RUSSIA & UKRAINE: JRL 2014-#155 contents with links :: Wednesday 16 July 2014

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… 21. Paul Goble: Window on Eurasia: Russians and Ukrainians Becoming Like Serbs and Croatians, Solovey Says.
22. RFE/RL: Brian Whitmore, Slobodan’s Ghost.
23. www.foreignpolicy.com: Jeffrey Lewis, The only way to contain Moscow is to understand that there’s a still cold warrior in the Kremlin. …

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Business Mood Brightens, But Won’t Save Russian Economy, Study Finds

File Photo of Cash, Coins, Line Graph

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Delphine d’Amora – July 16, 2014) Economic sentiment among Russian businesses improved in the second quarter, but the effect was largely seasonal and shot through with troubling long-term trends, a study published by the Higher School of Economics found. As the mood in retail and the services industry brightened – largely thanks to traditionally strong […]

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Interfax: Most Ukrainian industrial production facilities will stop with severance of diplomatic ties with Russia – Federation Council members

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MOSCOW. July 16 (Interfax) – Members of the Russian Federation Council believe that Ukraine would experience grave socioeconomic consequences from the possible severance of diplomatic relations with Russia. Nikolai Ryzhkov, Federation Council member and the head of a public committee for support of the residents of southeastern Ukraine, described remarks by Ukrainian officials suggesting that Ukraine could sever diplomatic ties […]

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Slobodan’s Ghost

File Photo of Slobodan Milosevic at Table in Profile, Surrounded by Officials and Others

(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Brian Whitmore – July 14, 2014) There’s a specter haunting Vladimir Putin — the specter of Slobodan Milosevic. As the Ukraine crisis has unfolded, it has become fashionable — and even a bit of a fetish — to compare the Kremlin leader to the late Serbian dictator. Writing recently in “The New Republic,” Vera Mironova and Maria Snegovaya noted how […]

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Russians and Ukrainians Becoming Like Serbs and Croatians, Solovey Says

Map of Commonwealth of Independent States, European Portion

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, July 16, 2014) The conflict in southeastern Ukraine is becoming like the Yugoslav war with the Russians and Ukrainians becoming like the Serbs and Croatians, developments which mean that “we cannot now even imagine the consequences” of this war for the region and the world, according to Valery Solovey of MGIMO. In […]

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RIA Novosti: Ninety Percent of Militia in Eastern Ukraine Local Citizens – Self-Defense Forces Leader

Ukraine Map and Flag

HORLIVKA (DONETSK REGION), July 16 (RIA Novosti) – Ninety percent of the independence supporters fighting alongside the government forces in the southeast of Ukraine are local citizens, Horlivka self-defense militia’s leader Ihor Bezler said in an interview with RIA Novosti. “Those Russians who survived the massacre in the airport [on May 26] came to me, they are still here. There […]

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INTERVIEW: Kruk fears “frozen conflict” in Ukraine as Russia spreads disorder in Europe

Ukraine Map and Flag

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Liam Halligan in London – July 16, 2014) Kateryna Kruk was born in Rivne, Western Ukraine in 1991. After studying for a Master’s Degree in Poland, she returned to Kyiv last autumn as the Euromaidan protests began. Determined to shift Ukraine towards Western Europe, Kruk became heavily involved in the protest movement. Tweeting extensively […]

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Press Digest: Ukraine leadership launches ‘offensive’ on Maidan

Collage of Russian Newspapers

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Darya Lyubinskaya, special to RBTH – July 15, 2014) RBTH presents a selection of views from leading Russian media, featuring news of the possible clearance of the protest camps on Kiev’s Maidan, analysis of the incident in which a Ukrainian shell hit a Russian border town, and reports of a campaign in Ukraine’s […]

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RUSSIA & UKRAINE: JRL 2014-#154 contents with links :: Monday 14 July 2014

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… 28. Wall Street Journal: Stephen Sestanovich, What the Senate Gets Wrong About Ukraine.
29. The Economist: War in Ukraine. A mounting toll.
30. The American Interest: Lilia Shevtsova, Crisis in Ukraine Blurred Lines Between War and Peace.
31. Reuters: Putin’s goal is to showcase Russia at 2018 World Cup. …

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Russian Government Sets Up Four-Year Plan to Boost Productivity

Cash, Calculator, Pen

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Delphine d’Amora – July 14, 2014) In an effort to transform Russia’s oil-dependent economy into a sustainable engine of growth, the government has unveiled a series of legal and financial measures aimed at fulfilling President Vladimir Putin’s ambitious pledge to increase Russia’s labor productivity 50 percent by 2018. Approved Wednesday and published online Friday, the […]

