(RIA Novosti – Moscow, July 6, 2014) The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) is a criminal organization operating under full American control, Russian [presidential adviser,] economist, politician and RAN [Russian Academy of Sciences] member Sergey Glazyev has told RIA Novosti commenting of the opening of a criminal case against him. Earlier, there were media reports that the SBU had opened […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Ivan Nechepurenko – July 5, 2014) Ukraine’s move Friday toward attempting to sell nearly 50 percent in its gas pipeline system to EU and U.S. investors does not mean that Western buyers will rush to take up the offer, as the system’s value depends on a steady supply of Russian gas, energy analysts told The […]
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PBS interviews former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul about unfolding events in Ukraine and the U.S. response. They spoke with McFaul at a conference in Colorado. Click here for transcript. Said McFaul: The biggest, obvious point, you know, fork in the road for Ukraine is to end the violence. If Poroshenko or some configuration of international leaders helped end […]
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Subject: Fake RAND memo Date: Sat, 5 Jul 2014 From: Hiday, Jeffrey <jhiday@rand.org> David, Saw that you carried a report on the supposed RAND Ukraine memo. [JRL #148]. We produced no such memo or study. I’ve alerted RT et al to that effect. Thanks. Jeff Jeffrey Hiday Director, Office of Media Relations RAND Corporation
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… 10. The Voice of America: Q&A With Masha Gessen: Russia in ‘Final’ Phase of Putin’s Rule.
11. Euromaidan Press: Ukraine’s possible backstabbers in Europe. …
(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, July 4, 2014) That Putin has intervened in Ukraine at least in part to overcome the political challenges he faced in 2011-2012 and that he has made Russian more authoritarian in the process is largely common ground. But a new book gives remarkable details about these links and these trends and suggests […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Ian Wishart, Elizabeth Konstantinova – July 3, 2014) Joining the European Union was meant to give Bulgaria a fresh start. Try telling that to Anna Dimitrova. “Bulgaria didn’t gain from the EU as much as it could have, because it’s mismanaged by corrupt politicians,” said Dimitrova, a law student, in central Sofia. “Our politicians are not […]
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MOSCOW, July 4 (RIA Novosti) – US exports to Russia rose 21 percent and reached a record high of $1.25 billion in May, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, an arm of the US Department of Commerce. During the same month, American exports to the EU and China increased by only 2.5 percent and 2.2 percent, respectively. US imports […]
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(The Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – July 4, 2014) EU Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger on Thursday asserted European companies’ right to sell Russian gas back to Ukraine, flying in the face of warnings from Russian energy giant Gazprom as tensions continue to build over energy policy. Energy companies in the EU have an “absolute right to dispose of gas bought from […]
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(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Glenn Kates – July 3, 2014) Angry about continued protests outside Ukraine’s parliament building and an apparent attack on a female journalist, a Facebook user vents his anger on his personal page. “The real Ukrainian warriors [the troops fighting against separatists in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions] will return from the front for just a minute and beat you so […]
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KIEV, July 4 (RIA Novosti) – At least two residents of Luhansk have been killed and eight others injured after the Ukrainian Army shelled a residential area of the city, local authorities reported Friday. Pro-Kiev forces shelled residential buildings on Thursday, according to the statement. The injured people were hospitalized. A local oncology center and a school were also damaged […]
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MOSCOW, July 2 (RIA Novosti) – Advisors from the United States are actively working in Ukraine and developing Kiev’s strategy, Russian Deputy Security Council Secretary Evgeny Lukyanov told RIA Novosti Wednesday. “We could say without a doubt that we’re not just talking about American mercenaries, but also intensive activities on Ukrainian territory by the so-called advisors from Washington. I’m referring […]
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KYIV. July 3 (Interfax) – Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said during a telephone conversation with U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden that he was ready to start profound political talks on settling the situation in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions without any additional conditions. The parties have discussed further possible international efforts to support Ukraine’s position, Poroshenko’s press office said on […]
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LUHANSK. July 4 (Interfax) – Snipers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces have opened fire on a road leading to the Izvarne border crossing point on the Ukrainian-Russian border, militiamen of the Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) have said. “Ukrainian snipers are targeting the drivers of cars heading to the Izvarne checkpoint located on the Ukrainian-Russian border,” a local militia spokesman told […]
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KIEV, July 4 (RIA Novosti) – Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk during a parliament session Friday threatened to change the format of the country’s parliament, government and coalition, if the majority continues not to support the legislative initiatives of the Cabinet of Ministers. “I believe that it is very difficult for the government and parliament to work in this type […]
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… 49. The Aspen Institute: Michael McFaul Dissects US-Russian Relations.
