JRL NEWSWATCH: “EU Leaders Agree to $54 Billion Ukraine Aid Package as Hungary’s Orban Backs Down” – WSJ

EU Map adapted from cia.gov image

“Ukraine aid decision comes against the backdrop of growing fears about Russia’s threat to Europe’s security” “[EU] leaders agreed to a $54 billion budget aid package for Ukraine … Thursday, locking in financing … for the next four years … [a mix of long-term loans and grants,] a major boost for Ukraine, which could have started to run short of […]

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Russia Analytical Report, Nov. 20-27, 2023

File Photo of Red Square, Kremlin, Environs, adapted from image at state.gov

(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org) There is no “durable stalemate on the ground” in the Russian-Ukrainian war as there is “no clear-cut parity,” CEIP’s Michael Kofman said in a War on the Rocks podcast shortly after returning from Ukraine. Looking back, Kofman advised that “the sooner we can say” Ukraine’s counteroffensive has not been successful, “the sooner we can learn from it.” Looking […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia may seek compensation over Nord Stream blasts – RIA” – Reuters

Gas Flame file photo

“[Nord Stream gas] pipelines under the Baltic Sea were damaged in explosions last year, and investigations have yet to establish who was responsible. … RIA quoted Dmitry Birichevsky [of the Russian Foreign Ministry] as saying: ‘… [W]e are waiting for [a related probe’s] results to be presented to the [UN] Security Council, then … will decide what to do.’ …” […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Murder, torture, rape: Russia’s crimes are a long-running horror show” – Washington Post

European Portion of Commonwealth of Independent States

“… [E]vidence attesting to Russia[n] atrocities in Ukraine … represents a small fraction measured against the likely scale of atrocities …. Notwithstanding the … accounts detailing systematic torture, rape, execution and other forms of abuse … independent investigators are denied access to territory seized by Russian forces. … [T]he Kremlin’s commanders have time to eliminate traces of physical evidence as […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “What to watch for at Xi’s meeting with Putin” – Reuters

File Photo of Beijing Temple, adapted from image at lbl.gov

“… [F]ive things to watch for … DEFENCE BOSSES … Defence Minister Li Shangfu has not been seen in public for more than six weeks …. For China, Russia is … a rich potential source of technology as the People’s Liberation Army … seeks to modernise … WEAPONS FOR WAR? … The United States has warned China against sending … […]

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Thomas Graham: “Book release of ‘Getting Russia Right'”

Bookcase file photo, adapted from image at nlm.nih.gov

Subject: Book release of “Getting Russia Right” Date: Wed, 4 Oct 2023 From: Thomas Graham <tgraham@cfr.org> Dear colleagues, I am pleased to announce the release of my new book, Getting Russia Right, with Polity Books. Drawing on my experience in the Foreign Service and on the National Security Council staff, I argue that the effort to integrate Russia into the […]

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TRANSCRIPT: Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan

File Photo of Jake Sullivan Gesturing While Speaking Next to U.S. Flag, with White House Logo in Background

(The White House – Sept. 21, 2023) MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Good afternoon, everyone. Q Good afternoon. MS. JEAN-PIERRE: As you can see, we have the National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan joining us today to talk about — give a little bit of a preview and talk about the President’s visit with President Zelenskyy today. As you know, he’s all in tow- […]

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TRANSCRIPT: Remarks by President Biden Before the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, New York, NY [Excerpt]

Joe Biden Gesturing at UN Podium adapted from image at whitehouse.gov

(The White House – Sept. 19, 2023) [Full text: whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2023/09/19/remarks-by-president-biden-before-the-78th-session-of-the-united-nations-general-assembly-new-york-ny/] “… For the second year in a row, this gathering dedicated to peaceful resolution of conflicts is darkened by the shadow of war — an illegal war of conquest, brought without provocation by Russia against its neighbor, Ukraine. Like every nation in the world, the United States wants this war […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “West Fails to Peel Russia’s Friends Away to Ukraine’s Side” – WSJ

