Новости за 04.04.2017

The Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry on Tuesday dismissed media reports that the suspected perpetrator of the attack in the metro in St. Petersburg, a native of Osh, Akbarzhon Dzhalilov was once a citizen of Kyrgyzstan. “The Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry officially states that the information that appeared in some media, that Akbarzhon Dzhalilov, suspected of committing a […]

A decision by the city of Berlin not to illuminate its most famous landmark, the Brandenburg Gate, in the colors of the Russian flag to show solidarity with St Petersburg after an attack has provoked anger, with critics calling it a scandal. In the past after attacks in other countries, the city has beamed the […]

After the United States presidential election, there was a reported surge in the production of President Donald Trump paraphernalia in Russia. Weird? Not so much. Celebration in the form of Trump-themed products is expected: Right now, Russia likes Trump, and the country promotes whomever they love politically, in every sense. Like his wife Melania, who […]

The International Monetary Fund warned on April 4 that Ukraine’s domestic politics could derail vital reforms, such as raising the pension age and tackling corruption, that are needed to crank up economic growth and tame high public debt. Read more here. 

Russia has launched its most powerful submarine ever which is said to be capable of blasting nuclear warheads at targets 1,500 miles away on land. Read more here. 

Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada is expected to pass a bill on anti-corruption courts by the middle of June, and such a court is expected to become operative by the end of March 2018, the Ukrainian authorities said in a Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies, signed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). “To ensure that prosecution […]

The Ukrainian central bank cut the amount of foreign currency that businesses are required to sell to 50 percent of their foreign earnings from 65 percent, part of a promised currency liberalisation that follows the payout of new IMF aid. Read more here. 

Teams of energy workers have repaired the damaged segments on a power transmission line leading to Avdiyivka, Donetsk region, and connected the city’s grids to a power supply, Ukraine’s Ministry for Temporary Occupied Territories and Internally Displaced Persons said. “As of 4.00 p.m., power supply to the town of Avdiyivka is restored,” the ministry said […]

Two hundred art house cinemas across the United States are screening an adaption of 1984 on April 4 in protest against Donald Trump’s administration. The United State of Cinema website says George Orwell’s dystopian fiction has “never been timelier”. Read more here.

Akbarzhon Jalilov, the man suspected of blowing up a Russian metro train, represents a new wave of radical Islamists who blend into local society away from existing jihadist movements – making it harder for security forces to stop their attacks. His pages on the Russian equivalent of Facebook show Jalilov’s interest in Wahabbism, a conservative […]

According to the World Bank’s latest estimates, Ukraine’s economy will grow by 2 percent in 2017. To boost annual growth to 4 percent in 2018-2019, however, Ukraine needs to overhaul the state pension system, land market and health care. “The economy is recovering modestly, but accelerating reforms can help to boost growth in the medium […]

WARSAW, Poland – U.S.-based pro-democracy group Freedom House said on April 4 that a “spectacular breakdown of democracy” has been taking place in Poland and Hungary, two countries that stood as models of democratic change after the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe. Read more here.

The Lviv Armor Vehicles Factory has received a defense procurement contract for production of 20 Dozor-B armored cars, as well as full overhaul of T-64 and T-72 tanks and other heavy vehicles for Ukraine’s Armed Forces. A light and highly mobile carrier, it can be used as a battlefield transporter for manpower, cargo or ammunitions […]

The stake of businessman Ihor Kolomoisky in Studio 1+1 TV and radio company LLC as of Dec. 31 was 57.534 percent, which is 4.691 percent more than as of Dec. 31, 2015. According to the ownership structure presented on the website of the TV channel, the stake of Ihor Surkis also grew from 17.157 percent as of Dec. […]

Russia’s Investigative Committee has formally named the man behind April 3 deadly attack on the St. Petersburg subway system. Read more here.

Poland is spearheading criticism of the Commission’s proposed “entente” that would end a five-year antitrust case against Gazprom for abusing its dominant position in eight countries in Central and Eastern Europe. Read more here.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law that exempts Russians who are under Western sanctions from paying taxes in Russia if they are registered as taxpayers abroad. Read more here.

Mara Marinaki, principal adviser on gender with the European External Action Service, says it’s long overdue for Ukraine to ratify the Istanbul Convention on preventing and combatting violence against women, which Ukraine signed back in 2011. The convention, if ratified, would have helped Ukraine to set up legal mechanisms to combat domestic and gender-based violence. […]

Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman stands for the appointment of Acting Minister of Health Ulana Suprun as Health Minister but says consultations on this issue are still under way, according to an UNIAN correspondent. Read more here.

NEW YORK — A former campaign adviser for Donald Trump met with and passed documents to a Russian intelligence operative in New York City in 2013. Read more here.

Russians are demanding more from the government as discontent with state corruption grows, a report by independent pollster the Levada Center has revealed. Read more here.

The President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, in a telephone conversation thanked Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Christine Lagarde for her personal contribution to the positive decision to allocate the next IMF tranche of $1 billion to Ukraine. The interlocutors discussed the implementation of structural reforms, particularly the judicial one, the intensification of […]

Russia’s hybrid military forces attacked Ukrainian army positions in Donbas 48 times in the past 24 hours with two Ukrainian soldiers reported as killed in action (KIA), according to the press service of the Ukrainian military. Read more here.

MOSCOW – Forty-two people have been hospitalized after the April 3 explication in the St. Petersburg metro, and 13 of them are in serious condition, a source in regional medical services told Interfax. “Forty-two people, including one child, are staying in hospitals after the metro blast. Thirteen of them are in serious condition. The condition […]

U.S. President Donald Trump telephoned his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, and offered “full support” from the United States after a bomb blast ripped through a subway car in the Russian city of St. Petersburg, killing at least 11 people and injuring 51 others. Read more here.