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Ukraine Could Recover Crimea Only If Russia Were Seriously Weakened, Moscow Analyst Says

Map of Commonwealth of Independent States, European Portion

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, July 14, 2014) The Ukrainian government lacks the resources to recover Crimea, according to a Moscow military analyst, and could do so only if Russia were to “weaken to the point that it simply could not defend” the peninsula. Otherwise, talk about “the return of Crimea to Ukraine” is, in his words, […]

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War from Below and the Warlords of Ukraine

Ukraine Map and Flag

(Gordon M. Hahn – gordon-hahn@sbcglobal.net – Analyst and Advisory Board Member, Geostrategic Forecasting Corporation, Chicago, Ill., www.geostrategicforecasting.com. Analyst, Rus Strategic Ltd., Prague, Czech Rep., Senior Researcher, Center for Terrorism and Intelligence Studies, Akribis Group, San Jose, Calif.) Vladimir Lenin once quipped that the Bolsheviks “found power lying in the streets and simply picked it up” in the Russian revolution. Ukraine’s Maidan […]

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Interfax: Romodanovsky: Almost 500,000 Ukrainians stay in Russia, over 30,000 seek asylum

Map of Commonwealth of Independent States, European Portion

(Interfax – July 14, 2014) More than 30,000 Ukrainian citizens have asked Russia for the refugee status and temporary asylum, Federal Migration Service head Konstantin Romodanovsky said. “A total of 30,495 persons have applied for a refugee status or a temporary asylum,” he told Vincent Cochetel, Director of the UNHCR Bureau for Europe, in Moscow on Monday. In all, about […]

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Editor of Russian-Language Newspaper Tortured and Killed in Eastern Ukraine

Ukraine Map and Flag

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anna Dolgov – July 14, 2014) The editor of two Russian-language newspapers who was seized last month in eastern Ukraine and who was believed to have been held by Ukrainian government forces has been found dead, his colleague said in an online post. The body of Sergei Dolgov, who was an editor at newspapers Hochu […]

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Who killed the United Ukraine?

Ukraine Map and Flag

Subject: Who killed the United Ukraine? Date: Mon, 14 Jul 2014 08:38:56 +0000 From: Dmitry Babich <Babich@ruvr.ru> If you want my opinion on who is to blame for the tragedy in Ukraine, I can tell in two words: nationalist journalists. I have been reading Ukrainian press since the early 1990s. The amount of negative stereotypes about the people from Donetsk […]

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‘Isolating Russia’ in the Oil and Gas Sector

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(Gordon M. Hahn – gordon-hahn@sbcglobal.net – Analyst and Advisory Board Member, Geostrategic Forecasting Corporation, Chicago, Ill, geostrategicforecasting.com; Analyst, Rus Strategic Ltd., Prague, Czech Republic; Senior Researcher, Center for Terrorism and Intelligence Studies, Akribis Group, San Jose, Calif.) Since the Russia’s annexation of Crimea in March in the wake of the revolutionary takeover in Kiev in February, U.S. policy has rested on […]

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Russian Blog Post Decrying Government’s Internet Crackdown Goes Viral

File Image of Stylized Eye Surrounded by Binary Code

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – John Freedman – July 14, 2014) Is this an updated version of Aldous Huxley’s classic antiutopian novel, “Brave New World”? Not exactly. If you live in Russia, this will be your world by September 1, according to a blog, “A Guide Through Your Life: What the Duma Has Banned in Recent Months,” published last week […]

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RIA Novosti: Russia Considering ‘Surgical Strike’ on Ukraine – Report

Kremlin and Saint Basil's File Photo

MOSCOW, July 14 (RIA Novosti) – Moscow is considering “surgical retaliatory strikes” on the Ukrainian territory after the standoff has led to first civilian victims among Russians on Russia’s territory, a Kremlin source told Kommersant Monday. “Our patience is not boundless,” the source told the newspaper, stressing that “this means not a massive action but exclusively targeted single strikes on […]

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RUSSIA & UKRAINE: JRL 2014-#153 contents with links :: Friday 11 July 2014

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… 2. The National Interest: David C. Hendrickson, Ukraine’s Dangerous Drift Towards Chaos. Tensions are rising; positions are hardening; the tension between “self-determination” and “territorial integrity” is coming into play. What happens now?
3. Moscow Times: Mark Adomanis, For Better or Worse, Russia Is Not Isolated. …

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A Kremlin ‘Reset’ – Putin from ‘Defender of the Russian World’ to ‘Peacemaker’

