Ukrainian studies

Ukraine's state-owned utility Naftogaz has insisted that conditions of gas transit to Europe previously agreed with Russian concern Gazprom be revised.

Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry has sent a protest note to the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry over discriminatory treatment at a summer camp for children at a Black Sea resort.

According to the Ukrainian authorities, Igor Abesinov, head of a group of animators at the “Mistral” summer camp for children at the resort of Sveti Vlas, banned the wearing of Ukrainian national symbols.

Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko announced his country is preparing international requests that the Donetsk and Luhansk "republics" be considered as terrorist organizations.

His words come after a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 crashed in eastern Ukraine, where pro-Russian rebels have held towns and cities under their control since early this spring.

Ukraine's Parliament adopted on first reading a bill under which up to 49% of the country's gas pipeline network could be sold to foreign investors.

This could pave the way for US or EU companies, which have eyed Ukrainian gas transportation system over the last months.

The Foreign Ministers of four countries have agreed on measures which could lead to a bilateral ceasefire in the east and south of Ukraine.

Their meeting came after a ten-day truce ended late on Monday, with both Ukrainian authorities and pro-Russian rebels in Donetsk and Luhansk claiming the other side had violated it many times.

Kazakhstan and Belarus have rejected Russia's proposal that the the three countries jointly adopt a special system to receive Ukrainian goods.

The self-proclaimed "Donetsk People's Republic" intends to start integration with Russia's customs union and to gradually exit Ukraine's legislative scope, an official says.

Andrey Purgin, First Deputy Prime Minister of the "Republic", cited Ukraine's decision to sign an Association Agreement with the EU to be among the reasons for this move.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has extended the truce offered to pro-Russian rebels, which was to end Friday, until the end of June.

Administrations at the self-proclaimed "Donetsk People's Republic" and "Luhansk People's Republic" have generally agreed to hold on to the ceasefire, despite internal divisions, RIA Novosti quotes their officials as saying.

The European Union signed Friday agreements for deeper political and economic integration with Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova.

Leaders of the three ex-Soviet states attended a ceremony in Brussels which marked the step strengthening ties with Europe despite previous Russian resistance.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Thursday accused Russia of failing to fully back a peace plan to end the bloodshed in the east of his country.
      
The plan "will only be able to work if Russia cooperates. Up to now unfortunately the support (from Moscow) has been insufficient," Poroshenko told the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg.