Elections in Wartime Ukraine Would Test Ukraine’s Legal-Political Flexibility

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

Ukraine is consumed by war, and elections are probably not an option. Or are they? President Zelensky is considering the answer to this question […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Top Biden Officials Press Congress for More Economic Aid to Ukraine” – WSJ

U.S. Capitol in Bright Sunlight

“Even Republicans who support arming Ukraine are skeptical of providing more cash to the country’s government.” “… [Some] top Biden administration officials [have] urged [Congress] to provide $11.8 billion in direct budget support to Kyiv to help pay … day-to-day bills. … part of a roughly $106 billion emergency funding request covering Ukraine, Israel and other issues. … Ukraine’s economy […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Ukraine’s race to build its own arms industry” – Financial Times

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

“Kyiv is converting U.S. missiles for new uses and prioritising joint ventures with western companies.” “… [Ukrainian] Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal [said] … ‘We understand we should produce [ammunition] here in Ukraine because … [globally ammunition is] depleted …. [Ukraine learns from] its dramatic increase in domestic drone manufacturing, he said, … up from ‘a few dozen last year’ to […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Ukraine’s counter-offensive is a ‘disaster’, says former Zelensky adviser” – The Telegraph (UK)

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

“Oleksiy Arestovych accuses Volodymyr Zelensky and his military commanders of making strategic mistakes and failing to break Russian lines.” “… Arestovych resigned in January as a presidential adviser after a row over the … Ukraine’s air defence systems. This week, Ukrainian prosecutors opened an investigation into [] Arestovych for comments that allegedly promote violence against women. He has denied the […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Can Samantha Power Win the Battle for Ukraine’s Future?” – New York Times

Maidan Square in Kiev, Ukraine

“… [E]ventually the war will end. What happens to Ukraine then? … Will it revert to the oligarchical model that typified its early years[] [o]r … make good on its promise of genuine modernity? That process … require[s] a renovated ethical culture to undergird a strong rule of law and a political class bound by … public duty and personal […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Staying the course: Donald Trump will ‘never’ support Putin, says Volodymyr Zelensky” – The Economist

Screenshot file photo of Volodymyr Zelensky Gesturing, from Congressional Teleconference, adapted from image at doggett.house.gov

“But Ukraine’s president fears that some of his country’s Western backers are losing faith.” “… Having failed to overwhelm Ukraine quickly, [] Putin seems determined to exhaust the country and to wear out its partners’ resolve to keep funding and supplying it with arms. … But [] Zelensky says Russia itself is fragile. … [suggesting that Russia itself will suffer […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: Ukraine defies odds by advancing in counteroffensive – senior official” – Reuters

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

“Ukraine has made progress in its counteroffensive … proving it can push back a better-armed and numerically superior enemy, [Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar] said … Tuesday. Ukrainian troops have faced vast Russian minefields and trenches …. Maliar brushed aside any suggestion that Kyiv’s progress was too slow …. ‘It’s incorrect to measure this advance by metres or kilometres,’ Maliar […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “A disastrous strategic failure has Ukrainians discussing politics again” – Washington Post/ Anna Nemtsova

Maidan Square in Kiev, Ukraine

“… Ukrainians have buried their political disputes in the name of national unity. But some are starting to believe that the tacit ban on discussion of controversial topics has outlived its usefulness. … Ukraine is fighting this war to maintain not only its statehood but also its democracy. … [S]urely the freedom to ask uncomfortable questions of those in power […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Ukraine Is Already Paying Us Back; Our investments in Ukrainian democracy are paying off. Now is not the time to pull back.” – Politico

Maidan Square in Kiev, Ukraine

“Ukraine is … defeating the Russian army … crippling one of America’s most dangerous adversaries. … For decades, Washington has invested in supporting the institutions that enabled Ukraine to take a different path than Russia, … toward democracy and independence … away from autocracy and subservience, and to tackle corruption to serve citizens instead of fostering kleptocracy …. As … […]

