Новости за 09.12.2015

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered his government to take the "crooks in Kyiv" to court if they didn't repay a multi-billion-euro bond. Ukraine, however, remains defiant and has vowed to fight back.

President Vladimir Putin’s Dec. 3rd address to the Federation Council, the upper house of Russia’s national legislature, was an exercise in chutzpah, trying to present Russia as a victim of barbarism and a defender of peace:

It was a real honor, on the final day, to be able to speak beak before the Rada  -  the Ukrainian legislature. The last American official to do so was President George H.W. Bush.

The number of companies selling foreign tours to Russian tourists has fallen by 70 percent over the past year, the TASS news agency reported on Dec. 9, citing Dmitry Gorin, deputy head of the Russian Tour Operators Association.

A bizarre episode involving two dozen stolen paintings by old Dutch masters shows how far Ukraine still has to go before it becomes a European nation - and explains why many Dutch people have misgivings about ratifying Ukraine's association agreement with the European Union.

Russia lashed out against the International Monetary Fund and the Ukrainian government on Wednesday as it prepares for a legal battle with Kyiv over repayment of $3 billion in Ukrainian debt.

More than 9,000 people have been killed and over 20,000 have suffered injuries in the hostilities in Donbas, says a report published by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on its website.

A bill passed in Russia which entitles it not to abide by the European Court of Human Rights' (ECHR) judgments has been prompted by the understanding that it will lose Ukraine's cases over Crimea in this court, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said.

HORLIVKA, Donetsk Oblast - The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine exposed five reasons why the truce has not been observed in Donbas.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has instructed the Finance Ministry to take Ukraine to court if the country defaults on its $3 billion debt to Moscow.

Turkey's prime minister accused Russia on Dec. 9 of attempted "ethnic cleansing" in northern Syria, saying Moscow was trying to drive out the local Turkmen and Sunni Muslim populations to protect its military interests in the region.

Economic Development Minister Aivaras Abromavicius announces that the Ukrainian Ministry of Economic Development and Trade plans to raise $5 billion in foreign direct investment next year.

The economic battle between Russia and Ukraine could enter the courtroom soon with Russian authorities calling Ukrainian officials “crooks.” Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday if Ukraine does not repay $3 billion worth of debt by the Dec. 20 deadline a lawsuit would be filed, Reuters reported.

GENEVA - While the United Nations has found a marked decrease in fighting between Ukraine's forces and Russian-backed rebels in the country's east, it also reports an increase in abuses of civilians in the insurgent-controlled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk.

PARIS - Police, prosecutors, friends, families and acquaintances have unveiled details about the men who carried out the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris. Altogether, authorities say that three teams participated in the bloody assault and at least one suspected participant remains at large.

Hi, folks  -  checking in to share a few thoughts from my day with you. It was a productive one.

President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko will submit draft amendments to the Tax Code to the Verkhovna Rada, Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk has said at a cabinet meeting.

Ukraine has always had a bewildering number of banks, many functioning as nothing more than giant piggybanks for the companies and tycoons that set them up. The National Bank of Ukraine’s tightening of regulations has already led to many of them closing, however.

If Russia sues Ukraine regarding a $3 billion debt, Kyiv is ready to litigate, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said.

MINSK, Belarus - As he fights an economic downturn in Belarus, the man often called "Europe's last dictator," longtime President Alexander Lukashenko, is getting a surprising boost.

A quarter of a century after breaking free from the Soviet Union, the Baltic states are finally getting rid of their electricity dependence too.

Time magazine has named German Chancellor Angela Merkel its 2015 "Person of the Year", noting her leadership during the Syrian refugee crisis, the Greek bail-out deal, currency turmoil in the European Union, and Russia’s intervention in Ukraine.

Two investors - one American, one Canadian - plan to buy apartments in Kyiv that are more than 100 years old and renovate them to Western standards as rentals aimed at the diplomatic community.

PJSC Odesa port-side chemical plant intends to apply to court to defend its business reputation, first deputy director of the enterprise Mykola Schurikov has said at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine.

Human rights activists are demanding an official answer about the death of 159 Russian soldiers, and particularly note the sharp increase in unexplained deaths during the second half of 2014. The increase coincides with reports of Russian deaths in Donbas and of a major escalation in Russia’s military engagement in eastern Ukraine.