Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu referred to mass protests in Venezuela and Hong Kong last year as "links of the same chain" with the 2014 coup in Ukraine.

The SMM monitored the implementation of the “Package of measures for the Implementation of the Minsk agreements”. Its monitoring was restricted by third parties and by security considerations*. Fighting continued unabated in the area of Donetsk airport; the SMM observed many ceasefire violations mainly around Avdiivka, Pisky, Spartak and Zhabunki. For the second consecutive day, fighting subsided in the Shyrokyne area but the humanitarian situation continues to be dire. The SMM monitored heavy weapons holding areas belonging to the Ukrainian Armed Forces and observed that not all heavy weapons previously recorded remain in situ.

The events of the past year have demonstrated that Russian society and authorities can jointly withstand any political or economic pressure from abroad, Russian PM and leader of parliamentary majority party Dmitry Medvedev says.

Experts from the Netherlands and Malaysia are working with the DPR Emergencies Ministry at the site of the MH17 crash in eastern Ukraine.

The situation on the fronts of DPR and LPR for April 15.

Roundup of Novorossia for  April 15-16, 2015
1. The OSCE stated humanitarian catastrophe in Shirokine, as well as fighting.
2. A meeting of representatives of all parties to the conflict with the participation of European and Russian observers was held in the village Shirokino.
3.  The ex-deputy from the Party of Regions Oleg Kalashnikov was killed in Kiev.
4.  The former "Berkut" fighters join Donbass militia en masse.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said that Kiev was able to save $3.4 billion by not paying Russia’s gas giant Gazprom for fuel deliveries in 2014.

The self-proclaimed Lugansk People's Republic (LPR) received a list of names of Kiev candidates to take part in Ukrainian reconciliation, but the list was not received yet, according to the LPR envoy at Ukraine peace talks Vladislav Deinego.

The latest OSCE mission report on the Ukrainian conflict has recorded a spike in violence, with monitors largely blaming Kiev. However, RT’s correspondent says the shooting pales in comparison to what locals went through before the Minsk deal.

New Jersey US Attorney’s Office stated that the participant of an international cybercrime scheme Oleg Pidtergerya of Brooklyn, New York was sentenced to 92 months in prison for conspiracy to commit fraud.

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said that Moscow will consider giving Ukraine a discount on gas deliveries on a quarterly basis and not on a long-term plan.