Ukraine News. Tuesday 3 April. [Ukrainian sources]

TUESDAY HEADLINES:
New York Post with a funny cover depicted a scandal with the expulsion of Russian diplomats.  Russian politician spoke about the real consequences of the expulsion of Putin's diplomats.  It became known which cities were the main goal of the "Russian Spring" in Ukraine.  The Times learned about the plans of the Kremlin to shake the situation in another region of Ukraine.  In Russia, there were signs of Putin's serious scares.  Without Russia: interesting details of the summit on the issue of peacekeepers in the Donbass are revealed.  Diaspora organizations in Canada called on Fryland to break the issue of extending sanctions against Russia in the G7.  Judges of the Constitutional Court of Lithuania, Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine will discuss how to bring the judges of the Constitutional Court of Russia to responsibility for the occupation of the Crimea.  Saakashvili intends to return to Georgia: We will end with the mafia and with this authority this year.  The RF investigator filed a lawsuit against Avakov for impeding the election of a Russian president.  The Russian side has intensified work on recruiting mercenaries from the former RF Armed Forces to carry out terrorist acts and sabotage on the Donbas.  The detained in Kiev hacker of the international group "Cobalt", which involved the theft of more than a billion euros in banks of 40 countries.  

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The well-known American newspaper New York Post responded with a funny cover to a scandal involving the expulsion of 60 Russian diplomats from the United States and the closure of the Russian Consulate General in Seattle in response to the poisoning of former intelligence officer of Russia Sergey Skrypala and his daughter Julia in the UK.

The corresponding image was published on the website of the publication.

So, in a caricature on the cover of the publication, US President Donald Trump "gives a blow" to Russian colleague Vladimir Putin.

It is worth noting that the caricature appeared on the cover of the American newspaper in the room on March 27.



As reported by the "Apostrophe", formerly Britain, the United States, NATO countries and 25 other countries announced the deportation of 151 Russian diplomats.

In addition, a new version of the Violence family poisoning has appeared . It is possible that the poison Violin and his daughter could eat with the buckwheat, which was brought from Russia.

apostrophe.ua  In Ukrainian/український

The expulsion of Russian diplomats in connection with the assassination of a former GRU officer, Sergei Skrypka, is a purely symbolic step, which most likely will not be understood by Russia and will not have any special consequences.

The Russian opposition politician, Konstantin Borovoy, told this "Apostrophe".

In his view, the West could react more rigorously and more effectively to the Kremlin's aggressive policy. Symbolic steps that are traditional for Western diplomacy are unlikely to affect Russian power.

"There will be no consequences from the fact that 60 intelligence and spies will leave the United States, and the number of employees in the Moscow Chamber of Commerce will increase, which is a fortress for scouts, but this will not have any effect on the Russian economy. This is a symbolism understood by civilized countries, partners of civilized countries, but it is not clear to these guys from the doorway, spans. It's ridiculous to warn the bandits attacking you that you will not be greetings with them or limit contacts, "Borovyy says.

At the same time, the Russian opposition has compared the expulsion of diplomats with military aid to Ukraine in confronting the Kremlin's aggression, saying that such assistance is already a real action from the West, not a symbolic one.

Read more about the prospects of Russia's policy and Russia's relations with the West in the story of the Apostrophe: Putin is very scared: will something change in the Donbas.

apostrophe.ua  In Ukrainian/український

Russian special services to the annexation of Crimea organized a large network of intelligence that conducted subversive activities against Ukraine in the Crimea, Odesa and Kharkiv, which were the main goals of the Russian Spring.

This was stated by the coordinator of the project "Information Resistance", the reserve officer, People's Deputy Dmytro Timchuk, in an interview with "Apostrophe".

"The main emphasis was on Kharkiv and Odessa, only due to the will and patriotism of local residents," Russian spring "did not reach these cities, and Donetsk and Lugansk were not exactly in a very serious Russian agent network. When we examined this question, we realized that The root of evil is Crimea and Sevastopol, from which the main Russian threat comes from, "said Timchuk.



apostrophe.ua  In Ukrainian/український

The British edition of The Times became aware of the existence of a Russian plan to roll out pro-Russian protests in the Zaporizhzhya region of Ukraine as part of a broader goal of destabilizing the situation in the country.

About it in the article the journalist The Times informs Tom Parfitt.

