• Ukrainian minister reveals coal-for-electricity exchange with separatist republics

    Vadym Chernysh, the Minister for Temporarily Occupied Territories of the Donbas, said in an interview with Hromadske radio that Ukraine supplies electricity to the occupied territories of the Donbas in exchange for coal.

    "Yes, it continues. Both in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The situation in the Luhansk regions is complicated again. Technically, the Luhansk thermal power plant located almost at the contact line is supplying electricity to the uncontrolled territory. However, coal for …

  • Ukraine has begun extracting shale gas

    The chief executive officer of Ukrainian state energy company Naftogaz, Andriy Kobolyev, stated in his interview with Bloomberg that the Ukrgasdobycha, a subsidiary of Ukraine’s Naftogaz, began extracting shale gas using hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in October 2016.

    According to him, the drilling of the first well was performed in cooperation with European partners. Kobolyev didn’t specify the names of these companies or the location where the well will be drilled.

    The chief executive …

  • Ukrainian Ministry of Defense urges Europeans to strengthen sanctions against the Russian Federation

    The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine called on the members of the European Parliament to strengthen sanctions against the Russian Federation. The website of the Ukrainian Defense Agency reported that the Deputy Defense Minister of Ukraine for European Integration, Ihor Dolhov, met with the delegation of the Security and Defense subcommittee of the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee headed by the committee’s Chairwoman, Anna Fotyga. The representatives of the European Parliament were …

  • U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine: The U.S. does not want to join the Normandy Four

    The United States is not going to join the Donbas negotiations in Normandy Format, said U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch on Radio Liberty."I do not think that there are plans for the U.S. to join the Normandy format now. But this does not mean that the U.S. is not active at the diplomatic level. We cooperate with Ukraine, we have consultations with France and Germany. Periodically we will also hold meetings with the Russians, to see whether there is a way for constructive progress …

  • Chornomornaftogaz accuses Russia of stealing billions of cubic meters of Ukrainian gas every year

    Ukrainian company Chornomornaftogaz has claimed that Russia extracts two billion cubic meters of gas from the Black Sea shelf every year. This was reported by BBC-Ukraine.

    “Russian company State Unitary Enterprise Chernomorneftegaz, which was included in all of the sanctions lists, is extracting gas in the Crimea,” the chairman of Chornomornaftogaz, Svetlana Nezhnov, stated.

    According to her, Russia appropriated Ukrainian assets in the Crimea after its 2014 annexation. The extracted gas is …