Section: The Malaysian Insider (Malaysia)
Mother of German MH17 victim takes Ukraine to human rights court
The mother of a victim of downed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 has begun legal proceedings against Ukraine at the European Court of Human Rights, accusing Kiev of failing to close the country’s airspace, a German daily reported today. The woman, who lodged her complaint at the Strasbourg-based court “last week”, is suing Ukraine...
6 coffins of MH17 remains flown out of Ukraine
Six more coffins holding remains of the victims from downed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 were today flown out of east Ukraine for The Netherlands, officials said. Dutch and Ukrainian officials held a memorial ceremony at the airport in the city of Kharkiv for the last batch of human remains due to be transported this year. “It was a...
Ukraine confirms pro-Western PM with mammoth tasks ahead
Ukraine’s parliament on Thursday confirmed pro-Western Arseniy Yatsenyuk as premier to lead a new coalition government, while fresh attacks in the east provided a reminder of the steep challenges ahead. In a widely expected move, the Verkhovna Rada parliament backed Arseniy Yatsenyuk to remain as prime minister in its first sitting...
Ukrainian leader under pressure from West, pledges new government soon
Ukraine will take the first steps this week towards forming a new government, President Petro Poroshenko said on Monday, seeking to assuage concern among his Western allies that the delay is holding up reform and imperilling Western assistance. The US and other Western governments are criticising Kiev’s tardiness in putting together...
Russia loses US$40 billion from sanctions
Russia is losing around US$40 billion (RM134 billion) per year due to Western sanctions over the Ukraine conflict, its finance minister said Monday, although President Vladimir Putin dismissed the economic damage as “not fatal”. “We are losing around US$40 billion per year due to geopolitical sanctions,” Finance Minister...
Putin says Russia not isolated over Ukraine, blames West for frosty ties
President Vladimir Putin blamed the West for worsening relations with Russia since the Ukraine crisis and said Moscow would not allow itself to become internationally isolated behind another ‘Iron Curtain’. In an interview published by state news agency TASS today, Putin also said Western sanctions against Moscow, combined with the...
Ukraine declares Nato ambition on protests anniversary
Ukraine’s new coalition government declared joining Nato a priority Friday in a move likely to provoke fresh Russian anger as thousands gathered in Kiev to mark the first anniversary of protests which unleashed a year of turmoil. A crowd of several thousand gathered in Kiev’s Independence Square, known as Maidan, late Friday to...
Biden in talks with Ukraine leaders as toll rises in east
US Vice President Joe Biden will meet Ukraine’s leaders Friday on the first anniversary of the protests that toppled the former pro-Kremlin regime, with Kiev hoping for an announcement on further US assistance. Almost 1,000 people have been killed in Ukraine since a truce came into effect in September, an average of 13 people a day, the...
No regrets for protestors who sparked Ukraine revolution
When Igor Romanenko’s friend suggested heading to a gathering on Kiev’s Independence Square a year ago Friday, he had no idea he was about to witness the birth of a movement that would change his country forever. The sandy-haired film director was angry and disappointed at the announcement that then-president Viktor Yanukovych had...
Ukraine rebel leader challenges president to duel
A rebel leader in east Ukraine today challenged President Petro Poroshenko to a duel, claiming it could bring peace to the war-torn region. Igor Plotnitsky, the 50-year-old leader of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic, wrote an open letter to Poroshenko suggesting the whole nation could even watch the duel on live TV. “Each...
