NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters on Wednesday that increases in military spending and rising numbers of troop deployments in Eastern Europe since 2014 were carried out in anticipation of a conflict with Russia after Russia stole Crimea from Ukraine. Speaking after a meeting of NATO members and partner states in Madrid, Stoltenberg accused Moscow of “using force in the eastern... 

Russia started the special military operation in Ukraine on 24 February, following a request for assistance from the Donbass republics. The latter had been suffering from Ukrainian bombardment over the past eight years as Kiev delayed the implementation of the 2015 Minsk agreements. Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has suggested in an interview with The Economist that the Russian special... 

Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council has called for the impostion of a thirty-day state of emergency in most of the country amidst fears that a Russian invasion is imminent. In a press briefing on Wednesday, council chairman Aleksey Danilov revealed that the council had proposed the measure, which must first receive parliamentary approval before going into effect. He also explained the... 

Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced that Moscow has recognized the two self-declared breakaway Donbass republics in Ukraine’s east as sovereign nations, as a military standoff across the contact line continues to escalate. Speaking as part of a televised address to the nation on Monday evening, Putin signed the decree, saying that “I deem it necessary to make a decision that should... 

With fears of an all-out military conflict in Ukraine’s war-torn Donbass region, troops from a major Moscow-led military faction could be sent on a mission to stabilize the tense situation if Kiev and the international community agree on the plan, the bloc’s secretary general has said. Speaking as part of an exclusive interview to Reuters, published on Saturday, Stanislav Zas weighed in on which... 

The EU could impose economic measures on Russia if Moscow opts to recognize the self-proclaimed Donetsk (DPR) and Lugansk (LPR) People’s Republics as sovereign states, senior European officials have warned. Threats of sanctions, announced on Tuesday, following a resolution passed earlier that day by Russia’s State Duma (parliament). MPs voted in favor of a motion, addressed to President Vladimir... 

An explosion that rocked a cafe in central Donetsk city, in eastern Ukraine, has killed Aleksandr Zakharchenko, the leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, and injured several other top officials. “The head of the DPR, Aleksandr Zakharchenko, has died as a result of a terrorist act,” a spokesperson of the self-proclaimed republic’s administration told journalists, revealing... 

The problem of Donbass residents’ legal status is quite serious. While Ukraine does not need these people, simplified procedure to get Russian citizenship will be put into effort. Denis Pushilin, Vice Chairman of the People’s Council of the Donetsk People’s Republic claimed that Abkhazia-, South Ossetia-, and  -like passportization is going to be introduced. Vladimir Karasyov, an... 

Ambassadors from the European Union member states have agreed to prolong until 2016 the bloc’s punitive measures against Russia over its alleged involvement in Ukraine’s crisis. On Wednesday, the EU Committee of Permanent Representatives reached an agreement on extending bloc’s economic sanctions against Moscow by six more months, Russia’s Interfax news agency said, citing EU diplomatic source. Envoys... 

Ukrainian soldiers take part in exercises near the eastern Ukrainian city of Lysychansk, in the Lugansk region on March 27, 2015. A majority of people in the United States are supporting a military strike against Russia in response to an attack by Moscow on a NATO country, according to a new survey. The poll conducted by the Pew Research Center showed Wednesday that 56 percent of Americans back a military... 

The Ukrainian parliament has adopted amendments to state law allowing “admission of the armed forces of other states on the territory of Ukraine.” The possible hosting of foreign weapons of mass destruction is also mentioned in the documents. Amendments to Ukrainian law were adopted on Thursday by the Verkhovna Rada, receiving a majority of 240 votes (the required minimum being 226). The bill... 

The US House has passed a resolution calling on President Barack Obama to send lethal weapons to Ukraine, despite the fragile truce in the eastern part of the country. The non-binding resolution was approved by an overwhelming majority of 348-48. Sending weapons to the Kiev government would not mean involvement in a new war for America, claimed US Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), a Democrat on the House... 

At least three people have been killed in an explosion in the center of Kharkov, Ukraine, during a peace march, local media report. Around 500 people had gathered in the center of the Kiev-controlled city for a rally. Those marching in the front were hurt, with Tass reporting from the scene that at least 10 people sustained injuries and three others were killed. Other outlets speak of four and eight... 

February 11, 2015. From left: Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko pose for a group photo at Independence Palace in Minsk after restricted attendance peace talks on Ukraine held by the Russian, German, French and Ukrainian leaders. An agreement has been brokered in Minsk to stop hostilities in... 

Ukraine’s government has announced its readiness to impose martial law in case the crisis escalates in the country’s east. “The government and parliament are ready to introduce martial law throughout Ukraine,” Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko told a cabinet meeting on Wednesday. The statement came ahead of a new round of peace negotiations between Kiev and pro-Russia forces in the Belarusian...