Section: The Gulf Today (United Arab Emirates)
Ukraine MP sparks row after shooting man in leg
Kiev: New Year’s Eve passed off peacefully enough in war-torn Ukraine — until a senior lawmaker shot a man in the leg during a testosterone-charged road rage incident. Ukrainians bored by a relative lack of news over the holiday period have been gripped by accounts of the fight between the man and the senior politician that also involved an...
USAID ends funding for Ukraine customs reform
ODESSA: The US Agency for International Development (USAID) has ended funding for a flagship customs reform project in Ukraine’s Odessa region, as the government’s ambitious plans to tackle bribe-taking at its Black Sea ports stalled. USAID and other institutions have supported Kiev’s Western-backed government, which took power...
Ukrainian activist faces graft probe as reforms row festers
KIEV: A young activist who became prominent in Ukraine’s 2014 uprising and was later appointed to work on a major project to reform the corruption-plagued customs of Odessa is herself being investigated for corruption. Roman Nasirov, the head of Ukraine’s Fiscal Service, which is spearheading the probe, told Reuters that he suspected...
Ukraine insurgents release two women captives
Donetsk: Ukraine’s pro-Moscow insurgents on Tuesday released two women they had held captive thanks to the intervention of Nadya Savchenko — a Kiev-born female combat pilot who spent nearly two years in a Russian jail. The freeing of the women — a judge and a journalist — came after Savchenko, now a member of parliament, held a private...
Fragile Ukraine ceasefire holds for third day
Kiev: A new indefinite truce in Ukraine held by a thread for a third day on Monday as both pro-Russian insurgents and Kiev reported clashes near a prized railroad hub but no deaths. Ukraine and Russia — two ex-Soviet neighbours that are now sworn foes — agreed to the armistice on Wednesday with the help of mediation from the Organisation for...
Ukraine rebels agree to indefinite ceasefire
Kiev: A top Ukrainian insurgent said on Friday the rebels had agreed to an indefinite ceasefire negotiated by Russia and Ukraine that would go into effect this weekend. The latest truce was hammered out with the help of European monitors and comes amid a surge in fighting that claimed the lives of eight Ukrainian soldiers this week. Russia denies...
OSCE warns of ‘massive upsurge in violence’ in Ukraine
Kiev: The chief European monitor for the war in Ukraine warned on Thursday that a “massive upsurge in violence” has seen fighting between Kiev’s forces and pro-Russian rebels reach levels not seen in months. The statement by Alexander Hug of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) came a day after the body hailed...
Two Ukrainian troops killed in past 24 hours
KIEV: At least two Ukrainian troops have been killed in the past 24 hours in renewed fighting in eastern Ukraine, officials said on Wednesday. Fighting between Russia-backed separatists and Ukrainian government troops has killed more than 9,600 people since the conflict began in April 2014. A 2015 cease-fire deal did not completely stop fighting...
EU extends curbs against Russia for six months
BRUSSELS: The European Union (EU) on Monday extended for another six months damaging economic sanctions against Russia over its intervention in Ukraine. EU leaders decided at a summit last week to roll over the sanctions first imposed in 2014 and the European Council, which groups the 28 member states, confirmed the decision on Monday. “The...
Netherlands ratify EU-Ukraine pact
THE HAGUE: The Dutch government on Friday approved a draft law needed to ratify the EU’s historic pact with Ukraine after reaching a compromise with Brussels following a referendum in which Dutch voters rejected the deal. “We (the Dutch cabinet) find it is necessary to ratify this accord,” Prime Minister Mark Rutte said of the draft law,...
