Contents tagged with crimea

  • General involved in Russia's operation to annex Crimea to head Russian forces in Syria

    Russian Colonel General Andrey Serdyukov, who commanded the operation to seize Crimea in 2014, led the Russian military group in Syria, reports the Russian newspaper Kommersan" quoting its sources.

    The Russian Ministry of Defense has not officially commented regarding this information.

    According to Kommersant, Serdyukov was appointed as the commander of the Russian contingent in Syria on April 10, replacing Colonel General Sergei Surovikin, who commanded the military groups in Syria longer …

  • Ukrainian President Poroshenko reveals plan to take back Donbas and Crimea

    In an on-air interview with Novoye Vremya (New Time) radio station, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko said that, if reelected,  he plans to win back Crimea and the Donbas using the Minsk agreements.

    “Part of fulfilling the Minsk agreements is the formation of its security components. The security component will be broached by introducing the blue helmets issue to the UN Security Council... An absolutely traditional peacekeeping mission that must fulfill several tasks to create a secure …

  • EU, Canada and US accuse Russia of restricting navigation through the Kerch Strait

    The European Union countries, Canada and the United States condemn the inspections of the ships conducted by Russia in the Kerch Strait, as well as navigation restrictions caused by the construction of the Kerch Strait bridge, reported the Embassy of Ukraine in the United Kingdom.

     The statement was made after the International Maritime Organization (IMO) reviewed Ukraine’s complaint about “unauthorized construction and opening by Russia of a bridge across the Kerch Strait as well as the …

  • Chairman of Ukraine’s Parliament: Children in Crimea are being trained for war against Ukraine

    Russia is using its education system in annexed Crimea as a weapon against motherland Ukraine, said Andriy Parubiy, Chairman of Ukraine’s parliament, at the 140th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Qatar.

    “The children of Ukrainian citizens in the illegally occupied territory are being forcibly indoctrinated and turned into supporters of the Russian imperial idea. Russia, in breach of international humanitarian law, is deliberately training the Ukrainian citizens residing in Crimea …

  • Russian missile ships conduct exercises in the Black Sea

    A group of ships from the Russian Black Sea Fleet conducted missile firing exercises in the Black Sea and returned to the naval base in annexed Sevastopol, reported Alexei Rulev, the head of the fleet’s press service.

    "Together with missile ships Ivanovets and R-60, which carried out the missile test firing, 14 ships and support vessels of the Black Sea Fleet returned to the permanent deployment places. They participated in the closure of the marine test site to ensure the safety of civilian …

  • Russia offers to resume all air traffic with Ukraine

    Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsia) offered to engage in talks with Ukrainian authorities on resuming all air traffic, reported RBC news agency.

    “In response to the prohibition of direct charter air traffic between our countries imposed by Ukraine’s leadership, we propose to hold talks and resume all flights on a regular and charter basis between Russia and Ukraine,” the agency’s press service reported.

    Representatives of Rosaviatsia stressed that the citizens of the two …

  • NATO to guarantee safe passage for Ukrainian ships through Kerch Strait

    The North-Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) plans to take steps to ensure that Ukrainian ships have safe passage through the Kerch Strait, US Ambassador to NATO Kay Bailey Hutchison told foreign reporters on Tuesday 2 April.

    Hutchison confirmed that a corresponding package of measures should be approved during a two-day conference in Washington starting on Wednesday.

    “The package will step up aerial surveillance, and will involve sending more NATO ships to the Black Sea in order to …

  • Russia conducts anti-aircraft missile exercises in Crimea

    Russia began anti-aircraft missile exercises in the annexed Crimea. The units of the anti-aircraft missile regiment from the army corps of the Black Sea Fleet began exercises near Saki and Kacha airfields in the Crimea, the press service of the Russian Black Sea Fleet reported.

    "More than 300 servicemen from anti-aircraft crews of the anti-aircraft missile regiment have launched a set of combat training tasks, including the deployment of firing positions, preparation for opening fire, as well …

  • Ukrainian POWs made to undergo psychiatric examinations in Russia

    Second rank Captain Denys Hrytsenko, one of the Ukrainian sailors captured by Russia off the coast of Crimea, said that he and his fellow prisoners of war Mykhailo Vlasyuk, Andriy Drach and Vyacheslav Zynchenko were taken to the Serbsky Center in Moscow to undergo psychiatric examinations.

    Hrytsenko’s account reaches us through his Russian attorney, Nikolai Polozov.

    “During the examination, Denys Hrytsenko responded to the experts’ questions in accordance with Article 17 of the Third Geneva …

  • EU urges Russia to stop attacks on Crimean Tatars

    The EU decisively condemns the arrest of 23 Crimean Tatars in police raids by the Russian occupation authorities in Crimea on 27 and 28 March, said EU Spokesperson for EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Maja Kocijancic in a statement.

    “A court in the Crimean peninsula, illegally annexed from Ukraine by Russia, has ruled that all 23 Crimean Tatars detained on 27 March and 28 March will be held in pre-trial detention until 15 May. They are accused of belonging to the organisation Hizb ut- …