On Thursday, December 10th, Interfax reported on the findings of the Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation (Rosstat). The data indicates that the number of poor in Russia from January to September 2015 increased by millions of people and reached 20.3 million.

2.3 million Russians joined the poverty line this year.  The total poverty rate in the country amounted to 14.1%, an increase of almost 2% compared to the year 2014.  The largest number of poor in 2015 was in the …

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 …

The Ukrainian Embassy in France reported that at least one Russian propaganda film won’t be seen by the French.

In the French City of Bordeaux the film “Crimea - Path to the Motherland” was scheduled for screening in one of the city municipal halls on December 11th. Shot by TV channel “Russia-1”, the film tells about the annexation of Crimea by Russia and purports to justify the events that led to the war in Donbass.

The Ukrainian Ambassador asked the mayor of Bordeaux to cancel the screening …

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 …

The Kremlin learned about the arrest of Russians from the media.

Earlier, as a result of a special operation in Kyiv, one Russian citizen was killed and two others were arrested according to Ukraine's Security Service.

The Kremlin has no information about the detention of Russian citizens during a special operation in Kiev. This was announced by Dmitry Peskov, Press Secretary for the Russian President, reports TASS (Russian News Agency). 

“No, we don't have all the information. All we know …

Russia suggested that Kiev should completely refuse to work with European standards in the framework of the tripartite negotiations on the EU-Ukraine free trade zone from 2016.

According to Moscow, it is necessary to return to the old industry standards of the Ukrainian regulatory field, which are not compatible with European standards.  In those areas old technical standards have already been adopted.

The Russian Federation has demanded that Kiev revert to all GOST (USSR State Standards) and …

Revolution in Russia is inevitable and necessary.  Former Yukos Oil Company CEO, Mikhail Khodorkovsky stated it unequivocally during an interview from London that was broadcast on the "Open Russia" website.

“Russian society needs to admit that there was an anti-constitutional coup in the country, and that Parliament has adopted illegitimate, repressive laws,” Khodorkovsky said.  “In the absence of the institution of fair elections and other mechanisms of legitimate power change, the only …

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 …