Новости за 31.03.2017

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which operates the Eurovision Song Contest, says Ukraine’s National Public Broadcasting Company (UAPBC) might be excluded from future events if a Russian contestant is not allowed to participate in this year’s competition in Kyiv, according to a letter sent by EBU Director General Ingrid Deltenre to Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr […]

In London, the US defense secretary also underlined the threat posed by Iran and expressed concern about Russia’s ties to the Taliban. Mattis hedged over whether the Kremlin is actually arming the Taliban. Read more here.

Germany’s foreign minister on March 31 said the Trump administration is taking a “dangerous step” after the commerce department announced a tariff on imports of foreign steel, indicating the tax could become a new source of conflict with the powerful U.S. ally and trading partner. Read more here.

A series of international powers have condemned a major power grab in Venezuela as an undemocratic coup d’etat. The Supreme Court stripped the opposition-controlled congress of all legislative power. Read more here.

Moldovan Deputy Minister of Economy Valeriu Triboi was detained on March 31  on charges of corruption, the National Anticorruption Center (CNA) told Interfax. “Valeriu Triboi has been detained by CNA operatives for 72 hours. Currently searches are carried out in the office rooms of several Economy Ministry officials, as well as other premises. All this […]

Several NATO member countries have offered assistance to Ukraine in cleaning up the aftermath of the explosions and fires that occurred at the Defense Ministry’s weapons depots near Balakliya, Kharkiv region, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said. “I welcome that several Allies announced today they will offer assistance to Ukraine following the explosions at […]

U.S. President Donald Trump has backed an offer by his former national security adviser to testify about his contacts with Russia in exchange for immunity from criminal prosecution. Read more here.

Relations between the U.S. and Russia have devolved to the level of a “new Cold War” or “maybe even worse,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on March 31 as he denied allegations that the Russian government interfered in last year’s U.S. presidential election. Read more here.  

The attack at the Polish Consulate General in Lutsk, Volyn region, and a simultaneous attempt to block the Lviv – Rava-Ruska route are a part of the sabotage action organized by Russian special services, and the mastermind behind its implementation is Mykola Dulskyi, the leader of the Nazhdak [Emery] radical public organization, Ukrainian Security Service […]

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has expressed concern over Russia’s activities in Afghanistan and its interaction with the Taliban militant group. Read more here.

The UK defence secretary Michael Fallon and his US counterpart James Mattis have struck a hawkish tone on Russia, accusing Vladimir Putin’s government of a “pattern of interference” around the world. Read more here. 

Japan will provide $3.9 million to support people and communities affected by the conflict in eastern Ukraine, Japanese Ambassador to Ukraine Shigeki Sumi has said. “I am pleased to announce that from April 2017 to March 2018, the Japanese government will allocate $4 million through the UN and the Red Cross in Ukraine for the […]

Long before Vladimir Putin came to power in 2000, the stage was set for Russia’s current confrontation with the west by the failure to achieve a transformed and inclusive peace order after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Read more here. 

Israel plans to import Ukrainian beef in the long-term, starting with 2,500 tons of products every month. Read more here. 

Ukraine has sowed 1.2 million hectares with early grain and leguminous crops, the Ministry of Agricultural Policy and Food has said. According to information on its website, spring wheat was sown on 76,000 hectares (or 40 percent of the plan), spring barley on 819,000 hectares (40 percent), oats on 80,000 hectares (39 percent), and peas […]

The economic blockade of Donbas has allowed the Russian Federation to appropriate the Ukrainian enterprises and trade their products in the markets of third countries. Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman said this during the meeting with representatives of the regional media, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. Read more here. 

Ukraine intends to file a lawsuit against a Russian airline operating in Crimea, Ukrainian Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko has said. “We are currently planning to sue a Russian airline, which is using our space, landing on the territory of Crimea without paying for it, demanding about Hr 5 million,” Lutsenko said at a briefing in […]

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has stated he will hold talks with NATO allies regarding “Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.” Read more here. 

France’s conservative presidential candidate on March 31 dismissed as “fantasy” concerns that Russia could be interfering in the election and said he would seek a better balance in relations with a country that was nevertheless “dangerous”. Read more here. 

The An-132D aircraft manufactured by Antonov state corporation on March 31, successfully completed its first flight, flying from the airdrome of Sviatoshyne to Hostomel airfield (Kyiv region). According to an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent, after landing in Hostomel airfield, the crew of the plane was met by President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko, Ukrainian officials and representatives of […]

Two people died and 12 were hospitalized as a result of the crash between the Minsk-Bukovel bus and an auto in the Lviv region, the Belarusian Foreign Ministry said on Twitter. “Two people died and 12 were hospitalized as a result of the crash of the Minsk-Bukovel regular bus and a car in the Lviv […]

Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) officer Oleksandr Kharaberiush died in a car explosion in Mariupol on March 31 morning, Ukrainian Security Service chief Vasyl Hrytsak has said. “A car was blown up in a Mariupol residential area at about 8:30 a.m. today, killing Ukrainian Security Service Col. Oleksandr Kharaberiush,” the service quoted Hrytsak as saying.

Construction of an 11-mile bridge that will connect Russia’s Krasnodar region with the Crimean city of Kerch is in full swing. Scheduled to open next year, the road-rail link will span the Kerch Strait, which flows between the Sea of Azov to the north and the Black Sea to the south. Read more here. 

Donald Trump’s willingness to embrace Russian disinformation was one of the reasons Russia’s interference in the 2016 election worked, the Senate panel investigating the president’s alleged ties to the country heard on March 30. Read more here. 

Georgia will help Ukraine in training the military for actions in the highlands, Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak has said. “It is planned to expand cooperation in such areas as the training of servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the Alliance’s standards for actions in the mountainous forest area. Georgia has vast experience and […]