Ukraine

KIEV, July 10. /TASS/: More than 4,500 Russians have been denied entry to Ukraine since the beginning of this year, spokesman for Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service Andrei Demchenko said on Wednesday.

"If we take the day before yesterday, 29 Russian citizens were not allowed to cross the state border. Since the beginning of this year, this number has amounted to slightly over 4,500," the UNN news agency quotes him as saying.

According to Demchenko, 620,000 Russian nationals have been allowed to enter Ukraine since the beginning of this year.

6 July 2019; DW: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Friday welcomed the withdrawal of Ukrainian and separatist forces from front line positions in Stanitsa Luhanska in eastern Ukraine, marking a new step towards ending the conflict.

KIEV, June 25. /TASS/: The decision of President Vladimir Putin to lift a ban on the transit of Ukrainian goods through Russia is a sign of Moscow’s willingness to follow the path of bilateral economic relations, Viktor Medvedchuk, Chairman of the political council of the Ukrainian party Opposition Platform - For Life, said on Tuesday.

LUGANSK, June 16. /TASS/: A Ukrainian drone that was on a reconnaissance mission near the settlement of Golubovsky in the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) was downed by LPR militias, Ivan Filiponenko, a spokesman for the LPR defense ministry, said on Sunday.

"Today, our servicemen prevented the Ukrainian side’s attempt to use an unmanned aerial vehicle," LuganskInformCenter quoted him as saying. "A Phantom-type drone was downed by servicemen of the air observation post near Golubovsky."

DONETSK, June 14. /TASS/: As many as 125 ceasefire violations by Ukrainian troops were reported in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) over the past week, Eduard Basurin, a spokesman for the DPR’s defense ministry, said on Friday.

KIEV, June 13. /TASS/: Ukraine won’t cede ground in the Kerch Strait, but the issue of the Ukrainian forces’ passage through it is not on the agenda now, Ukraine’s Chief of General Staff Ruslan Homchak said on Thursday.

"All decisions will be measured… Today we are not planning to lose ground in the Sea of Azov. As far as the passage is concerned, today this issue is not on the agenda either. We don’t have so many Ukrainians to put them at risk," Homchak said in an interview with the BBC’s Ukrainian service.

KIEV, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday Ukraine will join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) but only after a referendum.

"Joining NATO will give security to our country... We have to tell the Ukrainians what NATO is and that it is not bad," said Zelensky in a TV interview.

"When the Ukrainians are ready, we will definitely put this question in a referendum, and Ukraine will join NATO," he said.

LUGANSK, May 26. /TASS/: A Ukrainian drone that was on a reconnaissance mission near the village of Schastye in the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) was downed by LPR militias, Ivan Filiponenko, a spokesman for the LPR’s defense ministry, said on Sunday.

KIEV, May 20. /TASS/: Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has called on all Ukrainians living abroad to return to their motherland.

"Today I address all Ukrainians in the world: there are 65 million of us. Yes, do not be surprised, there are 65 million of those living in Europe, Asia, Australia and America for whom Ukrainian soil is their motherland. I address all of you: we need you very much. I will be glad to give Ukrainian citizenship to all," he said in his speech after the inauguration ceremony on Monday.

20 May 2019; DW: Volodymyr Zelenskiy has moved to disband parliament after being sworn in as the new president of Ukraine. The political novice is under pressure to deliver much-needed reforms after unseating incumbent Petro Poroshenko.

Volodymyr Zelenskiy, a 41-year-old comic with no political experience, announced the dissolution of parliament in his inaugural speech as the president of Ukraine on Monday.