Ukraine

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The office of the Ukrainian president on Friday denied reports saying that a much-anticipated prisoner swap between Ukraine and Russia is underway.

Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s office said in a statement that negotiations with Russia to secure the release of the Ukrainian prisoners are ongoing but insisted that it has not happened yet. The Kremlin on Thursday refused to comment on the possible prisoner exchange.

KIEV, August 29. /TASS/: The Ukrainian government is resigning, Prime Minister Vladimir Groisman announced, addressing the newly elected Verkhonva Rada (parliament).

"In accordance with the Constitution, my government and I are resigning. Today, I am announcing the cabinet’s resignation," he said.

Groisman noted that his three years as prime minister had not been easy. He thanked the Ukrainian people and his cabinet members for cooperation and wished the new government success.

KIEV (Reuters) - U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton flew into Kiev on Tuesday for talks to gauge Ukraine’s new authorities and touted a possible meeting between comic-turned-president Volodymyr Zelenskiy and U.S. President Donald Trump.

Bolton’s visit was the first by a senior U.S. official since Zelenskiy swept to power in Ukraine. Washington is a key ally for Kiev, having imposed sanctions on Russia for annexing Crimea in 2014 and backing pro-Moscow separatists in Ukraine’s east.

KIEV, Aug 24 (NNN-Xinhua) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hopes that negotiations with Russia on the swap of captives can be finalized soon, Interfax Ukraine news agency reported.

“The first results should be in the upcoming days … I’ve been working on this for two months. Let me do my job,” Zelensky told the journalists.

The president said he is doing his best to honor his commitment to the Ukrainian people on the return of persons held in Russia including sailors.

KIEV, August 22. /TASS/: Russian citizens Maxim Odintsov, Alexander Baranov and Yevgeny Mefedov are undergoing the legal procedure for swapping detainees with Russia, their defense attorney Valentin Rybin told TASS on Thursday.

KIEV, August 21. /TASS/: A Kiev court has compelled the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine to open a case against former Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko and Foreign Minister Pavel Klimkin on charges of abusing their power while in office.

"Kiev’s Solomensky District Court has obliged the National Anti-Corruption Bureau to open a criminal case involving abuse of office accusations against Foreign Minister Pavel Klimkin and former President Pyotr Poroshenko," the Ukrainian News reported on Wednesday, citing the court’s materials.

19 Aug 2019; MEMO: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday arrived in Ukraine to mobilise votes of Russian-speaking immigrants who left the former Soviet Union and moved to Israel, Arab48 reported.

Netanyahu’s declared agenda included discussions about agriculture, tourism, education and stipends of retired immigrants.

17 August 2019; DW: A fire broke out at the Tokyo Star hotel in Odessa overnight, killing eight people. Ukrainian authorities have opened a criminal investigation into whether fire safety requirements were breached.

A fire in a hotel in the Ukrainian port city of Odessa has killed eight people and left 10 people hospitalized, city police said on Saturday.

KIEV, August 13. /TASS/: Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has ordered the government to draw up a bill on simplifying the procedures to obtain Ukrainian citizenship for Russians, who are "persecuted on political motives."

The decree was published on the Ukrainian president’s website on Monday. "I ask to draft a Ukrainian law on short notice aimed at easing the procedure of obtaining Ukrainian citizenship for Russian nationals, who have been subjected to persecution for their political views," the document says.

DONETSK, August 9. /TASS/: The self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) is prepared to provide tit-for-tat response to the Ukrainian armed forces' aggression if ceasefire violations in the Donbass region persist, DPR head Denis Pushilin said on Friday.