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War Can Both Help and Hurt Ukraine’s Anti-Corruption Efforts

Maidan Square in Kiev, Ukraine

(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org – Alexander Kupatadze – Nov. 17, 2022) Alexander Kupatadze is a senior lecturer at King’s Russia Institute at King’s College London. Since the Euromaidan revolution of 2013-2014, Ukraine has made substantial progress against corruption, in my view. With the help of international donors and non-government groups, Ukrainian authorities have established anti-corruption infrastructure, adopted crucial legislation and […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Hacker Attacks on Russia Gain Attention But Cause Little Damage” – Moscow Times

File Image of Stylized Eye Surrounded by Binary Code

(Moscow Times – Alexandra Vladimirova – April 29, 2022) Two days after the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a group of hackers managed to get access to several Russian state-owned television channels and broadcast anti-war videos. But the attack ended after a few minutes and regular programming resumed. This type of fleeting hacking operation has been repeated many times […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia Making Slow Progress in Bid to Cut Off Ukrainian Forces; Russian advance has so far failed to make decisive breakthrough in second phase of the war” – WSJ

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

“Russia’s military is gradually seizing more territory in Ukraine’s east … apparent[ly] aim [ing] … [to] cut[] off Ukrainian forces. But Ukrainian and Western officials and analysts say Moscow’s progress is slow and yet to achieve a decisive breakthrough. … [A]ny success in severing Ukrainian units’ supply lines may not be decisive … as Russian forces would be vulnerable to […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “How Zelensky Tamed Ukraine’s Fractious Politics and Stood Up to Putin” – New York Times

Maidan Square in Kiev, Ukraine

“Russian tanks were rolling over the border and Kyiv … was in … fear and panic. Street fighting broke out … [A] Russian armored column … advanced to within two miles of the office of … Zelensky. In those tense first days of the war, almost everyone … expected the Ukrainian leadership to fracture. Instead, [] Zelensky decided to personally […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russian Offensive Bears Down on Donbas as West Races to Supply Ukraine With More Weapons; Ukraine is reinforcing units as it also counterattacks southeast of Kharkiv” – WSJ

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

“Russian forces Wednesday made incremental gains … in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas … as Western nations rushed more weapons to … Ukrain[e]…. In … Mariupol … Russia … insisted on … unconditional surrender and kept pounding … Ukrainian forces — … mostly holed up in the sprawling Azovstal steel plant — with artillery and airstrikes. Ukraine[] … said … that Russian […]

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Fact vs. Fiction: Russian Disinformation on Ukraine

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

U.S. Department of State: Fact Sheet: Office of the Spokesperson …. Below are examples of Russian lies about the current crisis and its causes – and the truth […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Kremlin: Russia-U.S. talks inspire no significant optimism” – AP

Wendy Sherman file photo, adapted from image at state.gov

“The Kremlin said Tuesday it saw ‘no significant reason for optimism’ …. The talks aimed at defusing tensions over Ukraine took place in Geneva on Monday and offered no sign of immediate progress. Moscow went in insisting on guarantees to halt NATO’s eastward expansion and even roll back the military alliance’s deployments in Eastern Europe — demands that Washington had […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Keep calm and carry on; Ukrainians are peculiarly relaxed about Russia’s troop build-up; Many have grown inured to a risk they can do nothing about” – The Economist

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

“… Ukraine is deeply wary of threats to its independence, so one might expect widespread alarm … [over] 100,000 or so Russian troops at the border, and … [Putin] muttering … about ‘military-technical’ action. … [But] Ukrainians have weathered eight years of war against troops backed by Russia in … Donetsk and Luhansk, which have claimed 13,000 lives. … [T]hey […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Ukraine’s soldiers wait in the trenches for Moscow’s next move” – The Times (UK)

