The Serbian Ministry of Defence announced Thursday the launch of an initiative to bring back mandatory military service in Serbia. Serbia had mandatory military service for male citizens until 2010. The mandatory military service requirement applied to men. The length of service varied, but it was typically around six months. The Deputy Prime Minister and [...]
Search Results for: Ukraine
Belarus president enacts stricter presidential candidate criteria and presidential immunity
The President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko assented on Wednesday to comprehensive amendments to the law “On the President of the Republic of Belarus,” which tightened the requirements for a presidential candidate within the country. Under the amended law, only a person aged 40 years or older, who is a citizen of the Republic of Belarus by [...]
Russia offers citizenship to foreign fighters in Ukraine war
Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a decree on Thursday allowing foreign nationals fighting for Russia in its war in Ukraine to obtain Russian citizenship for themselves and their families. The decree comes just days after the UN condemned Russia for a recent spate of attacks in Ukraine, as the war nears its third year. The [...]
Ukraine and Russia announce first prisoner exchange since August
Ukraine and Russia announced their first prisoner-of-war exchange since August 2023 on Wednesday. The exchange involved a total of nearly 500 prisoners captured by both Ukraine and Russia. Following the exchange, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ministry of Foreign Affairs highlighted its mediation efforts in the exchange. Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that 230 Ukrainians returned to [...]
EU imposes sanctions on world's largest diamond mining company against Russia
The Council of the European Union (EU) announced new sanctions imposed on the company PJSC Alrosa and its CEO Pavel Alekseevich Marinychev on Wednesday. The EU Council claimed that the sanctions imposed represent the unwavering support for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. The sanction also serves as the Council’s resolute condemnation of Russia’s war [...]
A UN expert condemned on Tuesday a new wave of Russian aerial attacks on Ukraine. The recent attacks targeted densely-populated cities and towns across Ukraine as the war between the two countries rages on. In her statement, UN Humanitarian Coordinator Denise Brown said: For the people of Ukraine, the new year started with loss, pain, [...]
On October 2, 2023, Ukraine’s High Anti-Corruption Court granted a $360,000 reward to a whistleblower in a corruption case involving an attempted $6 million bribe—the biggest reported bribe attempt in Ukraine’s history. This reward marks the first payment to a whistleblower under the Law of Ukraine on the Prevention of Corruption, a major piece of [...]
Türkiye to block two UK minehunters en route to Ukraine from traveling through Turkish Straits
The Directorate of Communications for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan released a statement Tuesday confirming the country would not allow two British military minehunter ships en route to Ukraine to travel through the Turkish Straits in keeping with the 1936 Montreux Convention. In the statement, the Directorate wrote, “Our pertinent allies have been duly apprised [...]
Israel prepared to appear before International Court of Justice on genocide accusations
Israeli spokesperson Eylon Levy said on Tuesday Israel was prepared to defend itself against genocide accusations filed by South Africa at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). South Africa filed its genocide accusation against Israel with the ICJ in December. The accusation contented that Israeli military actions violated the 1948 Geneva Convention. Particularly, South Africa claimed [...]
Russia’s Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, said on Sunday in an interview with the Russian state-owned RIA news agency that the Russian courts have issued long-term prison sentences for more than 200 members of Ukrainian armed groups for alleged crimes. Addressing an inquiry into the alleged crimes of Ukraine, Lavrov informed the news agency that Russian [...]