RUSSIA & UKRAINE: JRL 2014-#124 contents with links :: Wednesday 4 June 2014

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Johnson’s Russia List :: 2014-#124 :: 4 June 2014
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1. Business New Europe: Iana Dreyer, COMMENT: Ukraine still harbours doubts about benefits of EU deal.
2. ITAR-TASS: Russia ready for dialogue with US – Putin.
3. RIA Novosti: Russia Never Wanted to Destabilize Ukraine or Send Troops to Invade Country – Putin.
4. Bloomberg: Putin Offers to Meet Obama as East Ukraine Battles Rage.
5. Interfax: Russia open to talks with Ukraine provided fighting stops – top lawmaker.
6. AP: Obama casts Ukraine crisis as march toward liberty.
7. Los Angeles Times: Obama: U.S. backs Ukraine fight against pro-Russia separatists.
8. RIA Novosti: Ukrainian Gov’t Guaranteed Arms, Collaboration to Right Sector – Leader.
9. The Times (UK): Kiev’s botched airstrike fuels the rebellion in east Ukraine.
10. CNN.com: Air attack on pro-Russian separatists in Luhansk kills 8, stuns residents.
11. www.rt.com: Confirmed: Ukrainian air force fired over 150 missiles at Lugansk, bombed admin HQ.
12. www.rt.com: 181 people killed, 293 injured in Kiev military op in eastern Ukraine.
13. Reuters: Ukraine government claims heavy rebel losses as fighting rages on.
14. Der Spiegel: ‘A European War.’ The Fight for Ukraine’s East Gets Bloodier.
15. Financial Times: Ukraine crisis: Donetsk leader on a mission to restore order.
16. RIA Novosti: Around 90% of Donetsk Self-Defense Troops From Donbas – Commander.
17. Carnegie Moscow Center: Balazs Jarabik, All (Ukrainian) Politics Are Local.
18. www.rt.com: Obama, Ukraine president-elect discuss US help to train Kiev’s military.
19. AFP: Ukraine crisis deepens rift between Orthodox Churches.
20. Reuters: Ukraine rejects autonomy calls for ethnic Hungarians made by Orban.
21. Business New Europe: Russia and Ukraine pull back from the gas brink.
22. Bloomberg: Gazprom Says U.S. Can’t Prevent European Reliance on Russia.
23. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Russia decries NATO activity in Eastern Europe at Brussels meeting.
24. www.rt.com: NATO’s eastward expansion destabilizes Europe – Kremlin.
25. RIA Novosti: Kiev Depends on Russia for Joint Projects – Ukraine’s Former Deputy PM.
26. www.rt.com: ‘US wants to make Ukraine anti-Russian state’ – senior Duma MP.
27. Levada.ru: Russians more skeptical on accession of former Soviet territories – poll.
28. Izvestia: Writer Igor Karaulov on Why Russia Should Not Abandon Southeast Ukraine.
29. Russia Direct: Michael Slobodchikoff, Seeking a diplomatic deal for Eastern Ukraine. Far from bringing more clarity to the situation in Eastern Ukraine, the Ukrainian presidential election and Russia’s recent moves seem to have brought about more instability and unpredictability.
30. Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs: Ukraine Update: The Presidential Elections and Beyond. (with Nicolai Petro and Richard Sakwa)
31. The Voice of Russia: Poroshenko pretends to be strong president of strong country – expert. (with Sergei Oznobishev and Arkady Moshes)
32. The Voice of Russia: Dmitri Babich, Obama in Poland: the real danger is from the West.
33. The Voice of Russia: NATO doesn’t have role as defensive alliance since Cold War end – expert. (Michael Binyon)
34. International Institute for Strategic Studies: Samuel Charap, Russia’s motives in Ukraine.
35. Global Research: John Pedler, The Ukraine Crisis. Not too Late for “Cooperation” instead of “Confrontation”: Towards a “Diplomatic Solution”?
36. Kyiv Post: Dmitry Tymchuk’s military blog: Blood continues to flow because of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
37. www.khodorkovsky.com: Khodorkovsky on the ‘Blindness’ of the Russia-Ukraine Conflict.
38. Politico.com: Mikheil Saakashvili, How to Save Ukraine and Thwart Putin’s Plans.
39. Forbes.com: Mark Adomanis, Despite Economic And Political Turmoil, Russia’s Demography Continues To Improve.
40. Kremlin.ru: Vladimir Putin presented the Order of Parental Glory.
41. Kremlin.ru: Meeting with Human Rights Commissioner Ella Pamfilova.
42. RFE/RL: Putin Forever? Russian President’s Ratings Skyrocket Over Ukraine.
43. www.opendemocracy.net: Smoking in Russia: kicking the habit. More people smoke in Russia than almost anywhere else in the world, but the government is finally catching up, in clamping down.
44. Bloomberg: Russians Paying Up to Turn Rubles Into Homes: Mortgages.
45. Valdai Discussion Club: Sergei Dubinin, Russian Economy: Clear Answers to Difficult Questions.
46. Bloomberg: World Bank Approves First Russia Investment Since Crisis.
47. Reuters: Moscow investment bankers begin to feel the pinch.
48. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Michael McAtavey, Russian stocks: Abandon all hope, or time to buy? Russian markets have been pummeled by poor GDP growth and political headwinds. Yet some fund managers say they are finding deals.
49. www.rt.com: China and Russia to establish joint rating agency.
50. Russia Direct: Iriina Mironova, Russia’s gas deal with China is huge. Here’s why. In many ways, the Gazprom-CNPC deal is reminiscent of the Soviet Union’s first gas deal with Europe back in the 1970s. And we all know how that turned out.
51. Interfax: Russia, U.S. considering new joint projects in ISS – newspaper.
52. Reuters: U.S. vacates base in Central Asia as Russia’s clout rises.
53. Business New Europe: Monica Ellena, Political upheaval rocks Georgain breakaway region of Abkhazia.
54. Carnegie Moscow Center: Thomas de Waal, Abkhazia’s Extreme Democracy.