50. Paul Goble: Window on Eurasia: Putin’s Authoritarianism Now Self-Re-Enforcing, New Book Concludes.
51. Wall Street Journal: Five Best: Simon Sebag Montefiore on Russia in fiction.
52. The Paris Review: Diana Bruk, Thawing Out. Why are there so few courses in Soviet literature at American universities? …
[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 Thursday – JRL 2014-#146 :: 3 July 2014 1. Interfax-Ukraine: NSDC: Government forces continue to free towns and capture […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Dmitry Agnin, special to RBTH – July 2, 2014) Prospects for peace in Ukraine have receded again after President Petro Poroshenko called an end to the ceasefire in the east of the country. Continuing hostilities, ongoing attempts to negotiate a political settlement and a growing stream of displaced citizens mean that the outcome […]
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(RIA Novosti – July 2, 2014) Deputy Secretary of the Russian Security Council Yevgeniy Lukyanov has commented on the Ukrainian conflict, sanctions imposed against Russia after it was joined by Crimea and the Russia-West relations in an interview with Russian state-owned news agency RIA Novosti, published on the agency’s website on 2 July. [1] Ukraine Commenting on the recent developments […]
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(RIA Novosti – July 2, 2014) The USA is not interested in the EU participating more actively in settling the Ukrainian crisis and for this reason, among other things, is pushing Europe towards sanctions against Russia, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigoriy Karasin said in an interview to state-controlled rolling news channel Rossiya 24 broadcast on 2 July; his remarks were […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Jennifer Monaghan – July 3, 2014) Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has lashed out at a U.S. State Department spokeswoman for suggesting some of the supposed refugees fleeing war-torn Ukraine for Russia could be going to visit their grandmothers. Spokeswoman Marie Helf on Tuesday played down a report by the UN’s Refugee Agency, or UNHCR, […]
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(Interfax – July 2, 2014) The Basmannyy court of Moscow on 2 July issued a warrant for the arrest of a Ukrainian billionaire and Dnipropetrovsk Region governor, Ihor Kolomoyskyy, at the request of the Investigations Committee of Russia, Interfax news agency reported the same day. Kolomoyskyy, who resides in Ukraine, is accused of committing four serious crimes. The spokesman of […]
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(Interfax – July 3, 2014) Proposed constitutional amendments stipulate that Ukrainian will remain the sole state language in Ukraine, the country’s President Petro Poroshenko said in parliament on Thursday. “We have delivered on our promise to give additional powers in language issues to local authorities. Article 10 of the Constitution remains unchanged – Ukrainian is the one-and-only state language in […]
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MOSCOW. July 3 (Interfax) – The Russian Foreign Ministry insists that the Ukrainian authorities immediately stop the bombardment of civilian sites in the southeast, which is claiming civilian lives. “We once again demand that the Ukrainian authorities stop shooting on civilian sites and save human lives,” the ministry said in a commentary posted on Thursday. The ministry is hopeful that […]
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MOSCOW, July 3 (RIA Novosti) – The destruction of an orphanage by the Ukrainian Army in Slaviansk is a serious violation of international law, signaling that the punitive operation should be ended, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law Konstantin Dolgov said Thursday. “This is a very powerful signal that the violence, bloodshed […]
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(Interfax – July 2, 2014) The situation in southeastern Ukraine was exacerbated after the resumption of the army operation, Donetsk Mayor Alexander Lukyanchenko said. “Tensions persist in the city. The situation worsened after the ceasefire had been called off. DPR supporters seized the regional department of the Ukrainian Interior Ministry yesterday. Several blocks adjacent to the building were cordoned off […]
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KYIV. July 3 (Interfax) – Only one in ten reservists in Kyiv has been mobilized voluntarily, said Volodymyr Kidon, the Ukrainian capital’s military commissar. Speaking at a Kyiv Council session on Thursday, Kidon said that a total of 1,558 conscripts and 342 officers have been mobilized, but only 10% of them “were called up on a voluntary basis.” These conscripts […]
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… 11. The Daily Telegraph (UK): Ukraine launches new offensive to rid east of rebel ‘parasites’
