JRL NEWSWATCH: “What Happened to ‘Stalemate’ in Ukraine?” – Council on Foreign Relations: Stephen Sestanovich

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

“The two-year-old war in Ukraine — which is far from deadlocked — could pivot dramatically in the coming months. U.S. decisions will play a decisive role.” “… Russia and Ukraine could soon be looking at a transformed conflict … in which both have real reasons for hope as well as fear. … Russia’s newly amped-up military strategy heightens the danger […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Pentagon’s Ukraine Coffers Run Dry, Threatening Kyiv’s Grip on Its Territory” – WSJ

U.S. Capitol in Bright Sunlight

“Funding for more weapons and ammunition is held up in fight over border policy; ‘We’re out of money’” “The Washington stalemate over U.S. [border] policy … is … reverberat[ing] on the Ukraine battlefield, where Kyiv’s troops are running out of ammunition and the Pentagon says it can’t provide more without emptying its own arsenal. … [T]he Pentagon has run out […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “The Peril of Abandoning Ukraine; If Congress forces Kyiv to accept a Russian victory, the result won’t be peace but a new war. – WSJ

File Photo of Kremlin Tower, St. Basil's, Red Square at Night

“… If [U.S.] aid is cut off and Ukraine is forced to accept a Russian victory, the result won’t be peace but Russian preparation for a new war. The war in Ukraine activated the Soviet totalitarian psychological inheritance in Russia … [that] never disappeared. … Russia is more dangerous than … since the height of the Cold War [with] [m]ilitarization […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Zelensky Will Address U.S. Senators Before Vote on Ukraine Aid” – New York Times

U.S. Capitol in Bright Sunlight

“President Volodymyr Zelensky’s briefing, via a video call, will come a day after the White House warned that aid to his country would soon run out.” “… [A]n emergency funding package is stalled in Congress. The … Senate will vote … Wednesday … [on] more than $61 billion in Ukraine-focused assistance as part of a $106 billion national security package. […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Zelensky’s No. 2 visits D.C. as U.S. warns Ukraine funds running dry” – The Hill

U.S. Capitol in Bright Sunlight

“The Biden administration and Ukrainian officials are issuing urgent appeals for Congress to provide military aid for Ukraine, with the White House saying the pot of funding is running dangerously low. In a sign of how acute the threat is … Zelensky dispatched his No. 2 official[, Andriy Yermak, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine,] to … […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Ukraine Aid From U.S. Won’t Be Approved for a Month, Maybe Longer” – Bloomberg

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

“Ukraine allies in U.S. Congress begin uphill battle for help Assistance caught in partisan fight over immigration” “… Ukraine’s congressional backers are … in a tough battle over an expansive aid package … now enmeshed in a partisan fight over border policies and torn from must-pass bills that would prompt swift action. The soonest Congress could complete negotiations and pass […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Amid competing U.S. security priorities, Ukraine could get left behind” – Washington Post

U.S. Capitol in Bright Sunlight

“Kyiv is low on money and time, its advocates say, but in Congress the desire to continue funding its fight against Russia has reached new lows.” “Ukraine is running out of money and time, its proponents say. But congressional interest in financing its fight against invading Russian forces has dipped lower than ever, and rising competition from other national security […]

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VIDEO: JRL NEWSWATCH: “Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S. Oksana Markarova on ‘Face the Nation,’ Nov. 5, 2023” – CBS

Oksana Markarova file photo adapted from foreignrelations.senate.gov image

“MARGARET BRENNAN: … Your president has said that … the war in the Middle East is diverting some attention from the war that’s happening in Ukraine. And he said that’s part of Russia’s goals. So I want to hear from you, where you think the conflict is, because I know that Ukraine has said it is running very short of […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “‘Nobody Believes in Our Victory Like I Do.’ Inside Volodymyr Zelensky’s Struggle to Keep Ukraine in the Fight” – Time

Volodymyr Zelensky file photo, adapted from dhs.gov image

“… Zelensky’s top priority and perhaps … main contribution to the nation’s defense had been to keep attention on Ukraine and .. rally the democratic world …. Both tasks would become a lot harder with the outbreak of war in Israel. The focus of Ukraine’s allies in the U.S. and Europe … quickly shifted to the Gaza Strip. … A […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Ukraine Worries That Prolonged War in Gaza May Dilute Global Support” – New York Times

U.S. Capitol in Bright Sunlight

“Slow military progress and cracks in the backing of key allies could also drain vital attention from Ukraine’s battle with Russia, some fear.” “Ukraine, still locked in fierce combat with Russia along hundreds of miles of front line, also finds itself grappling with … [geopolitical] shifts …. The attention of key allies is pivoting to … Gaza, military aid from […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Biden considering huge ‘one and done’ Ukraine aid package” – Daily Telegraph (UK)