The article is called "Operation Troy: Russian Plan for the Distribution of Chaos in Ukraine." It describes the plan, called "Troy", and was sent to the Kremlin in November 2014 by Alexei Muratov, former deputy of the Russian party of power "United Russia". In 2014, Muratov was appointed representative of the Russian President Vladimir Putin to the "DPR" fighters.

According to the plan, Muratov offered to invest $ 181,000 in pro-Russian excitement in the Zaporozhye region. Of these, 40,000 had to go to the organization of protests, 10,000 in support of a network of agents in the security structures of Ukraine and up to 49,000 - for the purchase of transport.

The existence of the plan was learned from the influx of Putin's adviser, Vladislav Surkov, who is considered responsible for the "Ukrainian direction" of the Kremlin's policy.

It is also reported that the plan was not put into effect and it is not known how seriously he was treated in the Kremlin.

Read more about the "hybrid" methods of warfare and plans for Ukraine in an interview with "Apostrophe" with a military expert and people's deputy Dmitry Timchuk: Putin's main focus was not on Donetsk and Lugansk, but on two other cities of Ukraine.

apostrophe.ua  In Ukrainian/український

The wave of dissatisfaction and protests that swept Russia in light of recent events make Russian President Vladimir Putin look for new methods to eliminate tension.

Such an opinion was expressed by the opposition opposition politician Konstantin Borovyi to the "Apostrophe".

"Recent events (a poisonous dump in Volokolamsk, a tragedy in Kemerovo that claimed the lives of more than 60 people) was very frightened by Putin. Understanding the emergence of instability outside the direct context of Western sanctions suggests that the state of frustration makes Putin look for a solution other than the traditional confrontation with the West"- said Borovoy.

According to him, the discontent of people makes the Kremlin concentrate its forces and attention on domestic political issues.

"Now we see in Russia the impact of a bad economic situation, the concentration of instruments of economic activity in the hands of the state, the reduction of efficiency, the stupid import substitution, which makes people poorer. So fear is a new factor that makes Putin and his entourage think about what to do, and not to invent how scary to threaten the West", - summed up the politician.

apostrophe.ua  In Ukrainian/український

In the German Aachen, a summit on the introduction of UN peacekeepers into the occupied territory of the Donbas will take place, in which the leaders of Germany, France and Ukraine will take part. Russia is not currently invited to the summit.

This is reported by the Russian edition of Kommersant.

Thus, this summit will be held in the "Norman format" with the exception of Russia's absence.

It is noted that preparatory work for the summit in Aachen will be held during the visit of President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko to Berlin, which will be held on April 10.

Sources in the Ukrainian diplomatic circles indicate that Russia's invitation to this summit can not be attributed to the case of Sergei Skripal poisoning.

apostrophe.ua  In Ukrainian/український

Nine Canadian Diaspora organizations have appealed to Foreign Minister Christos Friland to initiate an extension of sanctions against the Russian Federation under the Magnitsky Act at the G7 summit in the summer in the province of Quebec.

According to Censor.NET, referring to Ukrinform , an open letter signed by representatives of Jewish, Latvian, Albanian, Czech, Slovene, Hungarian, Estonian, Polish and Ukrainian speakers was mentioned.

The letter states that such sanctions "send a powerful signal to repressive, totalitarian regimes all over the world that they can not violate human rights with impunity."

The signatories point out that the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom have legislated sanctions under the so-called Magnitsky Act, but France, Germany, Italy and Japan "do not have the necessary legislative mechanisms to allow them to prosecute foreigners."

"The fact that this law has already been used in Canada to impose sanctions on several dozen offenders indicates that it is a practical means of ensuring that the country's foreign policy plays a major role in respect for human rights," the document said.

At the same time, it is noted that several deputies in the Canadian parliament expressed their intention to urge Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to add to the agenda at the G7 summit the expansion of sanctions against Russia, by encouraging all developed countries to adopt their own versions of the Magnitsky Act.

On March 31, the government of Canada announced its readiness to introduce additional sanctions against Russia.

ua.censor.net.ua  In Ukrainian/український

At a working meeting between the heads of the Constitutional Courts, the members of the Association of Constitutional Justice of the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea Regions, organized on the initiative of the Constitutional Court of Georgia, the members of the Constitutional Court of Russia will be discussed during the occupation of the Crimea.

This was stated by Fiesbuts and the head of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Stanislav Shevchuk, reports Tsensor. NET.

