The Kremlin is unable to avoid international condemnation of its treatment of Nadiya Savchenko, but is clearly trying to remove other political prisoners like Crimean filmmaker Oleg Sentsov and civic activist Oleksandr Kolchenko to minimize contact from their lawyers and the media

If you think that Russia’s leaders can’t plummet lower, think again. Sergei Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister has explained that they reneged on the agreement to allow Ukrainian doctors to examine Savchenko because of her “defiant behaviour” in court and “her insulting pronouncements addressed at the court”

The separatists would tell Maria Varfolomeyeva that she had "resort conditions" in her captivity. "As if, when you don’t get beaten up, that’s a resort," she said.

So far Moscow police have detained 39 Russians, most women marking International Women’s Day by demanding the release of imprisoned Ukrainian Nadiya Savchenko. The Russian enforcement officers have, in turn, been marking International Women’s Day by detaining them all, though not as roughly as those taken away while demanding the release of Savchenko, Sentsov, Kolchenko and others, and an end to the persecution of Crimean Tatars

Two years after invading and annexing Crimea, Russia appears ready to outlaw the Crimean Tatar Mejlis, the representative body of the largest indigenous people of the peninsula. It is unclear whether Western countries will respond with more than words of deep concern if the Mejlis and its 2,300 representatives at various levels are criminalized. At present, the West is largely silent, although the danger is real and immediate.

Two years after invading and annexing Crimea, Russia appears ready to outlaw the Crimean Tatar Mejlis, the representative body of the largest indigenous people of the peninsula. It is unclear whether Western countries will respond with more than words of deep concern if the Mejlis and its 2,300 representatives at various levels are criminalized. At present, the West is largely silent, although the danger is real and immediate.

Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers appears to have withdrawn its appointed Family Ombudsperson after public outrage over the person’s highly contentious views on the subject of LGBT rights, support for a Russian-style law banning ‘propaganda of homosexuality’ and some seriously offensive pronouncements.

The Kremlin remains silent as calls mount throughout the world for imprisoned Ukrainian former pilot and MP, Nadiya Savchenko’s release. Nadiya Savchenko has been on total dry hunger strike since Friday, and her lawyer believes that she may be too weak by Wednesday to be taken to court

If Russia declares the Crimean Tatar Mejlis, or representative body of the indigenous people of Crimea ‘extremist’, around 2,300 members of Crimean Tatar self-government structures could be in immediate danger.

If Russia declares the Crimean Tatar Mejlis, or representative body of the indigenous people of Crimea ‘extremist’, around 2,300 members of Crimean Tatar self-government structures could be in immediate danger.

Can apparent evidence of Russian war crimes in Donbas be protected as ‘confidential’ material? The InformNapalm project, which probes Russia’s undeclared war against Ukraine, believes not, and has responded accordingly to the demand from YouTube to remove a particular video.

Further important insight on the worrying referendum in the Netherlands on the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement

Nadiya Savchenko has issued a statement formally declaring a dry hunger strike from 04.03.2016 “until my return to Ukraine, alive or dead” A separate letter in Ukrainian is very brief. She writes that “Freedom has no price”, that she is not afraid and that this is her final word

It is two years since 39-year-old Reshat Ametov came out in silent protest against the Russian soldiers who had seized control in his native Crimea. The Crimean Tatar father of three was abducted by pro-Russian paramilitaries and tortured to death

The author describes how a referendum once introduced as the ultimate form of democracy has been hijacked in Holland, and is serving those in Russia whose basic rules of the game are simple – that the EU should crumble before Russia goes down the drain

Kremlin-backed militants have finally released Maria Varfolomeyeva, the Luhansk journalist held hostage since Jan 2015. She was exchanged for a Russian soldier and a civilian, and is now safely on government-controlled territory.

Nadiya Savchenko has threatened to refuse even water if sentence is not passed soon. The prosecutor is demanding 23 years for the former military pilot captured by Kremlin-backed militants in eastern Ukraine and abducted to Russia, AND a fine for ‘illegally crossing the border’.

The de facto authorities under Russian occupation have refused to allow the traditional gathering in Simferopol on March 9. Gatherings to lay flowers and read Taras Shevchenko’s works required courage under the Soviet regime and could result in arrests. For Crimea under Russian occupation those times have returned.

NATO’s top general accused Russia and Syria of fomenting a mass exodus of refugees as a "weapon" against the West.

Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers has come up with a solution for fighting all the ills like corruption and lack of reform that are seriously damaging the country’s reputation. They have issued a resolution which demands that civil servants, and even the heads of state enterprises refrain from publicly criticizing the authorities and public officials