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

“… The Biden administration has said Russian troops are massing near the Ukrainian border and is reported to be considering the dispatch of new weaponry as well as advisers to Kiev. Ukraine is already using U.S. anti-tank missiles and Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drones. The supply of more such advanced weaponry would dramatically increase Russian losses in the event of a […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Life under siege: residents fear new surge of war in rebel-held east Ukraine” – Reuters

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

“… On the edge of Horlivka, … controlled by … separatists since 2014, … neighbors are trapped between the two warring sides in a conflict that the Ukrainian government says has killed more than 14,000 people. Russia has accused Ukraine of preparing to try to recapture the breakaway eastern regions by force …. Ukraine fears Russia might use that as […]

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What’s Behind The Russia-Ukraine War Fears — And What Might Actually Happen?

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

The buildup of forces is evident in western Russia and also in Crimea, according to satellite images. It’s impossible to ascertain exactly what Russia’s intentions are […]

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Why There Won’t Be a People’s Republic of Left-Bank Ukraine Just Yet

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org – Simon Saradzhyan – Nov. 23, 2021) Simon Saradzhyan is the founding director of the Russia Matters Project. Evidence of recently resumed movements of Russian troops in the vicinity of Russia’s border with Ukraine (as well as farther afield) have reignited the debate about Kremlin intentions to order another military intervention on its neighbor’s territory, with […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Kremlin Slams U.S. ‘Hysteria’ Over Ukraine Conflict” – Moscow Times

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

Peskov’s comments come after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken … declined to say whether U.S. intelligence believed … Putin was aiming to seize land from Ukraine […]

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Why the U.S. Should Rethink Its Russia-centric Ukraine Policy

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org – Nicolai N. Petro – Sept. 9, 2021) Nicolai N. Petro is a professor of political science at the University of Rhode Island, specializing in Ukraine and Russia. His latest book, “Ukraine in Crisis,” was published by Routledge in 2017. Ahead of this month’s visit to Washington, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy gave a sense of his […]

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Russia Says Ukraine Organized Gas Pipeline Attack In Crimea

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

(Oilprice.com – Charles Kennedy – Sept. 7, 2021) Russia accused on Tuesday Ukraine’s military intelligence of having organized an attack on a natural gas pipeline in Crimea at the end of last month, in another escalation of tensions between Moscow and Kyiv. Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine back in 2014, straining the bilateral relations between one of Europe’s key natural […]

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After Seven Years Of Conflict, Ukraine’s Frontline City Is ‘Just Tired’ Of The Fighting

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

… The prospect of an invasion, unimaginable for most Europeans, has for the past seven years hung like a specter over this industrial port city located just 100 kilometers from Russian territory […]

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Zelenskiy Warns That Russian Troops Can Return At ‘Any Moment’

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

… Zelenskiy has urged the Ukrainian military to remain on alert despite Russia’s drawdown of its troops from the country’s borders, saying they could return “at any moment” […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia withdraws troops from Ukraine’s border” – bne Intellinews

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

“… Fears of an imminent invasion have been stoked by the large build-up of Russian forces on Ukraine’s eastern border and additional forces sent to Crimea. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy welcomed the announcement and thanked his international partners for their support. … [E]stimates … vary from around 40,000 new troops largely stationed in the city of Voronezh some 130 km […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Ukraine does not seek escalation of situation in Donbas – NSDC secretary” – Interfax

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

KYIV. April 7 (Interfax) – Secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) Oleksiy Danilov said, when commenting on the situation surrounding a buildup of Russian forces in the proximity of the border with Ukraine, that “there is a certain intensification of all processes” today, adding that Kyiv seeks to avert any escalation of the situation in Donbas. “Let’s […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “U.S. Bars Ukrainian Banking Tycoon Over Corruption Allegations” – Wall Street Journal/ Ian Talley, Alan Cullison, Georgi Kantchev

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

“The action prevents Ihor Kolomoisky and family from entering the U.S. but is also likely to complicate his financial and business dealings” “… [U.S.] sanctions on a Ukrainian banking tycoon and former public official … for alleged corruption[] mark[] a renewed effort … to help Kyiv address a problem that finance officials say is at the heart of the country’s […]

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Banning Pro-Russian Media: Fighting Disinformation, Silencing Dissonant Opinions, or Both?

