Moscow has urged Kiev to halt its military operations in eastern Ukraine amid reports of civilian casualties during a full-scale assault on pro-Russian protesters there. The Russian Foreign Ministry released a statement urging the Kiev government to stop what Moscow calls Ukraine’s military operations against its own people. The Russian ministry also called on the Organization for Security and Cooperation... 

More than 50 self-defense fighters and as many civilians have been killed since Ukrainian troops stepped up their offensive in the region on Monday, according to the PM of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, Aleksandr Boroday. “We’ve lost more than 50 self-defense fighters,” Boroday said, as cited by RIA Novosti. “Many of the casualties are a result of two Kamaz trucks having... 

In a series of new reports from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) on the election of Petro Poroshenko [photo top right] as the next president of Ukraine, the overriding sentiment of Kremlin diplomatic officials can only be described as one of “astonished glee” as this most troubled of nations (provided with “substantial” help from its US-EU allies) has selected as its leader one the most... 

The Russian authorities continue to insist on the need for a thorough investigation into the death of tens of people in the House of Trade Unions in Odessa on May 2. Russian officials have appealed to the UN Security Council to achieve the goal. Russia demands members of the UN Security Council should consider and analyze reports about the killings in Odessa as there is no OSCE reaction about the... 

Amid the ongoing standoff with Russia over Ukraine, the United States is sending another warship to the Black Sea. According to Pentagon officials, a guided missile cruiser, the USS Vella Gulf, is sailing to the region to reassure US allies over what they describe as Russia’s intervention in Ukraine. Washington launched a military buildup in the Balkans in the wake of the Ukraine crisis. It has... 

Hunter Biden Hunter Biden, son of US VP Joe Biden, is joining the board of directors of Burisma Holdings, Ukraine’s largest private gas producer. The group has prospects in eastern Ukraine where civil war is threatened following the coup in Kiev. Biden will advise on “transparency, corporate governance and responsibility, international expansion and other priorities” to “contribute to the economy... 

A troubling new report released by the Ministry of Civil Defense, Emergencies and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters (EMERCOM) today states that President Putin has issued a dreaded “Black Notice” to all Russian ministries banning the foreign travel of all “vital and essential” civilian and military persons under the powers granted to him by Articles 87 and 88 of the Constitution. The... 

Is the petrodollar monopoly about to be shattered? When U.S. politicians started slapping economic sanctions on Russia, they probably never even imagined that there might be serious consequences for the United States. But now the Russian media is reporting that the Russian Ministry of Finance is getting ready to pull the trigger on a “de-dollarization” plan. For decades, virtually all oil and... 

Ukraine’s interim Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk Ukraine has accused Russia of stealing energy resources in Crimea and threatened to take Russia to court over its recent gas price increases. On Tuesday, Ukraine’s interim Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said that the Ukrainian government would take Russia to court unless it agreed to a gas supply contract based on market prices. He also said... 

Kiev has summoned the Hungarian ambassador over remarks made by Prime Minister Viktor Orban about autonomy for Hungarians living in Ukraine. Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry expressed concern about the Hungarian premier’s call for autonomy and dual citizenship of ethnic Hungarians living in the western Ukrainian province of Transcarpathia. The ministry said Orban’s comments contradict Ukrainian laws. The... 

Ukrainian troops outside the town of Andreyevskoe near Slaviyansk, Donetsk Region, where local residents blocked a column of Ukrainian Army armored personnel carriers. About 400 elite mercenaries from the notorious US private security firm Academi (formerly Blackwater) are taking part in the Ukrainian military operation against anti-government protesters in southeastern regions of the country, German... 

Donbass residents vote in the referendum on the status of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic. Donetsk People’s Republic has proclaimed itself a sovereign state and has asked Moscow to consider its accession into Russia, the Republic’s council said. “We, the people of Donetsk, based on results of the May 11 referendum and the declaration of sovereignty of the Donetsk People’s... 

Polling stations have closed in Ukraine’s self-proclaimed People’s Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk after a referendum on independence from the Kiev government. The turnout reached over 70 percent, according to organizers of the poll. The last polling stations in Lugansk and Donetsk regions wrapped up their work at 23:00 local time (20:00 GMT). There is no minimum voter turnout required for... 

The United States and European Union are causing an international scandal by committing genocide in east Ukraine, a political analyst tells Press TV. “[US Secretary of State] Mr. John Kerry and Victoria Nuland at the State Department and President [Barack] Obama, who seems to be just funking the issue, and also the EU apparatus like [British Foreign Minister] William Hague, they all should be ashamed... 

Satellite image of the North Crimean Canal Recent satellite images show that Kiev is deliberately trying to cut off Crimea peninsula’s water supply by building a dam. In the meantime Russian scientists are trying to find ways to supply Crimea with fresh water. Experts from the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources are developing ways to supply fresh water to the Crimea from the Kuban River in...