Kremlin and Saint Basil's File Photo

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, July 10, 2014) Russian public opinion “is being prepared for a change in Kremlin policy” toward Ukraine, Moscow commentators say, with central government media now downplaying the need for and utility of force and playing up the ways in which Vladimir Putin can serve as “peacemaker.” But this shift in tone, which […]

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Why Russia won’t start a trade war with Ukraine this time round

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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – COMMENT: Iana Dreyer of borderlex.eu – July 11, 2014) High-level officials from the EU, Ukraine and Russia are holding a trilateral meeting in Brussels on July 11 to address Russia’s concerns about how the free trade and association pact that Brussels and Kyiv signed in late June might have on its trade with Ukraine. […]

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Putin makes “historic” visit to Latin America

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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Yuri Paniyev, special to RBTH – July 11, 2014) Trip will include meetings in Cuba, Argentina and Brazil ahead of BRICS summit. On July 11, Vladimir Putin set off on a six-day trip around Latin America during which he is scheduled to visit Cuba, Argentina and Brazil and meet with leaders from across […]

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RIA Novosti: Russia Hopes for Positive Outcome of Three-Way Talks on Ukraine’s EU Association – Minister

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BRUSSELS, July 11 (RIA Novosti) – Russia hopes that a three-party ministerial meeting to discuss Ukraine’s association with the European Union will produce a positive outcome, Russian Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev said Friday. Ulyukayev, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klymkin and European Commissioner for Trade Karel De Gucht will meet for three-party talks and bilateral meetings later in the day. […]

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Moscow formally approves new U.S. ambassador Tefft

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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Nikolai Litovkin, RBTH – July 10, 2014) The Russian Foreign Ministry has given its approval to American diplomat John Tefft’s appointment as the new ambassador to Russia. According to Russian political scientists, the career foreign service officer is known for his anti-Russian position – so how will his appointment affect political relations with […]

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Interfax: Reports of dead bodies sent back to Russia “Ukrainian propaganda” – spokesman

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(Interfax – Moscow, July 10, 2014) Reports that bodies of Russian citizens killed in the fighting with Ukrainian forces in Ukraine are being sent to Russia are the working of Kiev’s propaganda, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Aleksandr Lukashevich has said. “I am not familiar with the statistics and I think that it is rather inspired by Ukrainian propaganda capabilities, which […]

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RIA Novosti: Moscow Ready for International Monitoring on Border With Ukraine

File Photo of OSCE Banners

MOSCOW, July 10 (RIA Novosti) – Russia agrees to international monitoring of its border with Ukraine, Russian Foreign Ministry’s spokesman, Alexander Lukashevich, said Thursday. “The Russian side is ready for monitoring on the Russian-Ukrainian border, ready to accept Ukrainian border guards in Russia’s Gukovo and Donetsk checkpoints on the border between the two states. But, naturally, it is possible only […]

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TRANSCRIPT: [DoD Senate Testimony:] “Security Assistance and Support for Ukraine”

Aerial Photo of Pentagon and Environs

US Department of Defense “Security Assistance and Support for Ukraine” Senate Foreign Relations Committee Testimony by Assistant Secretary of Defense Derek Chollet July 9, 2014 TESTIMONY FOR THE RECORD Chairman Menendez, Ranking Member Corker, and Committee Members: Thank you for inviting me to discuss the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, which was precipitated by Russia’s occupation of Crimea and its ongoing […]

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TRANSCRIPT: [Steve Hadley Senate Testimony:] Russia and Ongoing Developments in Ukraine

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Testimony Before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Statement of Stephen J. Hadley July 9, 2014 Russia and Ongoing Developments in Ukraine It is a great privilege to have the opportunity to appear before the committee this morning. I would like to discuss briefly what Russian President Putin is seeking to achieve by his actions in Ukraine, how far he is […]

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TRANSCRIPT: [Zbigniew Brzezinski Senate Testimony:] Russia and Developments in Ukraine

Map of Commonwealth of Independent States, European Portion

Statement before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee “RUSSIA AND DEVELOPMENTS IN UKRAINE” A Statement by Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski Counselor and Trustee Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) July 9, 2014 More than three months have passed since Putin’s triumphalist speech to the Russian Parliament. In it, he exalted in his military seizure of Crimea while basking in an orgy […]

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TRANSCRIPT: [Treasury Department Senate Testimony:] Russia and Developments in Ukraine

Portion of U.S. Treasury Department Building Facade, North Side, with Sculpture of Alexander Hamilton

