The status of Crimea is settled for Russia, so Moscow will not discuss the issue with Kiev or any other party, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Wednesday, commenting on the outcome of peace talks on the previous day. Kiev’s proposal for a peace treaty with Russia included a …
Read More »How Crimea became part of Russia and why it was gifted to Ukraine
In March, it will be eight years since the day Crimea returned to the Russian Federation. This ended its 60-year history as part of Ukraine, which began, not on February 19, 1954, but a little earlier. What does Ukraine have to do with it? The Crimean Peninsula became part of …
Read More »Retaking Crimea by force ‘impossible’ – Ukraine
Using the Ukrainian military to retake Crimea from Russia is not a realistic proposition, but it could be an option in the future, the chairman of Kiev’s National Security and Defense Council said on Thursday. Speaking to TV channel 1+1, Aleksey Danilov explained that Ukraine would not simply accept that …
Read More »WATCH Ukrainian troops train near Crimea
Kiev has conducted military exercises using the Uragan system, a Soviet-designed self-propelled multiple rocket launcher, near the country’s southern border with Crimea, the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported on Wednesday. According to the army’s press service, troops practiced deployment of the system to firing positions, while targeting missiles at a …
Read More »German navy chief resigns over Crimea & Putin comments
Germany’s Navy chief, vice-admiral Kay-Achim Schoenbach, has vacated his post on Saturday evening – just a day after he said that Crimea “will never come back”, and that Putin and Russia “probably deserve respect.” Schoenbach asked Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht to “relieve me from my duties with immediate effect,” with the minister …
Read More »Ukrainian troops train for missile launches near Crimea
Kiev has conducted tests of units manning the BM-21 ‘Grad’ system, a Soviet-designed, truck-mounted multiple rocket launcher, near its southern border with Crimea, according to an announcement by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. On Friday, officials stated that personnel had moved the weapons to Kherson Oblast, just north of the …
Read More »Russia explains what it believes it saved Crimea from
Had Moscow not reabsorbed Crimea in 2014, radical groups from Ukraine as well as Western private military soldiers would have made it their stronghold, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu has claimed. Speaking as part of an interview with Moscow newspaper Argumenty i Fakty published on Monday, the senior official said …
Read More »Putin reveals thinking behind 2014 moves in Crimea
Before the Maidan in 2014, Moscow was happy to work closely with all Ukrainian governments and had no plan to take any action in Crimea. However, this changed when a democratically elected leader was overthrown, the Russian president said on Thursday. Speaking to journalists at his annual end-of-year press conference …
Read More »UN General Assembly votes on ‘militarization of Crimea’
On Thursday, 62 countries voted in favor of the motion, which accuses Moscow of building up its forces in the region and violating the rights of its citizens. However, the majority of states did not vote in favor, with 55 abstaining from casting their ballots. A further 22 nations, including …
Read More »Ukrainian navy ship close to Russian waters off Crimea & refusing to change course – Moscow
The incident comes at a time of heightened tensions between Russia and Ukraine that have caused alarm internationally. In a statement issued late on Thursday night, Russia’s FSB announced that “on December 9 at 9.12am, the command ship ‘Donbass’ of the Ukrainian Navy left the port of Mariupol and began …
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