Contents tagged with Ukraine

  • Ukraine submits official letter to UN concerning human rights violations of Crimean Tatars

    The delegation of Ukraine has sent an official letter to the President of the UN Security Council in which they expressed deep concern over the blatant illegal activities of the Russian occupation forces in Crimea against Crimean Tatars.  These activities resulted in mass illegal searches and the groundless detention of 13 Ukrainian citizens on the 11th and the 12th of February.  All of the detainees are Crimean Tatars.

    This was reported by the press service of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry. …

  • Court of So-Called Donetsk People's Republic Issues First Official Death Penalty

    The Court of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic (DPR)  has given out the first death penalty in the self-proclaimed republic. As reported by Interfax on Friday, February 12th, the ruling was made by Lyudmila Strateychuk, Judge of the Supreme Court of the so-called DPR and acting Chair of the Court Martial.

    She did not specify who was subjected to the exceptional penalty of capital punishment. “There are cases under consideration and they also may result in such a penalty. These are murder …

  • Poroshenko submits package of laws required to implement EU visa-free regime

    The President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, has submitted a package of three laws to the Verkhovna Rada which are aimed at helping Ukraine comply with the requirements for the introduction of a visa-free regime with the European Union (EU).  This was reported by the presidential press service.

    According to the report, one of these laws was named "On amendments to the law 'On Prosecutor's Office' concerning ensuring transparency in the organization of work of the Specialized Anti-Corruption …

  • Ukrainian launch vehicle to be used for flights to the ISS

    American company Orbital ATK, the world leader in aerospace and defense industry, has signed an eight-year contract with NASA worth approximately 1.5 billion dollars to provide six commercial cargo flights to the International Space Station (ISS) by 2019.  The flights will use the Ukrainian launch vehicle (LV), Antares.  In the framework of the signed contract, Orbital ATK will use the modernized LV Antares for cargo flights to the ISS in addition to using the LV Atlas-5 of the American United …

  • US Senator: We have yet to see Russia's Real Commitment to the Minsk Agreements

    Ben Cardin, a member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, expressed concern about the implementation of the Minsk Agreements, which are designed to reduce tensions in eastern Ukraine.  Completed a year ago, the Minsk Agreements represent a package of measures related to security and policy, agreed to by Ukraine, Germany, France and Russia, to resolve the conflict in the Donbas region.

    "Thursday was the first anniversary of the Minsk Agreements.  While all parties expressed the …

  • Israeli deputy's visit to Crimea could lead to tightening of visa regime by Kiev

    Ukraine may tighten its visa regulations for Israeli citizens due to an uncoordinated visit to occupied Crimea by the current Knesset member from the Shas party, who is also Israel’s former Minister of Religious Affairs, Ya'akov Margi.  The visit occurred on the 10th of February with the head of the occupation authority of the peninsula, Sergey Aksenov.

    This was reported by the Ukrainian Ambassador to Israel, Gennady Nadolenko, in his comments to the Forum Daily news site, according to …

  • Ukraine to Transfer Customs Administration to Foreign Firms

    The Cabinet of Ministers intends to transfer the customs administration of Volyn, Lviv, Chernivtsi and Transcarpathia to specialized foreign companies, as announced by the Prime Minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Interfax-Ukraine reported.

    "We want to attract companies that have experience in the fight against corruption at customs, which can absolutely change the customs service system and bring a new management system.  The new system should provide for the simplification of obtaining customs …

  • Poroshenko holds meeting with civil society representatives

    On February 10th, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko held a meeting with civil society representatives.  Ukrainian political technologist, Taras Berezovets, disclosed some details of this meeting on his Facebook page.

    “Yesterday at the President’s Administration, I had a private meeting with Petro Poroshenko and other civil society representatives.  Poroshenko asked not to quote him. Two film crews were also asked to leave the hall.  I wrote a couple of pages of his quotations, some of which …

  • Ukraine to Receive $50 Million Loan from Turkey

    The Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers approved a loan agreement from Turkey worth $50 million.  The approval comes ahead of Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu's visit to Kiev on Monday. This was announced by the Minister of Finance, Natalia Jaresko, Interfax-Ukraine reports.

    "The draft resolution will authorize the Minister of Finance to implement the government’s external borrowing in 2016 by attracting loans worth no more than $50 million with a maturity not later than five years and at a …

  • New Mandate in Ukraine Requires all Phone Conversations between Civil Servants and Politicians to be Recorded

    The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine introduced a mandate to record all telephone conversations and meetings between Category 1 and 2 civil servants with politicians and business representatives, as announced by the Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk during a government meeting.

    "Recording of phone conversations as well as the personal meetings between political representatives or Deputies of the Verkhovna Rada, business entities or their representatives, is now required for all Category 1 and 2 …