• Naftogaz Hires Prominent US Attorneys

    National joint-stock company Naftogaz of Ukraine has engaged the law firm of Covington and Burling LLP (New York, USA) to protect the company’s interest in litigation concerning lost shelf assets in the Crimea. According to an announcement in the Visnyk Derzhavnykh Zakupivel public procurements bulletin, the gas transportation company signed a one-year agreement with the law firm on January 1st, 2016.

    The cost of the agreement is $1.25 million (value added tax not included). “The services that …

  • Russians continue to buy real estate in Turkey

    Citizens of Russia continue to buy real estate in Turkey, despite the recent crisis in relations between the two countries following the incident in which a Russian plane that was shot down for violating Turkish airspace. Last year, real estate sales to Russians totaled $398 million  worth of property.

    Fatih Elibol, senior manager at the international real estate investment consultancy Realty-TR, noted in an interview with an AA reporter that Russians continue to buy property in Turkey despite …

  • More blackouts for Crimean Residents

    Residents of the Crimea are experiencing further electricity blackouts following the malfunction of two 22,500 MW gas turbine power stations which were recently delivered from eastern Russia in order to ensure the supply of power to the Crimean peninsula. The inhabitants of the annexed territory are now being asked to use electricity sparingly, Kerch.com reported.

    The city of Kerch will primarily be affected, as repair crews will have to shut off three to five power lines providing electricity …

  • ISIL Loses 40 Percent of Its Territory in Iraq

    By the end of 2015, territories in Iraq controlled by the so-called Islamic State (known as ISIL or simply IS) had been reduced by 40%, as reported by Reuters. In Syria, ISIL lost 20% of its territory. This was reported by Colonel Steve Warren, a spokesman for the U.S.-led,anti-terrorist coalition.

    In 2014 the extremist group, then known as ISIS, captured one third of Iraq, including the town of Mosul and launched an attack on Baghdad. The blitzkrieg was stopped only because Iran’s Armed …

  • Ukrainian Citizens Have Filed More Than 700 Human Rights Complaints against Russia

    According to the Justice Minister of Ukraine, Pavel Petrenko, the number of civil cases against Russia is constantly growing. Additionally, Kiev officials have filed three interstate suits against Russia.

    On Tuesday, January 5th, in an interview with national media, Petrenko announced that citizens of Ukraine have submitted to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) more than 700 lawsuits against Russia. Moreover, almost all of the lawsuits were filed by people from Crimea, Lugansk and …

  • Coca Cola Sparks Anger with Map Showing Crimea as Russian

    The U.S.-based, multinational beverage corporation Coca Cola has apologized for the use of a map of Russia that includes the territory of Crimea on a popular social network. They said the map was developed by a third party agency without the company's consent.

    On January 5th, Coca-Cola responded to a statement by the Ukrainian Embassy in the United States, which included the complaint about the corporation’s use of the map. The company claimed that the agency that developed the map "later …

  • Kiev Seeks To Resume Debt Negotiations with Moscow

    According to the Press Center of the Ministry of Finance, Ukraine has announced its readiness to resume negotiations with Russia on restructuring the Eurobond worth $3 billion.

    "Despite any legal actions and without bias towards the whole debt situation, Ukraine is ready to negotiate in good faith with Russia about the restructuring of $3 billion worth of Eurobonds, which should have been paid in December of 2015," the Press Center stated.

    The Ministry of Finance has taken into account the …

  • Dobriansky and Ryvkin: Russian Propaganda is Racist and Obscene

    Two former U.S. Presidential Administration staff members are encouraging the U.S. Government to improve the effectiveness of American foreign diplomacy.

    The former administration staffers, who both worked for prior Republican administrations, encouraged the U.S. Government and Congress, “to revitalize America’s public diplomacy infrastructure,” in the context of intensified Russian propaganda, which they characterized as, “racist and obscene.”

    “Consistent with our core values, the United …

  • Ukraine to file lawsuit against Russia with ICJ

    The Ukrainian Justice Minister, Pavlo Petrenko, stated in an interview with the Ukrainian 5th Channel that Ukraine will file a lawsuit with the International Court of Justice against Russia for supporting terrorism (ICJ). “The next year will be associated with the initiation of a major lawsuit before the International Court of Justice, which is the principal judicial arm of the United Nations (UN),” Petrenko stated.

    The Minister of Justice stressed that the evidence has already been collected …

  • Kiev could revoke citizenship from separatists

    Ukrainians have requested that the President revoke the citizenship of all separatists and their collaborators. On the 24th of September, a petition in support of this request was posted on an electronic petition website. Ukraine can make the decision to provide amnesty to some of the separatists from the DPR (Donetsk People’s Republic) and at the same time revoke their citizenship.

    The self-proclaimed head of the Donetsk People’s Republic, Alexander Zakharchenko, fears that those involved in …