File Photo of UN Building with Flags

“Many emerging economies remain reluctant to take sides in the war.” “… Western countries still haven’t swung the developing world behind supporting Kyiv. Europe, Ukraine and the U.S. have successfully orchestrated several United Nations votes condemning Russia’s invasion. … [and] have started talks with dozens of other countries on … a fair peace settlement …. However, many of the biggest […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Volodymyr Zelensky to Meet Biden, Lawmakers in Washington Amid Push for More Aid” – WSJ

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

“Ukrainian president’s visit next week coincides with the United Nations General Assembly.” “… Zelensky is scheduled to travel to the U.S. for the annual United Nations General Assembly in New York, where he will appear in person for the first time since Russia’s February 2022 invasion, to make a case for continued support of Ukraine and isolation of Moscow. … […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Ukrainian Accounts of Torture Point to Systematic Russian Policy, Expert Says” – New York Times

European Portion of Commonwealth of Independent States

“The U.N. Special Rapporteur on torture said Moscow’s refusal to address the issue represented tacit approval of its use. Russia has denied it practices torture.” “Torture perpetrated by Russian officers against Ukrainian civilians and prisoners of war has reached such a level that it is clearly a systematic, state-endorsed policy, [according to Alice Jill Edwards, U.N. Special Rapporteur on torture […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russian Agricultural Bank could have SWIFT access within 30 days, UN tells Moscow” – Reuters

Wheat in Field, adapted from image at usda.gov

“A Russian Agricultural Bank subsidiary in Luxembourg could immediately apply to SWIFT to ‘effectively enable access’ for the bank to the international payments system within 30 days, the United Nations told Russia in a letter …. ‘SWIFT has confirmed that RSHB Capital S.A. would be eligible to apply for membership and access to SWIFT for food and fertilizer transactions, based […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee chair calls Russia-China alliance the biggest threat since WWII” – AP

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

“The chairman of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee said Friday [that regarding] a partnership between the Russian and Chinese leaders … ‘We have never seen a threat this large scale to Europe and the Pacific … since World War II.’ An alliance between … Xi Jinping and … Putin ‘provides a very big challenge I think for the free […]

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VIDEO: JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia expert Fiona Hill says Prigozhin’s death in a plane crash is ‘par for the course'” – Face the Nation

Yevgeny Prigozhin file photos, adapted from images at fbi.gov

“NANCY CORDES: … So, … Putin claims he had nothing to do with this. Is there anyone in the diplomatic community who believes that? FIONA HILL: I doubt it. … I think what we can certainly say is he didn’t order it not to happen because there are plenty of people who were painting a target on Prigozhin’s back. The […]

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Russia in Review, Aug. 11-18, 2023

File Photo of Red Square, Kremlin, Environs, adapted from image at state.gov

(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org) 6 Things to Know The U.S. intelligence community assesses that Ukraine’s current counteroffensive will fail to reach the key southeastern city of Melitopol, thus, remaining unable to disrupt the land bridge from Russia to Crimea, WP reported, citing “people familiar with the classified forecast.” The assessment is based on Russia’s proficiency in defending occupied territory,  which […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Rush of diplomacy could be pivotal for Ukraine, Russia” – The Hill

File Photo of UN Building with Flags

“High-level meetings in Washington and New York … could have wide-reaching implications for the war between Ukraine and Russia, geopolitical hotspots like Taiwan and the South Pacific, and the global economy and international finance. With … Lavrov at the U.N. to preside over the Security Council and meet with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, and Guterres then traveling to Washington […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “How to Prepare for Peace Talks in Ukraine; Ending a War Requires Thinking Ahead” – Foreign Affairs/ Thomas R. Pickering

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

“… [T]he time will come for negotiations, and it is essential that the United States plans carefully for that day. … Although the contours of any deal would be determined in large part by leverage, reciprocity, negotiating skill, and quid pro quos, there are some basic principles that could help facilitate a fair and lasting agreement. … [Negotiations] … should […]

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Sean Penn’s Zelensky Doc Substitutes Bromance for Storytelling

File Photo of Reel of Film

(Moscow Times – Tom Masters – March 1, 2023) Sean Penn and Aaron Kaufmann’s long-awaited documentary about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, which recently premiered at the Berlin Film Festival, is proof that even with the best luck and access imaginable, an extraordinary journalistic opportunity can easily be missed. Double Oscar-winning actor-turned-activist Penn and his crew were in Kyiv filming the […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “A continent divided over response to war: Ukraine: the view from Africa” – Le Monde Diplomatique