File Photo of Joe Biden at Podium in Front of U.S. and State Department Flags, adapted from image at usembassy.gov

“U.S. president wants to get issue sorted until next election, say insiders, as Republican sceptics continue to cause problems” “The White House is drawing up plans to ask Congress to release its largest funding package ever for weapons and humanitarian aid, amid concern continued rows over spending could damage the president in next year’s election. … Some officials believe passing […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: Ukraine is officially America’s new forever war. President Biden, how does this end?” – Fox/ Sen. Mike Lee, Rep. Warren Davidson

U.S. Capitol in Bright Sunlight

“Ukraine is now America’s new forever war. Americans know that ‘whatever it takes’ is not a strategy.” “…. ‘As long as it takes’ remains the [Biden administration] mantra …. According to reports from September’s U.N. General Assembly meeting, U.S. and G-7 allies expect the war … to continue … at least six to seven years. … [T]he other implication is […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Ukraine aid is hanging by a thread” – Washington Post

U.S. Capitol in Bright Sunlight

“As Washington turns its focus toward the 2024 presidential campaign, U.S. aid to Ukraine is becoming increasingly vulnerable to partisan politics and the culture wars. … [T]he Biden administration … will need … a more robust … honest case about the expected costs and length of the war …. Since … February 2022, the United States has committed $113 billion […]

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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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Press Gaggle by National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan [Excerpt re: Ukraine]

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

(The White House – Aug. 22, 2023) … MODERATOR: Thank you. Our first question who go to Aamer with the AP. Q Hi, Jake. So, I had just two questions, Ukraine-related. Russia has reported success in its push in Northeast Ukraine. Just going forward, what do you see as complications presented to Ukraine by Russia’s reported gains? And many of […]

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VIDEO: JRL NEWSWATCH: “Before the Durham report, TV networks allowed Russiagate booster Adam Schiff to claim ‘evidence’ of collusion” – Fox

Adam Schiff file photo, adapted from image at congress.gov

“CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, NBC repeatedly invited the top Democrat during the Mueller investigation” “… Durham’s conclusion was that since the original probe, … Crossfire Hurricane, was based on ‘raw, unanalyzed and uncorroborated intelligence,’ the FBI was wrong in fast-tracking a full investigation …. While the DOJ was largely silent … there was no one in Washington as vocal about […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “The end of Ukraine aid is rapidly approaching. Reupping it won’t be easy” – Politico

U.S. Capitol in Bright Sunlight

“The $48 billion Ukraine aid package … Congress approved in December has about $6 billion left … U.S. funding for weapons and supplies could dry up by midsummer. … raising fresh concerns among lawmakers about … when the administration will ask for another major package and whether it will be enough. The funding, many members say, needs to continue … […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Ukraine urges Congress to maintain sanctions on Nord Stream 2” – Financial Times

Gas Flame file photo

“Completion of pipeline would be ‘victory for Russia’ and a ‘personal loss’ for Biden, says Zelensky.” “Ukraine has stepped up … pressure on Washington over the contentious Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany, appealing to … Congress to maintain sanctions against the project. The Ukrainian parliament … overwhelmingly backed a resolution calling on U.S. lawmakers to override […]

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U.S. Sanctions Against Russia May Be Recalibrated, But Overhaul Unlikely

File Photo of Joe Biden at Podium in Front of U.S. and State Department Flags, adapted from image at usembassy.gov

(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org – Ingrid Burke – Feb. 19, 2021) Ingrid Burke is a fellow at Harvard’s Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies. As President Joe Biden settles into the Oval Office, he has filled the upper echelons of his new administration with officials who have vocally supported sanctions against Russia. While it is difficult to predict specific […]

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U.S. Lawmakers Call For New Sanctions If Russia Moves Forward With Fines On RFE/RL

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

… Republican and Democratic lawmakers called for new sanctions against Moscow if the Kremlin moves to enforce stringent restrictions and punishing fines that threaten RFE/RL’s news operations in Russia […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “U.S. Broadens Sanctions to Thwart Completion of Russian Gas Pipeline” – Wall Street Journal/ Brett Forrest

State Department Building and U.S. Flag

“New measures target companies that would provide services or funding for vessels working on Nord Stream 2” “… [2019] U.S. Sanctions … focused on pipe-laying vessels for Nord Stream 2 and halted the $10.5 billion [natural gas] pipeline[,] … designed to transmit Russian gas to Germany, 100 miles short … beneath the Baltic Sea. … [A] State Department [web announcement] […]