US Department of the Treasury Testimony of Assistant Secretary Daniel L. Glaser Senate Foreign Relations Committee Russia and Developments in Ukraine Wednesday, July 9, 2014 Chairman Menendez, Ranking Member Corker, and distinguished Members of this Committee, thank you for inviting me to speak to you again about the Administration’s response to Russia’s occupation and purported annexation of Crimea and its […]

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Russia’s capital flight hits 75 billion dollars

File Photo of Cash, Coins, Line Graph

(Interfax – Moscow, July 9, 2014) According to an assessment by the Central Bank of Russia, the net export of capital by banks and companies from the Russian Federation in the first half of 2014 was 74.6bn dollars. That is 120 per cent higher than in the first half of 2013 (33.7bn dollars), the Bank of Russia [Central Bank] has […]

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TRANSCRIPT: Russia and Developments in Ukraine; Nuland Statement Before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee

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(US Department of State – July 9, 2014) Testimony of Victoria Nuland, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs Statement Before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Washington, DC As prepared Chairman Menendez, Ranking Member Corker and members of this committee-thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today on the situation in Ukraine and for your personal investment in the […]

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TRANSCRIPT: Chairman Menendez’s Opening Remarks at Hearing on Russia and Developments in Ukraine

File Photo of U.S. Capitol in Bright Sunlight

(US Senate Foreign Relations Committee – Washington, DC – July 9, 2014) U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, delivered the below statement, as prepared for delivery, at today’s hearing titled “Russia and Developments in Ukraine.” “This hearing will come to order. We have two distinguished panels today to help us look more closely at […]

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VIDEO: Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on “Russia and Developments in Ukraine”

File Photo of U.S. Capitol in Bright Sunlight

Watch the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on “Russia and Developments in Ukraine” here: foreign.senate.gov/hearings/070914 … or here: businessweek.com/videos/2014-07-09/nuland-glaser-chollet-testify-on-ukraine-pt-dot-1  [note from web producer: C-Span version embedded below]

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RUSSIA & UKRAINE: JRL 2014-#152 contents with links :: Thursday 10 July 2014

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… 1. The New Republic: Julia Ioffe, Russia Riled Up the Ukrainian Rebels, Now It’s Shooting at Them As They Try to Enter Russia.
2. Watch the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on “Russia and Developments in Ukraine”
3. AP: Senators press for more sanctions on Russia. …

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RUSSIA & UKRAINE: JRL 2014-#151 contents with links :: Wednesday 9 July 2014

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[check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List E-Mail: davidjohnson@starpower.net A project of the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George  Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs: www.ieres.org JRL homepage: russialist.org JRL on Facebook: facebook.com/russialist  JRL on Twitter: twitter.com/JohnsonRussiaLi Support JRL: russialist.org/funding.php Wednesday – JRL 2014-#151 :: 9 July 2014 1. http://burkonews.info: Anti-Terrorist Operation: Summary for July 8, 2014: Facts, […]

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Lithuania President Warns of Growing ‘Russian Chauvinism’

Map of Commonwealth of Independent States, European Portion

(Voice of America – voanews.com – James Brooke – July 8, 2014) In Lithuania, July is the season of song festivals but the country’s newly re-elected president, Dalia Grybauskaite, sees little harmony with her massive neighbor to the east: Russia. “Now, we see aggressive rhetoric, aggressive behavior, aggressive propaganda, and informational wars,” she noted. ‘Great Russian chauvinism’ Russia’s annexation of […]

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High Mortality Rates Killing Off Russia, Aganbegyan Says

File Photo of Crowd of Russians with One Waving Russian Flag

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, July 8, 2014) Unless Moscow addresses and overcomes “super-high mortality rates” among young people and working-age Russians, the country will face population decline even if the Russian government is able to boost fertility rates, according to Abel Aganbegyan, a member of the Academy of Sciences and a Kremlin advisor. Indeed, the noted […]

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Having Failed to Stage ‘Short Victorious War’ in Ukraine, Putin Faces Problems at Home

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(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, July 8, 2014) Both those Russians who continue to press Vladimir Putin to intervene militarily in eastern Ukraine and those who say that his policies in Ukraine have been a disaster are increasingly reviving an old Russian metaphor that cannot be encouraging to the current incumbent of the Kremlin. Ever since Nicholas […]

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Terrorists, Kremlin-linked official say Russia supplied arms, hardware

Ukraine Map and Flag

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Concorde Capital – July 9, 2014) Terrorists with the Donetsk People’s Republic acknowledged that they received weapons and military hardware from Russia in a video released on the Internet on July 8 in which they discuss this support with Sergei Kurginian, a Kremlin propaganda chief, as identified by the Ukrayinska Pravda news site. The […]