"Departure to Georgia. Georgia is suffering from the manifestations of hybrid aggression in the Kremlin, as well as our country." My colleagues, the judges of the Constitutional Courts of Georgia, Lithuania and Moldova, must find solutions that will lead to an effective and most effective way of stopping aggression. - coordination of a common position on the issue of bringing the judges to the Constitutional court of the responsibility for creating conditions for the annexation of the Crimea, namely the use of fundamental justice for domestic legalization of serious violations of international claim Ava. For this we use all the features and mechanisms of the Association of constitutional justice Baltic and Black Sea regions (BBCJ)", - said Shevchuk.

Earlier, the Main Military Prosecutor's Office of Ukraine issued a statement of suspicion to the head of the Constitutional Court of Russia Valery Zorkin and 18 judges of this court in complicity in encroachment upon the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine during the Russian occupation of Crimea.

ua.censor.net.ua  In Ukrainian/український

Georgia's ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili plans to return to his homeland after the presidential election in the republic to fight the current government.

According to Censor.NET, referring to Interfax-Ukraine, this is stated in the video by the party "The Unified National Movement" spread to the Georgian people on Tuesday.

"Today, the economic situation in Georgia is catastrophic, because of the raging of a mafia headed by Ivanishvili (billionaire, former Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, Ed.) He does what he did in Russia, with the help of several banks, to turn each Georgian family to debtors", - said M. Saakashvili.

According to him, over the last six years, banks' profit in Georgia has grown sixfold, reaching almost 1 billion lari ($420 million).

"We will put an end to this mafia, after which the pensions and salaries of teachers and police will be raised, and we will put an end to this government in the same year after the presidential election," Saakashvili said.

He stressed that he intends to actively engage in a change of power in Georgia. "I will definitely come to Georgia, and I will personally carry out all these programs together with my team. I will not leave the Georgian people in trouble," Saakashvili said.

According to Georgian experts, Saakashvili's support in the country has substantially weakened in recent years, and now it supports no more than 15% of voters. Several weeks ago Saakashvili asked the leaders of the opposition parties in Georgia and offered them to nominate a single candidate for the upcoming presidential election, but did not find support from them.

On March 23, it was reported that the parliament of Georgia approved in the final, third, reading a new version of the Constitution. It involves the transition of the republic to parliamentary rule.

In accordance with the adopted amendments to the Constitution, the role of the parliament in the management of the state significantly increases, while the president's institute weakens, and from 2024 the president will be elected not by direct vote, but by appointed voters.

The new Constitution will come into force after the presidential elections scheduled for October.

ua.censor.net.ua  In Ukrainian/український

The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation initiated a criminal case against the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Arsen Avakov.

According to Censor.NET, this is reported on the website of the Investigative RF.

It is noted that the case was broken due to the fact that Russian citizens were not allowed to go to polling stations on the day of the presidential election on March 18.

Read on "Tsensor.NET": Moscow court sentenced in absentia to 4 years of Russian Zheleznova for service in the regiment "Azov"

"Criminal case against Arseni Avakov, Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, has been instituted against the fact that he obstructs the free exercise by Russian citizens of his election rights in the elections of the President of Russia (p." In "Part 2 of Article 141 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation)," the statement reads.

According to the Investigator, "Avakov, acting as a group of persons under the previous convocation," instructed subordinates to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine to provide protection and security to Russian diplomatic institutions in Kyiv, Lviv, Odesa and Kharkiv.

"As a result of the criminal acts of Avakov and other individuals, the legal rights and interests of citizens guaranteed by the Constitution of the Russian Federation were grossly violated," the statement reads.

ua.censor.net.ua  In Ukrainian/український

The Russian side stepped up the work of recruiting former troops of the Airborne Forces and Special Forces of the RF Armed Forces as instructors for deployment to the Donbas.

According to Tsensor.NET, the coordinator of the "Information Resistance" group Dmitry Timchuk reports on this page on Facebook.

"The Russian side has intensified the work of recruiting former troops of the Airborne Forces and special forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, in particular as trainers, for sending to the Donbas and participating in hostilities against the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as carrying out reconnaissance and sabotage tasks," he wrote.

According to the IP group, not only the "traditional" structures involved in the recruitment of mercenaries from the Russian Federation for Donbass from 2014 (such as the "Union of Paratroopers of Russia") will be involved in the recruitment, but also those who have authority and wide ties among former paratroopers and special forces. The latter will receive a remuneration based on the quantity and quality of the recruited "material".

