Ukraine's GDP in the second quarter of 2014 has declined 4.7 percent compared to the same period in 2013, the Ukrainian State Statistics Service said on Wednesday. The contraction was more than four times the 1.1 percent fall in the first quarter. The gross domestic product of Ukraine has been falling every quarter since the beginning of 2012. Ukraine expects GDP to tumble by 6-6.5 percent this [...]

Two days of shelling in Gorlovka, in the Donetsk region of Eastern Ukraine, have resulted in 31 civilians being killed there, local authorities say. Ukrainian troops and anti-government forces are blaming each other for the bloodshed. The town of Gorlovka witnessed more shelling Tuesday morning, RIA Novosti news agency reported. [...]

Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko said Kiev is finally ready for a cease-fire at the MH17 crash site after Russia's numerous calls. Kiev continued its military offensive even after the UNSC urged a halt to fighting in the area last week. Poroshenko announced a unilateral cease-fire in a 20 km radius of the crash site of the MH17 flight in a telephone conversation with the PMs of Netherlands [...]

In the past two days Kiev's forces have launched several short-range ballistic missiles into areas in east Ukraine controlled by self-defense forces, CNN reports, citing US government sources. The move “marks a major escalation” in the Ukrainian crisis, CNN said. [...]

Who was REALLY responsible for the downing of flight MH-17? Let's take a look at the facts. On July 17th, 2014 two major events took place: Malaysian flight MH17 was downed over eastern Ukraine, presumably by a missile, and Israel began a ground invasion of Gaza. Israel's invasion was granted an almost complete media blackout. The MH17 tragedy, however, got full coverage, and was immediately pr [...]

The shooting down of MH17 in Ukraine's civil war is a terrible event. However, the American media and government grossly misrepresent the USA's role in creating the current situation, and coverage of Ukraine does credit to "Alice in Wonderland". Reporting is dominated by the usual suspects from the Brookings Institution, etc. spouting jingoistic nonsense. [...]

At least 13 civilians and likely dozens more have been killed by continuing artillery barrages, as government troops close in on militia positions around the city of Gorlovka in eastern Ukraine. A 1-year old - killed next to her parents - and a 5-year old are among the dead, according to information published by the Donetsk regional administration. Several local journalists on the ground have r [...]

More than 40 Ukrainian soldiers have abandoned their military posts and crossed into Russian territory, stating that they refuse to fight against their own people, a Russian Federal Security Service spokesperson said. At least 41 Ukrainian soldiers have made it to Russian territory after asking self-defense forces for help, the spokesperson from the Federal Security Service’s Rostov region bo [...]

The current conflict in Ukraine provides a plethora of examples of the power of doublethink in shaping narratives in order to justify any actions, beliefs, and statements that are either untrue or so grossly distorted as to be entirely unbelievable. The novelist George Orwell coined the term doublethink in his classic dystopian novel 1984. He defined doublethink as “The power of holding two c [...]

Ukrainian troops fired internationally banned phosphorus bombs at Donetsk and Mandrykino in eastern Ukraine overnight, the Donetsk People’s Republic has said. “Ukraine’s Army uses phosphorus munitions during the shelling of Donetsk, Mandrykino on July 26, 2014,” the DNR said in its Twitter microblog Saturday. A YouTube video confirms the claims. A representative of Russia’s General [...]

The Ukrainian army is using indiscriminate Grad missiles to attack densely populated areas in Donetsk, which violates international humanitarian law, Human Rights Watch alleged. It also blamed militia for taking cover in those areas. [...]

A proposed multinational force to further secure the MH17 crash site in eastern Ukraine will now include over 100 armed Australian police and soldiers. The move comes shortly after 40 unarmed Dutchmen had been deployed to "€œfurther stabilize the area."€ The additional Australian personnel were discussed by Prime Minister Tony Abbott with President Putin, and will join a contingent of 90 A [...]

Yatseniuk quits as he berates parliament for failing to pass law to increase army financing and regulate country's energy situation. Ukraine's prime minister has resigned after the governing coalition collapsed, in a sign that five months after the Maidan protests led to a change of government, the country's political system is still beset by discord. [...]

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier calls the downing of the Malaysian Airlines passenger jet over Ukraine "appalling" in an interview with SPIEGEL ONLINE. He also discusses the flare-up in the Middle East and US espionage in Germany. The news that a passenger plane had possibly been shot down over eastern Ukraine on Thursday reached German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier a [...]

Russia has released military monitoring data, which shows Kiev military jets tracking the MH17 plane shortly before the crash - and posed yet another set of questions to Ukraine and the US over the circumstances of the tragedy. [...]

The Ukrainian militia have handed over to Malaysian experts the black boxes from the Malaysian Boeing-777 airliner that crashed in east Ukraine on July 17. The Donetsk People's Republic's (DPR) Prime Minister Aleksandr Boroday handed over the black boxes from the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 early on Tuesday. [...]

The duty-free trade deal between Russia and Ukraine is coming to an end. Russia says fundamental changes mean that it will invoke Article 62 of the Vienna Declaration to terminate the understanding. The move comes as Russia insists it needs to protect domestic markets after Ukrainesigned the Association Agreement on June 27, which gives Kiev duty-free trade status with the European Union. [...]

The Russian military detected a Ukrainian SU-25 fighter jet gaining height towards the MH17 Boeing on the day of the catastrophe. Kiev must explain why the military jet was tracking the passenger airplane, the Russian Defense Ministry said. [...]

Here's the spin war verdict: the current Malaysian Airlines tragedy "the second in four months" is "terrorism" perpetrated by "pro-Russian separatists" armed by Russia and Putin is the main culprit. End of story. Anyone who believes otherwise, shut up. Why? Because the CIA said so. Because Hillary ‘We came, we saw, he died’ Clinton said so. [...]