12. Wall Street Journal: Ukraine Says Military Offensive Against Rebels Yielding Results.
13. AsiaNews: In eastern Ukraine, Slavyansk cathedral shelled. …
(opendemocracy.net – Elena Vlasenko – June 30, 2014) Elena Vlasenko is a Russian journalist Russia has no treatment programme for drug addicts; cold turkey is the only way they can kick the habit, either in prison or in rehab centres like Yevgeny Roizman’s City Without Drugs Foundation. But the foundation has been engaged in some very questionable practices. On 30 […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – COMMENT: Marcus Svedberg and Aivaras Abromavicius of East Capital – July 1, 2014) Marcus Svedberg is Chief Economist, and Aivaras Abromavicius is Partner, of East Capital Ukraine signed an Association Agreement (AA) and a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) with the EU in Brussels on June 27. President Petro Poroshenko, in his […]
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MOSCOW, July 2 (RIA Novosti) – One of the main political goals of the Ukrainian “Euro-Maidan” movement is the further expansion of NATO to the east, Russian Deputy Security Council Secretary Evgeny Lukyanov told RIA Novosti in an interview Wednesday. “It’s quite apparent that this is one of the goals,” Lukyanov said in reference to the West criticizing Russia for […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Allison Quinn – July 2, 2014) As a video of the death of Channel One cameraman Anatoly Klyan went viral ahead of his memorial service on Wednesday, the world got its starkest glimpse yet of the reality faced by journalists on the ground in Ukraine: The 68-year-old veteran war reporter is literally shown bleeding out […]
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(Eurasia Daily Monitor: Volume 11, Issue 119 – Jamestown Foundation – jamestown.org – Paul Goble – July 1, 2014) Ukraine’s intelligence service has identified five centers within the Russian Federation where Moscow is recruiting and training mercenaries and diversionists to work against Ukraine in the eastern portions of that country and perhaps further west as well (Newsru.ua, June 28). Even more worrisome, […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Ben Aris in Moscow – July 2, 2014) Russian President Vladimir Putin lambasted the West in a speech to assembled diplomats call on July 1, although he stopped short of making new military threats against Ukraine as Kyiv resumed its antiterrorism operation in the east of the country. The Russian rhetoric is becoming somewhat […]
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KIEV, July 2 (RIA Novosti) – Kiev is ready to continue consultations with independence supporters from eastern Ukraine at any acceptable location, the Ukrainian president’s administration said Wednesday. The Ukrainian authorities “are ready to continue consultations with the participation of the contact group at any acceptable location in order to search for ways of peaceful settlement,” said Valeriy Chaly, the […]
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… 18. Bloomberg: Why Putin Is in Trouble With 86% Approval.
19. Washington Post: Fred Hiatt, A familiar Russian playbook. The modern parallels to Russian attacks on Boris Pasternak.
20. Moscow Times: Washington Asks Moscow to Approve John Tefft as new U.S. Ambassador. …
MOSCOW, July 1 (RIA Novosti) – Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reminded that Russia is not a party to the conflict in the east of Ukraine and its influence on self-defense forces should not be overestimated. “Russia is not a party to the confrontation, it’s an internal Ukrainian conflict. And Moscow can’t tell self-defense forces what to do and how to […]
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MOSCOW, July 1 (RIA Novosti) – External influence pushed Kiev to decide against extending the ceasefire in southeast Ukraine, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement Tuesday. “There’s an impression that Kiev’s change in position, including its announcement late on June 30 on the non-extension of the ceasefire regime, happened regardless of the position of leading EU members,” the […]
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… 16. CNN: Ukrainian President: Peace depends on Putin’s mood.