"According to plans, some small groups will be formed from these recruits, whose tasks will be to carry out armed provocations, such as: shelling of settlements along the demarcation line on the territory of the ORDLO with the maximum number of casualties among the civilian population, as well as the commission of terrorist acts and sabotage," - said Timchuk.

At the same time, according to the head of the IP group, the Russian side plans that all these actions will be actively covered and submitted by specially formed groups of representatives of Russian and local media (from "LNR" and "DNR") to the media as "the actions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine", as well Measures are being taken to ensure the fixation of such "Ukrainian actions" by OSCE representatives.

ua.censor.net.ua  In Ukrainian/український

Ukrainian cyber police arrested in Kiev 30-year-old hacker of the international group "Cobalt", which involved the theft of more than one billion euros from bank accounts in 40 countries.

According to Censor.NET, with the reference to the Ministry of Communications Department, the leader of the "Cobalt" group, a citizen of Ukraine, was arrested by the Spanish police in late March. The remaining members of the group are now hiding in Russia. A hacker detained in Kiev is threatened with up to 5 years imprisonment.



ua.censor.net.ua  In Ukrainian/український

Special counsel Robert Mueller was given explicit authority to investigate the Ukrainian lobbying activities of Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman in a secret memo last year, according to a court filing.

The memo by Rod Rosenstein, deputy attorney-general, also disclosed allegations that the former campaign official, Paul Manafort, “committed a crime or crimes by colluding with Russian government officials” in relation to the 2016 presidential election.

The August 2017 memo was included in a filing by Mr Mueller late Monday in response to a motion by Mr Manafort to dismiss the charges against him. It was also released amid criticism from Mr Trump’s allies that Mr Mueller had gone beyond his initial authority to investigate Russian meddling in the 2016 race.

The disclosure came before Alex van der Zwaan, a former Skadden lawyer based in London, was sentenced on Tuesday to 30 days in prison after pleading guilty to lying to the special counsel’s prosecutors.

Mr van der Zwaan, the son-in-law of a Russian oligarch and the first person to be sentenced in the Russia investigation, had worked on a Skadden report for the Ukrainian government that was used by Mr Manafort as part of his lobbying work for the then Russia-backed regime

The Rosenstein memo was revealed after weeks of attacks on Mr Mueller by the president, who has repeatedly called the investigation a “witch hunt”, raising fears that he may seek to dismiss the special counsel.

The White House and Mr Trump’s lawyers have repeatedly said firing Mr Mueller is not being considered.

Democratic lawmakers have called on Congress to pass legislation that would prevent Mr Mueller from being dismissed but there has been little appetite among Republicans for such a measure.

Last week, nine Democratic senators asked senior Department of Justice officials to provide “a written and public commitment” that they would not shut down or interfere with Mr Mueller’s investigations.

Mr Rosenstein is the most senior official overseeing the Russia investigation. Jeff Sessions, the attorney-general, has recused himself from matters involving the probe.

Mr Manafort is accused of money laundering, acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government and making false statements in relation to his lobbying work in Ukraine before his involvement in the Trump campaign.

He has denied the charges and has attempted to have them thrown out on the basis that Mr Mueller has exceeded his authority by bringing charges that are unrelated to Russia’s alleged interference in the 2016 election.

The Rosenstein memo shows the special counsel was specifically authorised to investigate Mr Manafort’s lobbying work for the Ukrainian government, in addition to alleged collusion with Russian government officials.

The inquiries into Mr Manafort’s work in Ukraine led to Mr van der Zwaan, 33, who had worked on a 2012 report Skadden had produced for the Ukrainian government. The report, used by Mr Manafort in his lobbying efforts, was criticised as a whitewash of the Russia-backed government’s prosecution of Yulia Tymoshenko, a former prime minister of Ukraine.

Mr van der Zwaan, the son-in-law of German Khan, a founder of Alfa Group, had provided a copy of the report to a public relations firm hired to spin the findings and helped Rick Gates, a former Trump campaign aide and associate of Mr Manafort, use the document to burnish Ukraine’s image.......................

ft.com Click here for full access of entire article in English

Facebook has barred more accounts belonging to the internet Research Agency, the Russian troll farm that used the social network to try to influence the 2016 US presidential election.

Chief security officer Alex Stamos said the company had taken down 70 Facebook and 65 Instagram accounts controlled by the IRA. The Russian group’s activities have been probed by Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating Kremlin meddling in the White House race, and by congressional committees.