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

The basic questions at play … are not unique to Ukraine, though they are sharpened by Russia’s aggression in the Donbas and Crimea: Who defines the boundary between disinformation and dissonant opinions? […]

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Justice Or Commemoration? As Maidan Massacre Anniversary Approaches, Both Appear Elusive

Maidan Square in Kiev, Ukraine

… There is no police cordon to give away the forensic significance of the vacant lot atop Instytutska Street, but investigators believe it may hold important clues to conclusively establish who gunned down dozens of anti-government demonstrators […]

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Rebuttal: Ukraine Is Emerging as Critical Node for White-Supremacy Extremists

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org – Mollie Saltskog, Colin P. Clarke – Sept. 24, 2020) Mollie Saltskog is a senior intelligence analyst at The Soufan Group, a strategic consultancy based in New York City. Colin P. Clarke is a senior research fellow at The Soufan Center and an assistant teaching professor at the Institute for Politics and Strategy at Carnegie Mellon […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “U.S. Lawmakers Offer Bill to Boost Aid for Ukraine Military” – Reuters

American Flag and Partial View of U.S. Capitol Dome, adapted from image at aoc.gov

“… [S]enators [from both parties] introduced legislation to back Ukraine with $300 million of annual military financing …. The bill also authorizes up to $4 million to train Ukrainian military officers, requires a [DOD] … and State Department report on the requirements of Ukraine’s armed forces and a plan to supply security assistance and requires the appointment of a special […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Ukraine Cease-Fire Begins in Tense Climate” – Wall Street Journal/ Thomas Grove

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

A cease-fire between Ukrainian government forces and Russian-backed separatists … offer[s] the prospect of an end to a slow-burning conflict … claim[ing] thousands of lives in Eastern Ukraine … [Remaining] [p]oints of friction … includ[e] Russia’s control of … Crimea and Kyiv’s resistance to holding elections in separatist strongholds […]

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New Russian Policy Toward Ukraine: Citizenship Beyond the Borders

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

(Kennan Institute – wilsoncenter.org/program/kennan-institute – Kennan Cable No. 54 – Igor Zevelev, Global Fellow; Former Professor at George Marshall European Center for Security Studies; Former Director, MacArthur Foundation, Moscow Office – July 9, 2020) A major change in Russian policy towards Ukraine is underway. Policymakers, experts, and the media across the world have focused mostly on the conflict in eastern […]

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The Map of Political Forces in Today’s Ukraine

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

“In contemporary Ukraine, political parties rarely survive more than one electoral cycle. The super-electoral year 2019 changed the party structure once again …. A year later, there is already palpable interest on the part of the citizenry in new parties, as people have started losing trust in the current ones […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Pentagon announces $250 million in security assistance to Ukraine” – CNN/ Ryan Browne

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

“… ‘[DOD] announced … plans for $250 million in Fiscal Year 2020 Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) funds for additional training, equipment, and advisory efforts to strengthen Ukraine’s capacity to more effectively defend itself against Russian aggression,’ the Pentagon said in a statement …. the ‘funds — $125 million of which was conditional on Ukraine’s progress on defense reforms — […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Ukraine’s Overburdened Doctors in Desperate Virus Fight” – AP

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

“… [The] … broken or substandard equipment, a lack of drugs, low wages [] reflect[] the meltdown of Ukraine’s health care system … quickly overwhelmed by the coronavirus pandemic even with the country’s relatively low number of cases. Ukraine’s corruption-plagued economy has been weakened by six years of war with Russia-backed separatists in the east. … Zelenskiy’s year-old administration inherited […]

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Ukrainian President Names Saakashvili To Head Reform Council

Mikheil Saakashvili file photo

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has named former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili to head the executive committee of Ukraine’s National Reform Council, created in 2014 to carry out strategic planning and coordinate reforms.

