Contents tagged with Ukraine
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Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt: Independent media is critically important for Ukraine
According to the US Ambassador in Kiev, Geoffrey Pyatt, the promotion of fair and independent journalism will help Ukraine win the hybrid information war with Russia. Speaking at a conference entitled “Countering Information War in Ukraine” at the Ukraine Crisis Media Center on Friday, Pyatt asserted that it would be a misstep for Ukraine to create the same type of propaganda machine that exists in Russia.
“There is a phenomenon in psychology called mirroring, where you fall into the habit of …
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Poroshenko Expects Visa Free Regime with EU in Second Half of 2016
The President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, expects that Ukraine will begin a visa-free agreement with the EU in the second half of 2016.
"On February 2nd, I will go to the Parliament to complete the adoption of the remaining five laws. We hope that Ukrainians will be able to go to Europe with only a Ukrainian passport-without a visa, without waiting-by the middle of the year," the President said in Vladimirtste.
The President stressed that nobody, including the people's deputies of Ukraine, …
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Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Concerned with Human Rights Situation in Crimea
Ukraine is deeply concerned about human rights violations by Russia in the Crimea, as well as in some areas of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, as reported in a statement by the Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs.
The reports from international organizations and human rights institutions unanimously record massive harassment by the Russian occupation forces of ethnic Ukrainians and the indigenous Crimean Tatar population of the Crimea for political and national motives; including …
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Poroshenko: Ukraine has Survived First Winter without Russian Gas
The President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, said that the country has demonstrated its independence from Russian gas during the autumn-winter heating season, as reported by Interfax-Ukraine.
"Russia thought that they would bring us to our knees by offering gas at $212/cubic meter. I discussed this with the Minister who called Russia and said: 'No, we will not take your gas,'" Poroshenko stated.
According to Poroshenko, Ukraine now buys gas from Europe, which costs less than buying gas from …
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OSCE: Situation in Donbas region remains highly volatile
Deputy Chief Monitor of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's (OSCE) Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine, Alexander Hug, held a news conference in Kiev in which he outlined the general security situation in the Donbas region. Hug highlighted several areas in eastern Ukraine where tensions are rising between the Ukrainian Armed Forces and Russian-backed separatists of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and the so-called Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR).
The …
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Sanctions against Yanukovych's Inner Circle could be Reduced in March
In March, the list of EU sanctions against Yanukovych's supporters may be significantly reduced. Ukraine has not yet proven the illegality of the funds withdrawn overseas by ex-officials.For almost two years, Ukrainian law enforcement officers have been investigating the economic crimes of ex-President Viktor Yanukovych and his associates. During this time the European Union has levied sanctions against former Ukrainian officials by blocking their accounts in European banks. According to the …
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Crimean Tatar Leader Meets with Russian Opposition Delegate in Strasbourg
Mikhail Kasyanov, the leader of the Russian Opposition “People’s Freedom Party”, took part in the session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), dedicated to the memory of Boris Nemtsov. At the session, Kasyanov assured Ukrainian Commissioner for the Affairs of Crimean Tatars, Mustafa Dzhemilev, that Crimea will eventually be released and returned to Ukraine.
According to Kasyanov, the economic and political situation in Russia is worsening. The people`s approval of …
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Court in Ukrainian city of Rivne seizes Sberbank accounts
The Rivne City Court has ruled to seize the accounts of Sberbank of Russia for UAH 8.5 billion (appromately $330 million). This decision was made on the 26th of January during the consideration of Evgeny Puhalskiy’s lawsuit. Puhalskiy requires the bank to return his funds amounting to EUR 325 million. The 33-year-old entrepreneur has been in the process of suing Sberbank of Russia since September of 2015.
Initially, the entrepreneur planned to donate the interest of EUR 24 million to the …
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Russian Banks Refuse to give Loans to Crimeans
The instability of the credit histories of Crimean residents means that the denial of their loan applications has become a “common practice” of Russian banks, as explained by the head of the Union of Financial Services Consumers (FinPotrebSoyuz), Mikhail Beliaev.
“As we know, the bank is a commercial institution and operates within strict guidelines and instructions... We need to understand that the labor situation in the Crimea is not good, of course, and therefore wages are not stable. It is …
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Pro-Russian Separatists Acknowledge Debt Owed To Kiev
Following the results of the negotiations of the Trilateral Contact Group in Minsk, the self-proclaimed LPR (the Lugansk People`s Republic) and DPR (the Donetsk People`s Republic) have acknowledged debts to the Ukrainian budget and their repayment. Agreements on the exchange of prisoners have not yet reached.
The acknowledgements were reported by Daria Olifer, the Press-Secretary of former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma. This became known after the meeting of the Trilateral Contact Group …