RUSSIA & UKRAINE: JRL 2014-#107 contents with links :: Wednesday 14 May 2014

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Johnson’s Russia List :: 2014-#107 :: 14 May 2014
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1. ITAR-TASS: Bullets found after Kiev riots do not fit Berkut commando guns.
2. www.rt.com: ‘No evidence of Berkut police behind mass killing in Kiev’ – probe head.
3. The Guardian: Maidan Square activists urged to fight for Ukraine in the east. Chief of rally’s fighting wing aims to co-opt Kiev protesters into battalions opposing pro-Russian rebels.
4. Interfax-Ukraine: Most Ukrainians oppose NATO accession, support EU entry – poll.
5. www.rt.com: Dragging Ukraine into NATO negative for European security – Lavrov.
6. RIA Novosti: Ukraine Not Russia’s Backyard – Lavrov.
7. RIA Novosti: Lavrov Says Hysterical US Policy Makes Russia Consider Appropriate Response.
8. Reuters: EU partly to blame for Ukraine crisis: Merkel’s deputy.
9. New York Times: At Center of Ukraine Talks, Degrees of Decentralizing.
10. AP: Proposed peace plan for Ukraine: What’s in it, who likes it, what’s next.
11. Wall Street Journal: Faced With Rival Road Maps, Ukraine Prefers Its Own. Crisis Solution Must Be Ukraine-Led and Ukraine-Owned, Prime Minister Yatsenyuk Says.
12. RIA Novosti: Ukrainian Parliament Won’t Resume Decentralization Referendum Talks – Lawmaker.
13. ITAR-TASS: Donbass will do without Ukraine, hardly vice versa – experts.
14. Reuters: Russia backed IMF Ukraine loan but thinks Kiev might slip.
15. RIA Novosti: Ukraine Better Off Holding Presidential Election – Parliament Speaker.
16. 5 Kanal TV (Kyiv): Pro-Russian parties banned in Ukraine.
17. www.rt.com: Ukraine communist leader: Kiev labeled 7 mn people ‘terrorists,’ slaughtered civilians.
18. Moscow Times: Mark Adomanis and Luka Oreskovic, A Way Forward for Ukraine.
19. www.moonofalabama.org: Ukraine: Serious Media Largely Confirm Donetsk Poll Results.
20. RIA Novosti: UN, Kiev in Talks Over UN-Marked Choppers Used in Crackdown.
21. http://maidantranslations.com: Dmitry Tymchuk’s Military Blog: Summary for May 13, 2014.
22. Financial Times: The oligarch’s dilemma: Ukraine’s richest man in east-west bind. (Rinat Akhmetov)
23. Wall Street Journal: Ukraine Crisis Hits Economies, Says EBRD. Broader Sanctions Against Russia Could Hit Global Economy.
24. RIA Novosti: Naftogaz Debt Remains Unpaid Even at Low Price – Gazprom Official
25. Reuters: U.S. releases satellite images of Russian forces near Ukraine.
26. Interfax: NATO seeks to steer clear of Founding Act commitments to Russia – envoy.
27. Moscow Times: Crimea Takeover Seen as Potential Game Changer in Mediterranean.
28. Moscow Times: Russia Retaliates Against U.S. Space Program in Response to Sanctions.
29. Interfax: Shutdown of GPS stations in Russia would lower accuracy of U.S. precision weapons – source.
30. RIA Novosti: EU Embargo on Russian Gas Would be Catastrophic for Eastern Europe – Nexant.
31. Der Spiegel: Russian Dilemma. Why EU Sanctions are a Bluff.
32. The Economist: Russian airlines in Ukraine. The battle for the sky.
33. The Times (UK): Tony Benton, Russia has no desire for a fratricidal war. For Moscow, Ukraine does not signal a new global offensive, but a fightback. The megaphone diplomacy must end
34. The Independent: Rodric Braithwaite, Ukraine crisis: A small switch, but has Vladimir Putin really blinked? The West, now paying the price for making irresponsible offers of Nato membership, needs to learn some lessons
35. The Guardian: John Pilger, In Ukraine, the US is dragging us towards war with Russia.
36. Boston Globe: Stephen Kinzer, Russia acts like any other superpower.
37. Jamestown Foundation Eurasia Daily Monitor: Robert McDermott, Unraveling the Kremlin’s Strategic Paradigm.
38. www.rt.com: ‘Russia is not interested in territorial expansion by means of Ukraine.’ (interview with Dmitry Babich)
39. The New Republic: Anne Applebaum, Nationalism Is Exactly What Ukraine Needs.
40. www.nationalreview.com: Robert Zubrin, Did Putin Plan the Odessa Massacre? He has certainly exploited it.
41. The National Interest: Paul Pillar, A U.S. Policy of Weakness Towards Russia?
42. Civil Georgia, Tbilisi: PM: ‘Reckless Policy of Previous Govt Dragged Georgia into August War’
43. Interfax: Georgia can have free trade regime with EU and Russia – Abashidze.
44. Russia Direct: Sergey Markedonov, Nagorno-Karabakh, 20 years later. Twenty years ago, a ceasefire agreement went into effect for Nagorno-Karabakh. What’s changed between then and now in how we view territorial conflicts in the post-Soviet space?
45. RIA Novosti: OPINION: NATO to Train Ukraine Regime Troops for Southeast Operation.
46. World Socialist Web Site: Blackwater mercenaries direct Kiev regime’s crackdown in Ukraine.
47. Moscow Times: Public’s Desire to Protest Hits Record Low.
48. ITAR-TASS: Most Russians consider Russian media reports on Ukraine objective – poll.
49. Moscow Times: Georgy Bovt, Russians’ Own Iron Curtain – in Their Heads.
50. ITAR-TASS: Medvedev instructs ministry to work on 10% layoff of public servants.
51. RIA Novosti: Moscow gays to hold “bearded” march on 27 May to mark decriminalization.
52. Interfax: Human Rights Council seeks liability for pursuit over criticism.
53. www.rt.com: Russian rights activists urge moratorium on Ukrainian information wars.
54. www.rt.com: Russia: Moving away from international rating agencies only ‘question of time’
55. ITAR-TASS: Russia set for national payment system but Visa, MasterCard will stay.
56. Moscow Times: Crimea Sucks Funds from Infrastructure Mega-Projects in Russia’s Regions.
57. Interfax: Russia ready to adapt gas contracts, make them more flexible – expert.
58. Reuters: Russia, wary of sanctions, wants exporters to be paid in roubles.
59. Moscow Times: Russia is Worst Place for Foreign Investment, Poll Says.
60. RIA Novosti: OPINION: Russia-West Tension to Bring BRICS Closer Together.
61. RFE/RL: Putin Tries New Approach To Imposing Order In North Caucasus.
62. Moscow Times: Licenses of 77 Russian Universities Stripped Since January.
63. ITAR-TASS: Russia to apply for Arctic shelf borders in 2015 – minister.