Contents tagged with Ukraine
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Head of OSCE: Free elections impossible in Donbas until control returned to Ukraine
Free and fair local elections cannot be held in the Donbas until Ukraine regains full control over the territories, said OSCE Chairperson Miroslav Lajcak in an interview with BBC.
“I think that free elections could only take place in a free situation, and, of course, in accordance with Ukrainian laws and with observation by international observers – the OSCE, other international organizations, that is, within the Ukrainian jurisdiction system. Only afterwards, when we attain such a situation, …
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Russia pays Ukraine 3.5 million euros in compensation for dirty oil
Ukrainian oil company UkrTransNafta received from the Russian oil giant Transneft compensation of 3.5 million euros for the supply of low-quality oil to the Ukrainian section of the Druzhba pipeline, reports UkrTransNafta's press-service.
"This is not the final amount, as Transneft continues to reserve the capacity of UkrTransNafta [pipelines]," reads the message of the press-service.
The amount of compensation is determined within the framework of existing contractual relations and depends …
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Ukrainian film director Sentsov says he hasn't noticed significant changes in Ukraine after his release from Russia
Director Oleg Sentsov, who was released from Russian captivity, wrote on his Facebook page that, while he was in prison, not so many changes took place in Ukraine as he expected.
"A week has passed since my release. It was interesting to see what changes have happened to the country and people because I feel like as a person who arrived on a time machine from 2014," wrote Sentsov.
Ukrainian Director also added that a week is quite a short time, but he managed to visit a lot of places and …
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Lawyer: Russia has not closed criminal cases against released Ukrainian sailors
Russian lawyer Nikolay Polozov wrote on his Facebook page that Russia had not closed the criminal cases against the Ukrainian sailors, who were captured in the Kerch Strait on November 25, 2018, and who were released after the prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia on September 7.
"Today [on September 16], I have visited the investigative department of the Russian Federal Security Service in connection with the case of arrested Ukrainian sailors. Work on the case of Ukrainian sailors …
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Volker: No Donbas elections until Russian troops are withdrawn
US Special Representative for Ukraine Kurt Volker said that Ukraine’s international partners will not pressurize it to hold elections in the Donbas while there are still Russia-controlled forces in the region.
“I don’t see a scenario where Ukraine is pushed toward holding elections while the territories remain occupied. The ‘Steinmeier Formula can only be implemented after elections have been held,” Volker told the TV channel 1+1 in an interview.
He said that in order to hold free and fair …
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Ukraine budgets $10 billion for defense in 2020
The Ukrainian government has allocated more than 245 billion hryvnia (around $9.9 billion) to national security in the draft budget for 2020, said Ukrainian Finance Minister Oksana Markarova, as cited by UNN.
“We are planning to allocate 245.8 billion [hryvnia] to various administrators who are involved in security and defense,” she said, clarifying that not all of it would be allocated to specific administrators.
“There is a separate new article – these are the funds that are supposed to be …
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Pope welcomes prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine
Pope Francis during the traditional Sunday sermon welcomed the release of prisoners by Russia and Ukraine, reports RIA Novosti news agency.
"Last week a long-awaited exchange of prisoners between Russia and Ukraine took place. I am pleased with the news about the released people who were able to hug their families, and I continue to pray for a quick end to the conflict and sustainable peace in Eastern Ukraine," he said.
On September 7, Russia and Ukraine exchanged the prisoners according to …
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Volker: Crimea sanctions on Russia will remain until ‘de-occupation of peninsula'
US Special Representative for Ukraine Kurt Volker said that the sanctions that have been imposed on Russia due to its annexation of Crimea will remain in force until Russia has fully de-occupied the peninsula.
When asked for his opinion on factoring Crimea out of the peace agreements pertaining to eastern Ukraine, Volker said that it is necessary to differentiate between the sanctions imposed on Russia in connection with Crimea and those relating to the Donbas.
“First of all, we imposed …
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Ukrainian Prime Minister proposes to connect Baltic and Black seas
Ukrainian Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk, during his speech at the Yalta European Strategy conference (YES), proposed to connect the Baltic and Black seas. According to Honcharuk, Ukraine has already started discussions on several ambitious infrastructure projects. "We need to try to build and connect the Baltic and Black seas by water. It is possible, " he said.
Honcharuk added that to implement the project, Kyiv needs to agree with Poland and Belarus on 40 waterways. "It is important to …
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Ukraine to resume air service with Uzbekistan after 5-year break
Uzbekistan Airways, together with Charter Flights Group, are launching a direct Tashkent-Kyiv-Tashkent flight after a five-year break of air traffic between Ukraine and Uzbekistan, reports the Ukrainian Center for Transport Strategies.
The charter flights will start on October 5 and will be operated once a week, on Saturdays. Departure from Tashkent is scheduled for 23:55pm, and arrival in Kyiv at 02:45am. Flight time is 4 hours and 50 minutes.
Boeing 757-300 and Airbus A320 aircraft will be …