom of navigation in UKraine's territorial waters. The United States is deeply …

  • Detained Ukrainian sailors refuse to answer questions in Moscow Court

    On January 15, the Ukrainian sailors detained in the Kerch Strait refused to answer questions at Moscow's Lefortovo district court citing the Geneva Convention. The Court rejected the application to refer the case to the Moscow Garrison Military Court, Commissioner for Human Rights in Ukraine Lyudmyla Denisova told RIA Novosti. The Ukrainian lawyers are presenting the position that the sailors are prisoners of war.

    The court has yet to decide whether to extend the arrest of the Ukrainian …

  • Ukrainian General: Kyiv has a plan for liberation of Donbas

    The Lieutenant General of Ukrainian Foreign Intelligence, Vasily Bogdan stated in an interview with the news outlet Fakty that Ukraine has a plan to liberate the territories of the Donbas which are held by the pro-Russian militants, and the country’s leadership hopes this will be achieved without the use of force. 

    “As far as I know, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces prepared a plan for the return of Donbas to Ukraine. A military operation is also being considered. However, …

  • Kyiv suspects former Ukrainian Defense Minister of high treason

    The Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine suspects ex-Minister of Defense Dmytro Salamatin of high treason “in the interests of Russia,” undermining defense capabilities and the state and economic security of the country, Ukrainian Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko stated on Facebook. 

    The Prosecutor General's Office claims that Salamatin participated in “the criminal organization” headed by former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and took part in large-scale illegal seizure of property. …

  • Kyiv classifies the list of Russians who fell under new Ukrainian sanctions

    The Ministry of Temporarily Occupied Territories and Internally Displaced Persons refused to disclose the list of citizens of the Russian Federation and the Russian companies that fell under Kyiv’s new sanctions, reported the Ukrayinska Pravda. 

    The ministry’s response to the official request of reporters stated that “the requested information is classified and is not subject to disclosure”. The document was signed by Serhiy Mokrenyuk, Head of Department for the Autonomous Republic of Crimea …

  • Kyiv: Russia amassing military equipment in Crimea in order to block access to it

    Russia is amassing military equipment in Crimea in order to block off access to it, not only for possible military opponents, but also for humanitarian organizations, international experts and monitoring, said Vadym Chernysh, Ukraine’s Minister of Temporarily Occupied Territories and Internally Displaced Persons, in a post on the ministry’s website.

    “This is already the fourth missile system in temporarily occupied Crimea, sent in order to control the sea waters and Ukraine’s territory. We are …

  • Ukrainian military commander: Russia wants to create land corridor to annexed Crimea

    Russian troops in the Donbas are currently concentrating their forces in the Mariupol direction in the area of the Azov Sea since Moscow wants to create a land corridor to the annexed Crimea, said the commander of the Ukrainian Joint Forces Operation, Lieutenant-General Serhiy Naiev in an interview with the Austrian edition of Wiener Zeitung, which was reposted on the Facebook page of Joint Forces Operation press center.

    “The Russian occupying forces are not attacking, but this does not mean …

  • Ukrainian Minister: Russia exports tons of coal worth millions of dollars from Donbas

    Russia exports from the territories of the Donbas, which are controlled by pro-Russian militants, amount to almost 2.8 million tons of anthracite coal worth $288 million annually, stated the Minister for Temporarily Occupied Territories and Internally Displaced Persons of Ukraine Vadym Chernysh. 

    “Russians are trying to find sources to support the occupation administration and the occupied territories… They take Ukrainian coal and Ukrainian gas from the Black Sea shelf, using it to support the …