The accounts also ran 138 Facebook pages, many of which included ads. The IRA spent $167,000 on Facebook and Instagram since January 2015, and more than 1m people followed at least one of the pages.

“The IRA has repeatedly used complex networks of inauthentic accounts to deceive and manipulate people who use Facebook, including before, during and after the 2016 US presidential elections,” Mr Stamos wrote in a blog post. “It’s why we don’t want them on Facebook.” The company expects to find more accounts.

The social network first exposed IRA activities on its platform last September when it took down accounts used by the troll farm. It is still trying to manage the fallout from Russian disinformation operations, as it confronts a more recent crisis caused by revelations that Cambridge Analytica obtained data on 50m users. Chief executive Mark Zuckerberg is facing demands to testify on Capitol Hill.

Politicians have been pushing Facebook and Twitter to hunt for more evidence of Russian manipulation, convinced that the ads, pages and accounts shown to Congress are only part of the picture........................

ft.com Click here for full access of entire article in English

About 20 countries of the world can produce substances that could be poisoned by Sergei Skrypal and his daughter.

This was stated by Russian President Vladimir Putin after talks with Erdogan, the Turkish president, reports Censor.NET, citing Interfax.

"We raised the subject in a favorable way, and the president asked him a question, I told him his position. As you know, I learned about the incident myself from the media. I want to add only this - according to international experts, in about 20 countries of the world can produce such nerve-paralytic substances, "Putin said.

At the same time, Putin expressed surprise at the speed with which the anti-Russian campaign against the "Violinist case" unfolded, although the origin of Novachok's substance, which was poisoned by an ex-employee of the GRU, has not yet been established.

"Scotland Yard is known to have officially stated that it needs at least two months for a full investigation," Putin said.

The Russian president stressed: "As soon as I was told, the director general of the Porto-Down University laboratory, who, eight kilometers from the place where the incident took place, told an interview with Sky News that his laboratory staff could not establish the country of origin of this nervous -paralytic substance, and they can not identify the country of origin, in particular, they can not say that this substance was manufactured in the Russian Federation."

Recall, the UK continues to investigate an assassination attempt by Sergei Skripal and his daughter Julia. Sergei Skripal, former Colonel of the GRU stockpile, who lived in the United Kingdom and was convicted in 2006 for espionage in favor of British intelligence services, was injured as a result of poisoning with an unknown substance at the Salisbury shopping mall in early March.

The British government has come to the conclusion that the responsibility for poisoning in Salisbury, a former employee of the GRU, Sergei Skripal and his daughter, most likely, lies in Russia. Prime Minister Teresa May announced that the victims were poisoned by the nerve-paralytic substance "Novachok", which was developed in the Russian Federation.

Later, May announced London 's decision to send 23 Russian intelligence officers who are working on intelligence: "This will be the largest single expulsion in more than 30 years. This (this measure) reflects the fact that the Russian state is not the first time acting against our country." On March 20, 23 employees of the Russian Embassy in London, as well as their families left Great Britain.

At the EU summit, which ended March 23, the EU countries supported the United Kingdom. The deportation of Russian diplomats was announced by the United States , Canada and 14 European states, including Germany, France, Italy, Czech Republic and others. In the statements of Washington and Ottawa, the expatriate diplomats who were expelled were accused of having links with Russian intelligence and "abusing diplomatic powers." In addition, the Russian Consulate General in Seattle closed.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said that 13 Russian diplomats are signing solidarity with their British partners and transatlantic allies and in coordination with the European Union.

Russia gave a "mirror response". In particular, 13 Ukrainian diplomats were deported.

ua.censor.net.ua  In Ukrainian/український

Hungary has no opportunity to block all areas of cooperation between Ukraine and NATO.

This was stated by Vice-Premier of Ukraine on European and Euro-Atlantic integration Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, according to Censor.NET with reference to the Public.

The official noted that Hungary can not block all areas of cooperation between Ukraine and NATO that exist under trust funds, an annual program under the auspices of the NATO-Ukraine Commission and the work of military support groups through various programs. In particular, it is about professional development programs and other programs of Ukraine's interaction with the Alliance.

Klimpush-Tsintsadze stressed that Hungary is blocking meetings of the NATO-Ukraine Commission at a high level, but meetings at the ambassadorial level are taking place.

"Regrettably, Hungary continues to actively block the holding of meetings of the NATO-Ukraine Commission at the level of ministers - both foreign ministers and defense ministers, and even threatens to block the holding of such a meeting at the level of Heads of State and Government at the NATO summit to be held in July this year in Brussels, but it does not block holding commission meetings at the ambassadorial level, "she recalled.