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RUSSIA & UKRAINE: JRL 2014-#150 contents with links :: Tuesday 8 July 2014

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… 7. Reuters: Ukraine signals commitment to offensive as rebels regroup.
8. Wall Street Journal: Ukraine Advances, Putin Stays Silent. Interior Ministry Adviser Says Armed Rebel Fighters Unable to Leave City.
9. The Independent: Ukrainian partisans are settling in for the long haul. …

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Ukraine Diplomat’s Job Complicated by Russia

Map of Commonwealth of Independent States, European Portion

(Voice of America – Lee Michael Katz – July 7, 2014) Ukrainian Ambassador Olexander Motsyk blasted Russia in an interview for instigating a “hybrid war” against his country, supporting separatists he sees as “terrorists.” The veteran diplomat said he couldn’t have imagined the turn of events that led to such bold pronouncements and greatly changed his diplomatic life. Motsyk has […]

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Interfax: Matviyenko: Russia to restore standard time once and for all

Analog Clock Artist's Rendition

MOSCOW. July 8 (Interfax) – The Russian authorities have decided to restore standard “winter” time once and for all, Federation Council Chairperson Valentina Matviyenko said. “I can assure you that this decision is serious and for the long haul. No one will make further changes, especially as federation constituent territories have actively contributed to this issue, including the determination of […]

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Arms Exports Thrive Amid Military Revamp

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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Matthew Bodner – July 8, 2014) President Vladimir Putin announced Monday that Russian arms exports continue to flourish, with $5.6 billion worth of weapons and military hardware having been sold in the first half of 2014, while its portfolio of export orders have expanded by $15 billion. Moscow’s plans to expand its presence on the […]

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Former Georgian President Shevardnadze Leaves Mixed Legacy

Georgia Map

(Moscow Times – moscowtimes.com – Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber – July 8, 2014) Eduard Shevardnadze, the Soviet Union’s last foreign minister who later served as Georgian president, died Monday at the age of 86, sparking a collective assessment of the mixed legacy that he left to both Russia and his native Georgia. Shevardnadze’s death following a long illness was confirmed by his […]

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Interfax: Ukraine preparing “Marshall Plan” for 2014-16 – Deputy PM

Ukraine Map and Flag

BRUSSELS. July 8 (Interfax) – The Ukrainian people have opted to join Europe but is confronted with serious challenges, first of all connected with Russia, said Ukraine’s deputy prime minister, Volodymyr Groysman. “Russia’s aggression – not only military – is unprecedented. Add to this information, economic and energy aggression which aims to ruin Ukraine,” he said at a high-level meeting […]

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Kiev gains ground as Ukrainian troops recapture Slavyansk and Kramatorsk

Ukraine Map and Flag

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Nikolai Litovkin, RBTH – July 7, 2014) The confrontation in southeast Ukraine appears to be nearing its denouement. Last weekend government troops seized the rebel stronghold of Slavyansk as well as several nearby towns. Observers believe that the authorities in Kiev are now likely to ignore calls for a ceasefire and push on […]

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RIA Novosti: NATO Sets Record By Sending Nine Ships Into Black Sea

File Photo of U.S. Navy Guided Missile Destroyer USS Donald Cook Firing Harpoon Missile

MOSCOW, July 8 (RIA Novosti) – The group of NATO ships in the Black Sea has grown to nine vessels, setting a record for recent decades, a Russian military source told RIA Novosti Tuesday. “American cruiser Vella Gulf arrived in Burgas early Tuesday, and French frigate Surcouf, which returned to the Black Sea on July 4, unmoored from the port […]

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RIA Novosti: Ukrainian Crisis Harmless for Russian Financial System – Central Bank

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MOSCOW, July 8 (RIA Novosti) – The consequences for the Russian financial system if the crisis in Ukraine further escalates will be limited, according to a review of financial stability conducted by the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) for the fourth quarter of 2013 and the first quarter of 2014. “The possible direct consequences for the Russian financial system if […]

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RIA Novosti: Russia doesn’t see NATO as adversary, secretary-general wrong – embassy

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(RIA Novosti – July 7, 2014) Russia doesn’t view NATO as an adversary, Secretary-General Rasmussen is wrong, the Russian mission to NATO has said in response to an interview Anders Fogh Rasmussen gave to Euronews. RIA Novosti news agency quoted the mission saying via Twitter: “The NATO secretary-general’s statement that in Russian military documents ‘the alliance is viewed as an […]

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