Africa Map

“The UN General Assembly’s 2 March 2022 resolution condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and calling for … immediate withdrawal … was adopted by … 141 votes out of 193[]. However … 17 of the 35 countries that abstained – and one that voted against – were African, and eight African countries did not vote at all. …. European commentators’ simplistic […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Diplomacy Is Still (Just About) Possible in Ukraine; The Black Sea agreement offers a model for off-ramps to escalation” – Foreign Policy

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

“… There has been one … diplomatic effort … agreed on and implemented by all parties involved (including both Ukraine and Russia) … [that] could also serve as a framework for preventing the war from worsening. … the Black Sea Grain Initiative … mediated by Turkey and the United Nations. … … [It] paved the way for a humanitarian maritime […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia rules out peace deal to end Ukraine war” – Financial Times

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

“Ambassador Gennady Gatilov warns Moscow expects a prolonged conflict.” “Moscow sees no possibility of a diplomatic solution to end the war in Ukraine and expects a long conflict, a senior Russian diplomat has warned …. Gennady Gatilov, Russia’s permanent representative to the UN in Geneva … [said] the UN should … play[] a bigger role in attempts to end the […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Ukraine’s Zelensky says stalemate with Russia ‘not an option'” – Financial Times

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

“President tells FT conference western sanctions ‘have not really influenced’ Moscow’s position.” “… Zelensky said a stalemate in the war with Russia was ‘not an option for us’ as he once more appealed for western military support to restore his country’s territorial integrity. ‘We are inferior in terms of equipment and therefore we are not capable of advancing,’ … ‘We […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Zelenskyy says UN, Red Cross order Russia to take its ‘mountains of corpses'” – Fox

European Portion of Commonwealth of Independent States

“Zelensky says Ukrainian forces have ‘broken’ Russia’s troops ‘psychologically’.” “The [UN] and [ICRC] have directed … Putin to remove his ‘mountain of corpses,’ … Zelenskyy said Saturday. ‘They abandoned their military,’ Zelenskyy said …. ‘They were dying, but they didn’t care. Recently I was told that they are only now thinking about taking the corpses.’ ‘When the war started…they used […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Blinken accuses Russia of using food as a weapon in Ukraine” – Reuters

File Photo of UN Building with Flags

“U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused Russia on Thursday of using food as a weapon in Ukraine by holding ‘hostage’ supplies for not just Ukrainians, but also millions around the world. A [Russian] senior official … rejected the allegations, saying Russians … would not export food while being subject to tough sanctions. Addressing the United Nations Security Council, Blinken […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “UN says Ukraine war threatens to devastate many poor nations” – AP

File Photo of UN Building with Flags

“… U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres released … [a U.N. task force] report saying that … [Russia’s war on Ukraine] is ‘supercharging’ a crisis in food, energy and finance in poorer countries … already struggling to deal with … COVID-19 …, climate change and a lack of access to adequate funding for economic recovery. ‘We are now facing a perfect storm […]

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RUSSIALINK: “UN’s Bombshell Climate Change Report Forecasts Fire and Floods for Russia” – Moscow Times

File Photo of Polar Bear on Snow with Bare Ground in the Background, adapted from image at nasa.gov with photo credit to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Eric Regehr

Russia can expect to see intensifying wildfires, floods and other extreme weather events in the coming decades as the global climate crisis deepens a decade sooner than projected […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Russia Returns to UN Human Rights Council After 4-year Absence” – Moscow Times

File Photo of UN Building with Flags

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Oct. 14, 2020) Russia has been re-elected to the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) following a four-year absence, Moscow’s mission to the UN in Geneva announced Wednesday. Comprising 47 member states elected by the General Assembly for a three-year term, the HRC is responsible for addressing human rights violations and promoting the human rights […]

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Evolving Global Order Makes a P5 Summit Ineffective

File Photo of UN Building with Flags

(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org – Paul Saunders – Sept. 17, 2020) Paul Saunders is a senior fellow in U.S. foreign policy at the Center for the National Interest. With military tension among great powers increasing in east Asia, central Europe and the Middle East, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and others have proposed a summit of the U.N. Security Council’s five […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Putin Proposes 2020 Summit With Leaders of Russia, France, China, U.S. and UK” – Reuters