17. Kyiv Post: Poroshenko: ‘Russian society is full of aggression today.’ (speech at the Council of Europe)
18. Reuters: Sharp rise in people fleeing eastern Ukraine – UNHCR. …
(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, June 27, 2014) Russians must recognize that sanctions are “the new economic and political reality” in which they live and overcome three widespread and government-promoted misconceptions about such sanctions if the country is going to be able to cope with them as well as possible, according to a senior Russian scholar. In […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anna Dolgov – June 27, 2014) The White House has submitted to Congress a 2015 military funding request that includes $1 billion to support NATO allies in Europe in response to Russia’s interference in Ukraine. The money is part of a total $65.8 billion Overseas Contingency Operations request that U.S. President Barack Obama submitted Thursday, […]
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(Interfax – June 26, 2014) The ceasefire agreement established between Kiev and East Ukraine’s self-proclaimed republics’ leaders is not being observed and there is no point in extending it, “Donetsk People’s Republic” government co-chairman Myroslav Rudenko (Miroslav Rudenko), was quoted as saying in a report by privately-owned Russian news agency Interfax on 26 June. “How can something that never happened […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber – June 27, 2014) With Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova set to sign the economic sections of association agreements with the European Union on Friday, analysts say the deals will have minimal impact on the Russian economy but will further broaden the political schism between Russia and its neighbors. Russia should not lose more […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – COMMENT: Tim Ash of Standard Chartered – June 27, 2014) This is a landmark agreement for Ukraine, and will be transformational. Poroshenko has indicated that Ukraine aims for EU membership, but this is a long run goal – likely 10-15 years away, if then. Ukraine is realistic, and understanding of the changing politics in […]
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[“Ukraine Cease-Fire to End Friday Evening If Talks Fail; Heavy Fighting Rages Around Several Separatist Strongholds in East” – Wall Street Journal – Lukas I. Alpert – June 27, 2014] The Wall Street Journal reports on the planned expiration of a ceasefire between Ukraine and pro-Russia separatists in an eastern region of the country, and Russian calls for an extension. The […]
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BRUSSELS, June 27 (RIA Novosti) – Ukraine’s chances of attaining candidate status for membership in the European Union are hard to predict, Stefan Fuele, EU Commissioner for Enlargement said. “We are not at the stage when we could even speculate about the candidate status. We just signed the association agreement, it needs to be ratified, we need to move on […]
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[“Ukraine Signs Trade Agreement With European Union” – New York Times – ANDREW HIGGINS and DAVID M. HERSZENHORN – June 27, 2014] The New York Times reports on Ukraine and the European Union reaching a sweeping trade deal, one that had been the original impetus for protests effectively upending the earlier Ukrainian regime of Viktor Yanukovych. Meanwhile, Russia has threatened serious consequences in […]
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MOSCOW. June 27 (Interfax) – The anti-constitutional coup staged in Ukraine and attempts to artificially impose a choice between Europe and Russia on that country have pushed Ukrainian society toward a split, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday. “The acute crisis in this neighboring country seriously troubles us. The anti-constitutional coup in Kyiv and attempts to artificially impose a […]
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[“Russia’s Putin calls for long-term Ukraine ceasefire, peace talks” – Reuters – Maria Tsvetkova June 27, 2014] Reuters covers the expiration for Ukraine’s eastern region ceasefire and Russian calls for an extension. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday a long-term ceasefire was needed in Ukraine to allow talks between the Kiev government and representatives of eastern regions where rebels are […]
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… 6. Bloomberg: Ukraine Optimism Wavers on Peace as Cease-Fire Winds Down.
7. New York Times: Russia and Others Seek Extended Ukraine Truce, but Separatists Balk.
8. DPA: Ukrainian separatists to hold fresh talks before ceasefire expires.
9. Business New Europe: Graham Stack, A show of arms by pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine. …