State-owned oil and gas company Naftogaz appointed Svitlana Zalishchuk, a former journalist, to to head its international affairs team.

The areas around the formerly occupied Azerbaijani districts have long been regarded as some of the most heavily mined on earth.

In the Soviet era, such gritty industries were regarded as sacred pieces of the country’s clunky economy.

The move comes as Minsk faces further isolation by the European Union after the incident involving a routine flyover of its airspace.

Russian companies have for years relied on migrant workers from typically less affluent ex-Soviet states – Armenia, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan.

Ukraine's Energy Ministry banned electricity imports from Russia and Belarus, saying neither country was a member of the Energy Community of South-East Europe.

This transformation of the city is somewhat remarkable, and change has always been a constant here. It has had six names since its first mention in 1830 and four in just the last three decades.