UN Building file photo

“… Putin … proposed holding a summit between the leaders of Russia, China, the United States, France and Britain in 2020 to discuss the conflict in Libya and other global problems. Putin, … speaking during a trip to Israel, said Moscow was ready for a “serious conversation” with the permanent members of the UN Security Council, that there was much […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Russia Drops Further in World Happiness Index – UN” – Moscow Times

File Photo of UN Building with Flags

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – March 20, 2019) It’s not all smiles for Russia as it slips down the global happiness rankings for a third consecutive year, according to an annual UN report published on Wednesday. The World Happiness Report ranks 156 countries by variables that support well-being, including GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, social freedom, generosity […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “‘These Are Our Friends’; Russians Push to Preserve North Korea Ties; Some Russian business owners and ethnic Koreans are braving U.S. ire to maintain business ties with Pyongyang” – Wall Street Journal/ Anatoly Kurmanaev, Thomas Grove, Ksenia Barakovskaya, Lyubov Barabashova, Ian Talley

North Korea Map and Flag, adapted from .gov image

“… some 13,000 North Korean workers [were] left in Russia by October …. Some Western diplomats view Moscow’s implementation of … sanctions as overly liberal. … allowing [Pyongyang] to continue earning foreign currency and sourcing vital supplies in Russia and undermining U.S. attempts to strong-arm the country into giving up [WMD]. … Russian customs data show North Korea imported about […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “U.S., Russia Clash at U.N. as Lavrov Calls for Easing of North Korea Sanctions” – Wall Street Journal/ Jessica Donati (Sept. 28, 2018)

File Photo of UN Building with Flags

“The Trump administration worked to move ahead on its top diplomatic priority – the denuclearization of North Korea – but ran head-on into opposition to its plans from Russia, which called for the easing of United Nations sanctions against Pyongyang. The proposal by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the U.N. Security Council ran directly counter to the U.S. demand […]

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RUSSIALINK: Interfax: “Int’l rules of conduct needed to prevent situations like blocking of Russian media outlets’ Facebook accounts – Nikiforov”

File Photo of UN Building with Flags

MOSCOW. April 5 (Interfax) – Russia will insist that the United Nations adopt an international convention to lay down rules of conduct on the Internet and deal with the illegal blocking of online resources, Russian Communications and Mass Media Minister Nikolai Nikiforov said on Thursday. “Our foreign colleagues, above all American, continue to exhibit their customary practice of double standards. […]

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Interfax: Conditions already exist for UN peacekeepers’ introduction in Donbas – Gryzlov

File Photo of UN Building with Flags

MOSCOW. Sept 5 (Interfax) – Donbas already has the conditions allowing, with Kyiv’s good will, for an introduction of UN peacekeepers there, Boris Gryzlov, Russia’s representative in the Contact Group on Ukraine, said on Tuesday. “For a possible introduction of the UN contingent to support and maintain the security of the OSCE [Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe] mission […]

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NEWSWATCH: “In Russia, The World’s Largest Lake Takes On The World Bank and Mongolian Power Build-Up” – Forbes/ Kenneth Rapoza

Lake Baikal and Environs Satellite Photo

“The biggest fresh water lake in the world is under attack … again … this time from Mongolian power companies with help from the World Bank looking to build two hydroelectric dams that draw from an important Russian river. … the World Bank held public hearings in Russia to discuss environmental impact studies around Lake Baikal in Russia, moving two mid-sized […]

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Russians Happier Than They Look, UN Study Shows

UN Building file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – March 20, 2017) Don’t be misled by those grumpy faces on the Moscow metro: Russia is the 49th happiest place on Earth and it is becoming happier, a new study has found. The United Nation’s yearly World Happiness Report measures “subjective well-being” in 155 countries along criteria such as GDP per capita and life expectancy, […]

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Moscow Times: Read Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s Poem to Russia’s Late UN Ambassador

File Photo of UN Building with Flags

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – February 21, 2017) Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has published a poem dedicated to his country’s late permanent representative to the United Nations, Vitaly Churkin. Churkin died unexpectedly yesterday in New York, reportedly from heart problems, just a day shy of his 65th birthday. Since then, many politicians and diplomats have paid their respects to […]

