KIEV, Dec. 13 - Ukraine since the beginning of 2014 has received assistance from Japan in the amount of $1.85 billion, and these funds were issued both for the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other areas not related to defense and security, the Defense Ministry of Ukraine has said.

KIEV, Dec. 14 - Nearly half of Ukrainians - 47.2% - would vote for Ukraine's accession to NATO, and 33.6% are against such accession, as is seen from a public opinion poll conducted by the SOCIS social and marketing survey center and the Rating sociological group.

KIEV, Dec. 14 – Some 16.9% of Ukrainians polled said a repeat of the Maidan protests is "very likely" in the near future, while 38.3% said "likely," according to a sociological survey conducted by the Socis Center for Social and Marketing Research and the Rating sociological group.

KIEV, Dec. 15 – Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov during a working visit to the Netherlands has signed an agreement on strategic and operational cooperation with Europol.

KIEV, Dec. 15 – Ukraine is collecting facts of violation of human rights in Crimea and Donbas to file a new claim to the European Court of Human Rights, as the two previous claims are at the communications stage, First Deputy Justice Minister Natalia Sevastianova said.

KIEV, Dec. 14 – President Petro Poroshenko instructed the Cabinet of Ministers to review and specify the boundaries of the Chernobyl exclusion zone territory before July 1, 2016.

KIEV, Dec. 15 - Interior Minister Arsen Avakov threw water at the reformist governor and former president of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili, in the latest high-profile spat illustrating growing tensions within Kiev's pro-Western coalition, AFP reported.

KIEV, Dec. 14 – President Petro Poroshenko has announced that Ukrainian domestic passports will be issued as plastic cards as of January 1, 2016.

BRUSSELS, Dec. 14 – A decision on when and in what format the European Council will extend sanctions against Russia will be taken by President of the European Council Donald Tusk and EU member states, said Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the EC.

KIEV, Dec. 15 – The Ukrainian government has proposed that in 2016 some UAH 3.39 billion be provided in the national budget to finance the space sector, with around 30% of the funds are sent to the special fund to finance defense programs.