Contents tagged with War in Ukraine

  • Ukrainian prisoners still held by Donbass militants

    The Donbass region separatists are still holding 131 people hostage. Yari Tandit, advisor to the chairman of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), told Radio Freedom that they can only confirm the fate of 57 of those people. “We are looking for information on the places in which the remaining 74 hostages are situated,” said Tandit.

    On December 8th, Irina Gerashchenko reported that the insurgents of Donbass are still holding 140 Ukrainian prisoners. She is the chairman of the Parliamentary …

  • Memory of Ukrainian Soldier Honored at U.S. Hockey Game

    At a hockey game in the United States people honored the memory of a Ukrainian-American soldier killed near Ilovaisk.

    During the hockey match in Newark between the New Jersey Devils and the Washington Capitals a photo of Mark Paslavskiy appeared on the scoreboard. The whole stadium lit up with the inscription “Heroes Among Us.” According to VIDIA, Paslavskiy was posthumously honored with the title of Hero of the Game.

    Paslavskiy, also known by the codename “Franko” was a former American Army …

  • Polish apples and Turkish oranges: the Kremlin's response to Ankara

     

    The Kremlin has not yet decided what measures will be taken to punish Turkey for the downed Su-24.  For now, the Russian government had decided to strike Turkey financially.  Turkish imports were banned and a one-sided visa regime for Turkish citizens entering Russia was introduced.  In Turkey, the visa-free regime for Russian citizens was never cancelled.Putin, and more precisely the Russian government, is trying to kill two birds with one stone. In situations in which the Russian budget …

  • Italy Delays Decision on EU Sanctions against Russia

    At a meeting of European Union ambassadors the Italian diplomats requested further discussion on anti-Russian sanctions.  The exact date for discussion has not been appointed.

    As Radio Poland reports, the Italian proposal was supported by several other countries and as a result the decision about the sanctions’ extension was postponed.  According to sources in diplomatic circles, the discussion may resume on December 10 or be postponed until the EU Summit, scheduled for December 17-18.  The …

  • Group of suspected terrorists arrested in Ukraine

    As reported by Ukraine's Security Service, seven suspected terrorists were arrested during raids in Kyiv and Ukraine's eastern city of Kharkiv on December 9.The SBU security service said it had detained three Russian and four Ukrainian citizens after a shootout in which a special forces officer and the Ukrainian leader of the armed group were killed."Just in one place in the capital we found eight homemade explosive devices, four kilograms of TNT, automatic weapons, about forty hand grenades …

  • Russian human rights advocates demand investigation into the deaths of 159 military servicemen

    The chairperson of the standing Commission on Civil-Military relations of the Presidential Human Rights Council, Sergei Krivenko, intends to address the Investigative Committee and the Military Prosecutor  General and request an investigation into the 159 Russian servicemen who died between 1 January 2014 and 30 July 2015. According to Ukrainian daily ,Glavnoe ,that this number was the result of an own investigation by one of Russian human rights activist.

    This number is substantially lower …

  • Ukraine asks for greater OSCE involvement in Crimea

    The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine is conducting negotiations aimed to expand the mandate of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the Council of Europe observer mission to widely operate in every area of the Donbass region. Foreign Affairs Minister Pavlo Klimkin explained this objective last Tuesday during his report on the year-end results of the Ministry’s activities.

    "Let's see what role the OSCE mission can take.  The mission must have access to …

  • Russian weaponry and mercenaries still pour into eastern Ukraine

    Research from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, covering the period from May 16 to Nov. 15 this year, was presented in Geneva on Wednesday.In the report, United Nations blames Russia for its actions in eastern Ukraine and the Crimea, emphasizing the flow of weapons, mercenaries and ammunition from Russia to pro-Moscow rebels in eastern Ukraine, that has left the situation there “highly flammable”. "Despite a reduction of fighting in the area over the last few …

  • New U.S. funding won't be a part of Ukrainian budget

    Additional US financial assistance to Ukraine in the amount of $190 million will not be directed to the state budget.  These funds are intended for implementation of the reforms in the judicial and law enforcement spheres, the U.S. officials accompanying the Vice President, Joseph Biden, said on Monday during his visit to Kiev.

    According to them, the $190 million in new funding is to be used to carry out programs aimed at improving law enforcement support and making judicial and democratic …

  • US can provide Ukraine with $300 million

    Biden stressed that Ukrainian leaders implement the recommendations of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and work with the international community "to continue economic progress in Ukraine.”

    The United States can give Ukraine $300 million for the security development. This was stated by US Vice-President, Joseph Biden, in Kiev.

    According to Biden, the U.S. Congress is working to pass such law. "It hasn`t been passed, but I hope that soon, it will be adopted,” he said during the joint …