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Ten Years Ago Today, Putin Declared War

Vladimir Putin file photo with VOA logo; screen shot from video still

(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Brian Whitmore – February 10, 2017) Ten years ago today, a cold wind blew in Munich. A decade ago today, Vladimir Putin telegraphed his intentions. On February 10, 2007, the Kremlin leader threw down the gauntlet to the West. On that day, Putin stunned the Munich Security Conference with a bellicose speech in which he railed […]

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UN Braces as Trump’s Detente With Russia Upsets Balance of Power

UN Building file photo

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Kambiz Foroohar – January 31, 2017) President Donald #Trump’s outreach to #Russia is reverberating through the United Nations, where U.S. allies worry that a partnership between Washington and Moscow could undermine a historic balance of power dating to the early days of the Cold War. For decades, the five veto-wielding members of the 15-nation Security Council […]

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Something’s Rotten in the State of Ukraine; International aid groups grow impatient with the government.

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

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Leonid Ragozin – February 18, 2016) Two years have passed since a popular uprising in Kiev toppled a Russia-backed regime in Ukraine. The glory of that people power moment has faded, and Western supporters are losing patience with the government as corruption hampers efforts to jump-start the economy. The gross domestic product of the war-plagued country […]

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UN Syrian peace plan deal: What was agreed upon in New York?

UN Building file photo

On Dec. 18 in New York, members of the International Syria Support Group agreed on the principles of reaching a political settlement to the crisis in Syria. Later, after five hours of discussions, the group’s decisions on Syria were unanimously adopted by the UN Security Council. But what questions are still hindering progress? (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – […]

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TRANSCRIPT: [Putin at] Plenary session of St Petersburg International Cultural Forum

UNESCO Logo 70

(Kremlin.ru – December 14, 2015) Vladimir Putin spoke at the plenary session of the IV St Petersburg International Cultural Forum. The IV St Petersburg International Cultural Forum is taking place on December 14-16, 2015. Every year the forum brings together experts in culture, politicians, representatives of state bodies and business people, and this year’s event is dedicated to the 70th […]

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TRANSCRIPT: [Putin at] Meeting of the Mariinsky Theatre Board of Trustees

Marinsky Theater file photo

(Kremlin.ru – December 9, 2015) Vladimir Putin held a meeting of the Mariinsky Theatre Board of Trustees. Items on the agenda included establishing a branch of the Mariinsky Theatre in Primorye Territory, using the Primorye Opera and Ballet Theatre as a base, and other projects the theatre is involved in, in particular, organisation of the Moscow Easter Festival, which will […]

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NEWSWATCH AP: “UN: Polio Outbreak in Ukraine Is a State of Emergency”

Medical Symbol with Pole, Serpents, Wings, adapted from image at lanl.gov

The AP covers the WHO’s reaction to public health issues in war-torn Ukraine. The World Health Organization is urging Ukraine’s health ministry to declare a state of emergency due to a polio outbreak … In September, Ukraine announced two polio cases — the first in Europe since 2010. * * * Half of Ukraine’s children have not been vaccinated against […]

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UN refugee agency delivers aid to eastern Ukraine for first time in months

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

(United Nations – UN News Centre- un.org – November 9, 2015) [Reprinted with the permission of the United Nations.] The United Nations refugee agency has managed to deliver aid for the first time in over two months to areas of eastern Ukraine beyond Government control where two million people are in urgent need of assistance, reaching 12,000 people – a […]

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Putin informed Obama of plans to strike ISIL in Syria at meeting in New York – Lavrov

Syria Map

MOSCOW. Oct 14 (Interfax) – Russian President Vladimir Putin informed U.S. President Barack Obama of plans to strike Islamic State targets in Syria during their recent meeting on the sidelines of a UN General Assembly session in New York, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday. “When we were ready, after the Federation Council’s decision, to start striking ISIL […]

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NEWSLINK Christian Science Monitor: “At UN, Putin talks tough against IS. Will the West work with him? The Russian president bluntly blamed the US for the chaos in the Middle East. But his plan for an alliance against IS may still find some listeners in the West.”

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