The Vice Prime Minister expressed hope that by July Hungary will refuse to block the meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Commission at the level of the heads of state and the president, Petro Poroshenko, will be able to participate in it.

Recall Hungary intends to block Ukraine's participation in the scheduled meeting of defense ministers of the European Union in April and the holding of the Ukraine-NATO Commission with the participation of President Petro Poroshenko at the Alliance summit in July.

The relations between Ukraine and Hungary intensified due to the new Ukrainian law on education, which came into force on September 28 last year. On September 5, 2017, the Verkhovna Rada adopted a law on education , which begins the reform of education in Ukraine. On September 25, President Petro Poroshenko signed the Law "On Education", adopted by the Verkhovna Rada.

ua.censor.net.ua  In Ukrainian/український

The Security Service of Ukraine intends to ban entry into Ukraine of all Russian diplomats who have been expelled from the countries of the European Union.

According to the  head of the SBU, Vasyl Hrytsak, at a briefing in Odesa, on Tuesday, answering a question on how the expulsion of Russian diplomats will affect the hostage exchange process, according to Censor NET, referring to  Interfax-Ukraine.

"We always have candidates for excommunication, and it will affect or not - life will show," he said.

"We do not speculate on the exchange of hostages, so we expelled 13 diplomats. At the same time, I want to note that this was a fair, in my opinion, action," he added.

The head of the SBU recalled that 60 "scouts under cover were expelled from the United States, 23 from the United Kingdom.

"We really closed the entrance of those who were expelled from the United States to 60 investigators, as well as 23, who were expelled from Britain ... Moreover, we will close the entry into the territory of Ukraine of those who were expelled from other countries of the European Union", - said Hrytsak.

Recall, the UK continues to investigate an assassination attempt by Sergei Skripal and his daughter Julia. Sergei Skripal, former Colonel of the GRU stockpile, who lived in the United Kingdom and was convicted in 2006 for espionage in favor of British intelligence services, was  injured as a result of poisoning with an unknown substance at the Salisbury shopping mall  in early March.

The British government has come to the conclusion that the responsibility for poisoning in Salisbury, a former employee of the GRU, Sergei Skripal and his daughter, most likely, lies in Russia. Prime Minister Teresa May announced that the victims were poisoned by the nerve-paralytic substance "Novachok", which was developed in the Russian Federation.

Later, May  announced  London 's decision to send 23 Russian intelligence officers who are working on intelligence: "This will be the largest single expulsion in more than 30 years. This (this measure) reflects the fact that the Russian state is not the first time acting against our country." On March 20, 23 employees of the Russian Embassy in London, as well as their families  left Great Britain.

At the EU summit, which ended March 23, the EU countries supported the United Kingdom. The deportation of Russian diplomats was  announced by the United States, Canada and  14 European states,  including Germany, France, Italy, Czech Republic and others. In the statements of Washington and Ottawa, the expatriate diplomats who were expelled were accused of having links with Russian intelligence and "abusing diplomatic powers." In addition, the Russian Consulate General in Seattle closed.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said that 13 Russian diplomats are signing solidarity with their British partners and transatlantic allies and in coordination with the European Union.

Russia gave a "mirror response". In particular,  13 Ukrainian diplomats were deported.

ua.censor.net.ua  In Ukrainian/український

The Polish Foreign Ministry protests over an incident in front of the Polish embassy in Kyiv, during which the Polish flag was burned.

As Censor.NET reports, this is stated  in the statement posted on the website of the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in connection with what happened on April 2. It was called the Deputy Ambassador of Ukraine in Poland, he was given a note of protest.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its indignation at the conduct of demonstrators and the lack of an adequate response from Ukrainian security officials," the statement said.

A representative of the Ukrainian embassy assured that the Ukrainian authorities condemned this disgraceful act and informed about the activities of competent services, which should lead to quick detection and proper punishment of the perpetrators.

The Foreign Ministry of Poland states that "this was another incident related to the anti-Polish subtext in the territory of Ukraine in recent weeks."

The foreign minister of Ukraine Pavlo Klimkin reacted to the scandalous incident. He condemned the action, calling it a provocative act. "It's nothing but another provocation, a treacherous attack on our friendship, people who have a sincere heart will never mock the symbols of other nations," wrote Kimkin on Twitter.

ua.censor.net.ua    In Ukrainian/український