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “New evidence reinforces the suspicion that Russia was behind the downed MH17 plane” – Washington Post Editorial

Ukraine Air Crash Scene with Uniformed Security Personnel, Flames, Smoke

…. The findings suggest … Putin’s regime was overseeing the separatists at the time the Russian missile was fired at the airliner. …

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Zelenskiy’s First Year: He Promised Sweeping Changes. How’s He Doing?

File Photo of Zelenskiy Extending Handshake, adapted from image at a subdomain of senate.gov

“… the first year since the 42-year-old comedic actor’s election has been chock full of ups and downs and twists and turns, with plenty of serious criticism … from constituents and international observers, not to mention an array of opponents. …”

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “With the World Distracted by Coronavirus, Hopes for Peace in Ukraine Are Dimming” – Wall Street Journal/ Ann M. Simmons

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

“Sound of gunfire and shelling has become part of everyday life in the city of Mariupol as hopes fade for an end to the war.” “… in eastern Ukraine … hopes for an end to the long-running war between Russian-backed separatists and Kyiv have faded since this winter’s tentative detente between … Putin and … Zelensky. … The conflict has […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Ukraine’s moment of truth” – Kyiv Post/ Kurt Volker

International Monetary Fund Logo Over Ukraine Flag

“… As the novel coronavirus increasingly impacts the country, the Verkhovna Rada must finally pass the banking legislation necessary to free up $8 billion in International Monetary Fund lending, and a further $1.5 billion from other sources. … Achieving peace and restoring Ukrainian sovereignty in eastern Ukraine and Crimea will never come as the result of a military victory. Peace […]

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Donbas Development: Will ‘Advisory Council’ Unlock Door To Direct Talks Between Kyiv And Russia-Backed Separatists?

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

(Article text ©2020 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – Tony Wesolowsky – March 30, 2020 – article text also appeared at rferl.org/a/ukraine-peace-advisory-council-direct-talks-kyiv-separatists-russia-backed/30518279.html) No talks with Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine: That has been a mantra for leaders in Kyiv throughout the six-year war that has killed more than 13,000 people in the Donbas and displaced more than […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Russian Priests, Cossacks Negotiated Ukraine’s Surrender During Crimean Annexation – Meduza” – Moscow Times

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – March 16, 2020) Priests from the Russian Orthodox Church and Cossacks followed Defense Ministry orders to negotiate the Ukrainian army’s surrender during Moscow’s annexation of Crimea, the independent Meduza news website has reported ahead of the sixth anniversary of the land grab. On Feb. 27, 2014, masked troops in unmarked uniforms seized the Crimean parliament […]

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Trade or Blockade? Economic Relations with Uncontrolled Territories in Moldova and Ukraine

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

(Kennan Institute – wilsoncenter.org/program/kennan-institute – Kennan Cable No. 48 – Brian Milakovsky – March 9, 2020) Brian Milakovsky works in the development sector in Luhansk Oblast and has written about the Donbas economy since 2015. He has lived in Ukraine and Russia since 2009, working on both ecological and humanitarian issues. It is still too early to gauge the chances […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Ukrainian Leader Backs Calamitous Reshuffle to Deliver Results” – Bloomberg, Daryna Krasnolutska, Volodymyr Verbyany

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

“… Zelenskiy defended a cabinet reshuffle that unnerved investors and dismayed voters who’d backed him to clean up the country’s notoriously murky post-Soviet politics. The revamp swapped young newcomers picked to sever ties with the past for experienced hands whose task is to revive stuttering reforms. … [I]n one of Europe’s most corrupt nations, previous administrations are tainted by accusations […]

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