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RUSSIALINK: “The West Is Outraged By Navalny’s Novichok Poisoning. That’s No Guarantee of Tough Sanctions.” – Moscow Times

File Photo of G7 Leaders at Summit, adapted from image at usembassy.gov

Looming U.S. elections and disparate EU interests could translate into a symbolic response. (Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Jake Cordell – Sept. 4, 2020) Lawmakers across Europe and the U.S. are scrambling to respond to the revelation that Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny was poisoned with Novichok – a lethal Soviet-era military nerve agent – with the possibility of fresh sanctions […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “The U.S. Is Close to Killing Russia’s Nord Stream 2 Pipeline; But it’s a race between slow construction and slower sanctions” – Foreign Policy/ Amy Mackinnon

Gas Flame file photo

“Russia’s controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline is close to the finish line – but might be closer to finished as a viable project, after one of the companies involved in laying the pipe on the Baltic seafloor said … it would withdraw …. For years, the United States has tried to kill off Russia’s latest effort to strengthen its […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Denmark Gives Russia’s Nord Stream 2 Pipeline a Path to Completion” – Wall Street Journal/ Brett Forrest

Gas Flame file photo

“U.S. officials fear the pipeline will give Moscow greater political leverage across Europe.” “Denmark granted unexpectedly swift approval for resuming construction of the Russian-backed Nord Stream 2 pipeline in Danish waters, potentially clearing one of … [its] last hurdles …. The pipeline, once finished and certified, will deliver Russian natural gas to Germany …. U.S. lawmakers and officials fear … […]

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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: “U.S. intelligence briefer appears to have overstated assessment of 2020 Russian interference” – CNN/ Jeremy Diamond, Jake Tapper, Zachary Cohen

Vladirmir Putin and Donald Trump Sitting in Chairs with Flags Behind, adapted from image at whitehouse.gov

“The U.S. intelligence community’s top election security official …, Shelby Pierson, told lawmakers on the House Intelligence Committee that Russia is interfering in the 2020 election with the goal of helping … Trump get reelected. [But while t]he US intelligence community has assessed that Russia is interfering in the 2020 election and has separately assessed that Russia views Trump as […]

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Clock Ticking In Congress As Russia Presses Ahead With Nord Stream 2 Gas Pipeline

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

(Article text ©2019 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – Todd Prince – Nov. 18, 2019 – article text also appeared at rferl.org/a/clock-ticking-in-congress-as-russia-presses-ahead-with-nord-stream-2-gas-pipeline/30278828.html) As the impeachment inquiry hogs the spotlight in Washington, another drama in which Ukraine has a role is playing out more quietly — and causing concern in Kyiv, which is watching warily as Russia brings […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Hunter Biden’s web of interests; His ties span the globe and raise questions about the overlap of business and politics” – Financial Times/ Aime Williams, Sun Yu, Roman Olearchyk

“Hunter Biden’s business interests often show up in unexpected places … Now [they are] … at the centre of … the fourth impeachment inquiry in U.S. history. … under scrutiny after … Trump leaned on the president of Ukraine to investigate …. Trump has also publicly called on China to investigate the Bidens. The Ukraine revelations have led House Democrats […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “U.S. Sanctions Against Nord Stream 2 Pipeline: Strategic Hit Or Miss?” – Forbes/ Anna Mikulska

Gas Flame file photo

“… the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee advanced a bill that would impose sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 (NS2) pipeline … currently under construction … [that] could bring up to 55 billion cubic meters of Russian natural gas directly to Germany. … [T]he House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Committee approved a companion bill. The rationale for the sanctions (beyond […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “‘Accountability’? The Mueller Hearing Is How Trump Escapes” – The New Yorker/ Susan B. Glasser

“After so much waiting – a hundred and twenty-four days, to be precise, since Robert Mueller’s report was delivered – perhaps it was bound to be a disappointment. Still, three hours after the former special counsel took the witness stand on Wednesday to testify about his investigation of President Trump and Russian interference in the 2016 election … MSNBC anchor […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “The Mueller Report and the Silence of the Experts; Those well-positioned to comment on the investigation too often ceded the debate to partisans.” – Moscow Times/ Timothy Frye

“The Mueller reports highlights many shortcomings in American democracy, but also reveals a deeper failure that informs our broader politics: the silence of the experts. Those well-positioned to comment on the investigation – academic Russia watchers, political science experts on elections, and non-partisan national security specialists – too often ceded the debate to partisans. … [T]he expert community should have […]

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The U.S. Is Losing The Nuclear Race To Russia And China

