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Ukrainian lawmakers have approved a bill that requires national television and radio stations to have at least 75 percent of their programming in the Ukrainian language.

The issue is controversial among Ukraines Russian-speaking population, and pro-Russia separatists fighting in eastern Ukraine claim Kyiv is deliberately reducing the use of the Russian language. Kyiv denies the allegation.

The legislation is still going through parliament and requires presidential approval. The first reading of the bill was approved on March 16.

The bill also requires local TV and radio stations to have 50 percent of their content in Ukrainian.

The language quotas would be in place between 0700 and 2200.

The bill also requires that foreign films aired on Ukrainian television channels, including Russian movies, must carry Ukrainian subtitles.

Viktoria Syumar, chairwoman of the parliamentary committee for freedom of speech and information policies, told a session that some Ukrainian broadcasters have up to 90 percent of their programming in Russian.

She added that the Crimean Tatar language was included in the Ukrainian language quota.

Excerpt from:
Ukrainian Lawmakers Approve Language Quotas - RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty

MOSCOW, March 19. /TASS/. The presidents press secretary Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with RBC television channel on Sunday he is confident Ukraines recognizing of Crimeas Russian status and improvement of friendly relations between Moscow and Kiev are not of importance under the current political conditions.

"From the point of view of our current reality, the position and status of Crimea as a region of the Russian Federation is not that important, as it is unlikely to change whenever," he said in response to a question when Ukraine could recognize Crimea as a Russian region and when it could improve relations with Russia.

The press secretary said despite all disputes between the countries, Russia does not have prejudices against the Ukrainian people, and Ukraine remains an important country both politically, economically and socially.

"Of course, Ukraine is extremely important to us both in the inter-state relations, and in the economic and in humanitarian aspects. It cannot be overestimated, it is important to now, despite all the costs of the situation, in which we found ourselves together with Ukraine. Though Russia has never ever had any prejudices against the Ukrainians, I hope they will never be," the presidents press secretary said.

In other media

See the article here:
Kremlin calls unimportant when Ukraine may recognize Russian status of Crimea - TASS

While Russian media were busy disseminating fake stories claiming that Ukraine had deliberately cut off water supplies to the self-proclaimed Luhansk Peoples Republic (LNR) in the east of the country, Ukraine repaired the damaged pumping station that was the cause of the water shutoff.

Website screenshot RT

Russian media cited the Luhansk water utility Luhanskvoda who announced on March 11 that water supplied from a regional pumping station located on free Ukrainian territory, suddenly stopped without any notice. Lenta.ru reported that Ukrainian authorities threatened to shut off water supplies because of unpaid bills and a local separatist site Novorossia news, declared that Ukraine was conducting genocide against civilians.

Screenshot @mtot_gov_ua

Russia Today, Russias Defense Ministry television channel Zvezda, Lenta,ru. RIA Novosti, NTV, REN-TV, TVC and other Russian media all ran stories claiming that Ukraine intentionally cut water supplies to the Luhansk occupied territories.

Website screenshot loga.gov.ua

Ukrainian authorities announced on March 11 that a regional pumping station was damaged by separatist shelling and water supplies to the Luhansk area would be limited. Repairs were underway to resume service. By evening the repairs were complete and normal water supply to the area resumed.

Here is the original post:
Fake: Ukraine Deliberately Shuts off Water Supplies to Occupied Luhansk - StopFake.org

It is not, perhaps, the country you would think of first when planning a city break or a long weekend at least, not in light of its recent history.

Ukraine has had a turbulent time of the last half-decade, with revolution and uprising sweeping the streets of its capital in February 2014, and Russia annexing the Crimea peninsula a controversial land-grab which is still the cause of considerable tension and international concern a month later.

An ideal context for budget airlines?

Apparently so. Ever ready to expand its network, low-cost carrier Ryanair has just announced plans to fly to Kiev from four European airports. Two of these will be in the UK five flights a week will depart from London Stansted, with a further three taking off from Manchester. Services will begin in October.

The Dublin-based airline will also launch flights to Lviv from Stansted at the end of the same month and will fly to this city in the west of the country from six other European airports. Ukraine will be the 34th country added to the no-frills carriers route map.

The news has been greeted warmly in Kiev.

The arrival of Ryanair in Ukraine is, without exaggeration, a remarkable event for Ukraine, Volodymyr Omelyan, Ukraines Minister of Infrastructure, said of the announcement. Negotiations lasted for several years, and I am proud that our team was able to successfully hold them.

I am convinced that Ryanair will be another bridge that connects the infrastructure of Ukraine with Europe, and it will be a good signal for the worlds major investors.

Whether this enthusiasm is shared by passengers will be the test of the routes viability.

Both cities are feasible if niche options for a short break. Kiev is home to some of Europes most remarkable churches Saint Sophias Cathedral is a fantasy of green and gold domes and is a gateway to the dark intrigue of the abandoned Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Lviv, which was once Ukraines biggest city, is an unheralded treasure trove of culture, where the Lviv National Art Gallery proffers Renaissance masterpieces galore.

Both cities are also plausible holiday places in terms of safety. While the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) warns sternly against journeys to the east of the country where clashes between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists have been ongoing since 2014 Kiev is largely removed from the conflict (it sits 450 miles from the flashpoint city of Donetsk), and has quieted considerably in the last three years. Lviv, meanwhile, is found in the far west of the country, a short leap from the Polish border.

The FCO advises that the situation in Kiev is generally calm, but stresses that visitors should avoid all demonstrations and take extra care in public gatherings.

Ryanair is not the first airline to offer flights between the UK and Ukraine British Airways currently flies to Kiev from Heathrow. Ukraine International Airlines also operates between the capitals Boryspil Airport and Gatwick. Ryanairs Stansted-Lviv service will, however, be the only UK connection to the city when it starts on October 29.

The airline has heralded its arrival in these two new destinations in its usual full-throttle manner, saying that we urge all customers who wish to book these flights to do so now.

The airlines chief commercial officer David OBrien says that the flights will deliver 250,000 passengers a year to Kiev alone.

Excerpt from:
Ryanair flies into war-torn Ukraine - but is it ready for budget travellers? - Telegraph.co.uk

VIENNA

European security watchdog OSCE on Thursday prolonged its monitoring mission to Ukraine by one year until March 2018.

Three years after Moscow annexed the Crimean region, tensions between Ukraine and separatists in the Russian-held area are still high and a 2015 cease-fire agreement is violated regularly.

Fighting has claimed the lives of at least 20 civilians since the start of the year, and wounded over 91 more, according to the United Nations.

The 57 member states of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which include Ukraine, Russia and the United States, decided by consensus to extend the mandate of the mission until 31 March 2018, the OSCE said in a statement.

The unarmed, civilian mission with more than 700 international observers seeks to reduce tensions and report on the situation on the ground.

In recent weeks, the observers have reported a deteriorating security situation in eastern Ukraine and an increase in the number of cease-fire violations.

The mission was first deployed in 2014 and is extended for the third time. It will have a budget of 105.5 million euros ($113.2 million), which should provide for better equipment for the staff.

Austria's Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz, who chairs the OSCE until the end of the year, has called for thermal imaging cameras and other equipment upgrades.

See the original post here:
OSCE Extends Monitoring Mission to Ukraine by One Year - Voice of America