Russian Nuclear Power Plant file photo

(Oilprice.com – May 23, 2019 – Tsvetana Paraskova) While nuclear power plants in the U.S. are retiring as they face stiff cost competition from cheap and abundant natural gas, America has also been struggling to keep its leadership on the global nuclear power market as state-sponsored programs in China and Russia have started to dominate the world’s nuclear plant construction […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH VIDEO: “The Russia story cannot die — CNN, the Democratic Party, others have too much invested in it” – Fox/ Tucker Carlson

U.S. Capitol in Bright Sunlight

“… Barr first served as Attorney General in the George H.W. Bush administration. That was 1991. … Then this February, purely by process of elimination, basically as he was the one guy could get confirmed, Barr became Attorney General of the United States once again. The Mueller investigation was nearly over when he got the job. Barr probably didn’t expect […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Democrats’ Denial Over The Lack Of Russian Collusion Could Re-Elect Trump” – The Federalist/ Jonathan S. Tobin

File Photo of White House with South Lawn and Fountain

“Doubling down on accusations and demanding the un-redacted Mueller report is no substitute for collusion myths, but Democrats’ inability to let it go helps the president.” “… The Democratic Party absorbed a hard blow when … the Mueller investigation determin[ed] there was no collusion with Russia involving the president or his campaign. … Expecting members of Congress like … Adam […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “All About the U.S. Sanctions Aimed at Putin’s Russia” – Bloomberg/ Henry Meyer, Laurence Arnold, Olga Tanas, Tony Halpin

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

“… Since 2014, the U.S. has imposed travel bans, asset freezes and finance and trade restrictions against hundreds of Russian individuals and companies … a multinational effort …. 1. What U.S. sanctions are in place against Russia? More than 700 Russian people and companies have been targeted …. 2. Why were the sanctions imposed? … starting in 2014 after Russia […]

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Kirk Bennett: “Tying Up the Loose Ends of Russiagate”

File Photo of White House with South Lawn and Fountain

Subject: TYING UP THE LOOSE ENDS OF RUSSIAGATE Date: Thu, 4 Apr 2019 From: Kirk Bennett <kirkbennett7@yahoo.com> TYING UP THE LOOSE ENDS OF RUSSIAGATE The unfinished business of Russiagate consists of clearing the names of innocent people; holding senior bureaucrats to account for errors of judgment and abuses of power; and restoring the tarnished image of democratic governance. By Kirk […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “The Myth that Won’t Die: Donald Trump as Russia’s Puppet; Trump’s actual policies toward Russia are in contrast to the notion that he is ‘doing Putin’s bidding.'” – The National Interest/ Ted Galen Carpenter

Vladirmir Putin and Donald Trump Sitting in Chairs with Flags Behind, adapted from image at whitehouse.gov

“… Trump’s political adversaries, along with an assortment of Russia haters in the foreign-policy community and the news media, keep pushing the narrative that Trump is … Putin’s puppet. That allegation shows few signs of dissipating even though no credible evidence supporting it has emerged. Unfortunately, the situation is unlikely to change even though Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation concluded […]

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Hearing on “An Emerging China-Russia Axis? Implications for the United States in an Era of Strategic Competition” – U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission

U.S. Capitol in Bright Sunlight

March 21, 2019 The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission: Hearing on “An Emerging China-Russia Axis? Implications for the United States in an Era of Strategic Competition” [Text with video and links to testimony: uscc.gov/Hearings/emerging-china-russia-axis-implications-united-states-era-strategic-competition] Agenda Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room 419 9:30 AM – 9:35 AM: Opening Remarks: Chairman Bartholomew and Commissioner Kamphausen 9:35 AM – 11:05 AM: Panel […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Schiffting to Phase 2 of Collusion; Conspiracy theorists look for something new, anticipating a Mueller letdown” – Wall Street Journal/ Kimberley A. Strassel

File Photo of White House with South Lawn and Fountain

“There’s been no more reliable regurgitator of fantastical Trump-Russia collusion theories than Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff. … The collusionists need a ‘new phase’ as signs grow that the special counsel won’t help realize their reveries of a Donald Trump takedown. … What’s mind-boggling is that reporters would continue to take … Schiff seriously, given his extraordinary record of incorrect and […]

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U.S. Senators To Try Again With Tougher Russia Sanctions Bill

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

(Article text ©2019 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – February 14, 2019 – article text also appeared at rferl.org/a/us-senators-press-new-tough-russia-sanctions-bill/29769099.html) A bipartisan group of U.S. senators has introduced a bill that would impose drastic new sanctions on Russia over its meddling in U.S. elections and aggression against Ukraine. The bill, the latest congressional effort to push President Donald Trump […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “The Russia Sanctions Test in the U.S. Senate; A move to block sanctions relief has been defeated, averting a likely spike in global aluminum prices but also spotlighting the tough road ahead for Congress in shaping policy on Russia” – Council on Foreign Relations/ Stephen Sestanovich

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

“Fifty-seven senators … tried unsuccessfully … to keep … Trump … from going forward with sanctions relief for Russia’s largest aluminum producer, Rusal, and its parent companies. … highlight[ing] internal tensions over Russia policy and the difficulty Congress faces …. Sanctions against Russia have enjoyed strong support in Congress since the annexation of Crimea …. The Treasury Department claimed … […]

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RUSSIALINK: “To Be Effective, Russia Sanctions Have to Be Removable; The U.S. must decide whether its economic restrictions against Oleg Deripaska are a permanent punishment or an incentive for change” – Bloomberg / Leonid Bershidsky

U.S. Capitol in Bright Sunlight

“The congressional Democrats’ opposition to a proposal to lift U.S. sanctions against the companies founded by the Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska raises an important question: Is the punitive policy designed to achieve specific goals or primarily to make a statement? The sanctions against United Co. Rusal, En+ Group Plc and EuroSibEnergo JSC will expire on Jan. 19 unless Congress takes […]

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[SATIRE] NEWSLINK: “Pelosi Says She Will Skip Trump and Negotiate Directly with Putin” – The New Yorker/Andy Borowitz

File Photo of Vladimir Putin Seated at Desk

“In a bold gambit to end the government shutdown, the House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, said on Saturday that she would bypass Donald J. Trump and negotiate directly with the Russian President, Vladimir Putin. ‘I owe it to the American people to bring this shutdown to the swiftest possible conclusion, and so I’m avoiding the middleman,’ she said. Pelosi, who is […]

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Standoff Over INF Treaty Enters New Phase As U.S. Reveals Details Of Russian Missile

Map of Commonwealth of Independent States, European Portion

(Article ©2018 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – Mike Eckel – Dec. 3, 2018 – also appeared at rferl.org/a/standoff-over-inf-treaty-enters-new-phase-as-u-s-reveals-details-of-russian-missile/29634906.html) The United States’ top intelligence official has quietly revealed key new details about Russia’s alleged violations of a bedrock Cold War nuclear treaty, an unexpected move that comes as U.S. officials push to build new support from European allies. […]

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NEWSLINK: “James H. Billington, 89, Dies; Led Library of Congress Into Digital Age” – New York Times/Robert D. McFadden

Lit Candle with Reflection and Dark Background

“James H. Billington, the librarian of Congress for nearly three decades, who led the nation’s treasure house of knowledge into the digital age and added millions of books, films and cultural artifacts to its historic collections, including a trove of tweets, died on Tuesday in Washington. He was 89. His daughter Susan Harper Billington said the cause was complications of […]

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NEWSLINK: “James H. Billington, long-reigning librarian of Congress, dies at 89” – Washington Post

Library of Congress Aerial View adapted from image at usembassy.gov with credit LOC, Photographer: Carol M. Highsmith, adapted by Steven C. Welsh www.stevencwelsh.info :: www.stevencwelsh.com

“James H. Billington, an eminent American scholar of Russian culture who reigned for three decades as librarian of Congress, propelling the expansion of the world’s largest library but struggling to lead it through the challenges of the digital age, died Nov. 20 at a hospital in Washington. He was 89. …”

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Congress Likely to Shelve New Russia Sanctions as Clock Runs Out” – Bloomberg/ Saleha Mohsin, Laura Litvan, Anna Edgerton, Daniel Flatley

U.S. Capitol in Bright Sunlight

“Congress isn’t expected to pass legislation ordering new U.S. sanctions on Russia before the end of the year, as lawmakers focus instead on government spending measures, judicial nominations and a farm bill, key senators said. A bipartisan group of senators moved swiftly over the summer to assemble new proposals for Russia sanctions …. But as Congress enters the so-called lame […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “U.S. midterms make Putin’s rocky road to Trump even rockier” – Christian Science Monitor/Fred Weir

File Photo of Donald Trump and Putin Standing Side-by-Side at Helsinki Summit, adapted from image at whitehouse.gov

“Americans weren’t the only ones closely watching U.S. midterm results. Much of the world was too, including Russia. A Democratic House will complicate Vladimir Putin’s efforts to cut deals with President Trump.” “A lot has changed since [Trump and Putin] last met in Helsinki in July – and not in Russia’s favor, according to much of Russia’s foreign policy community. […]

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