(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org) 3 Things to Know In the past month, Russian forces have gained 16 square miles of Ukrainian territory, while Ukraine gained 7 square miles, according to calculations by Katherine Davidson, associate of the Belfer Russia-Ukraine War Task Force.1Yet, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has this week denied his top general Valery Zaluzhny’s recent claim that the war has reached […]
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“Polish experts [reportedly] have confirmed that the missile that killed two people at a grain facility in [the village of Przewodow in] southern Poland in November was fired by Ukraine …. The explosion … fueled fears that the war in Ukraine could spiral into a wider conflict … triggering [NATO’s] mutual defense clause, but at the time Warsaw and NATO […]
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(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org) Ukraine’s military command claimed, as of June 15, to have retaken approximately 40 square miles of territory in the course of its counteroffensive, even as its soldiers encountered what U.S. military officials described as fierce resistance by Russian troops. The latter have reportedly managed to destroy at least four Leopard-2 tanks, 3 Leopard 2R engineering vehicles […]
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“… The fruits of a violent imperial system lie behind the work’s bright, bouncy ‘Chinese’ dance … and its slow, seductive ‘Arabian’ scene…. At ‘The Nutcracker’s’ premiere … [in] 1892, in St. Petersburg, the ballet paid homage to the czar and his empire …. If you look at some of the forces giving rise to it, and that still live […]
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“Errant missiles from Ukraine are a reminder that wars can always escalate accidentally.” “If you think the risks of escalation in the Ukraine war are trivial, the tragic deaths of two Polish citizens from an errant Ukrainian air defense missile on Tuesday should give you some pause. … [E]ven if the adversaries are trying to be careful, big wars are […]
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The West accuses Belarus of artificially creating the crisis by bringing in would-be migrants, mostly from the Middle East, and taking them to the Polish border with promises of an easy crossing into the EU […]
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Russia’s flagship airline Aeroflot has denied helping migrants and refugees from the Middle East travel to Belarus as European leaders scramble to deal with a migrant crisis on the Polish border […]
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“Benchmark European gas prices jumped 15% … after a major pipeline … from Russia began sending flows eastwards. … Europe relies on Russia for around 35% of its natural gas[,] [t]he bulk … through pipelines including Yamal … through Belarus and Poland to Germany, Nord Stream … to Germany, and pipelines … through Ukraine. … Last year [Russian] gas exports […]
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(Jamestown Foundation – jamestown.org – Eurasia Daily Monitor – Volume 18, Issue 166 – Paul Goble – Nov. 2, 2021) Since Soviet times, Russian analysts have mused about the possibility that Germany might try to recover Kaliningrad, or East Prussia as it was known before Joseph Stalin seized it at the end of World War II. Later, during the 1990s, […]
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Moscow’s huge oil and gas reserves have given it more influence over Western and Chinese economies grappling with rising prices […]
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“… Putin … [said] that in the end all 28 integration programs were approved. [Putin said that] [t]hey include the integration of currency systems, the principles of levying indirect taxes … the fight against terrorism … [and] the pricing of Russian energy resources, … that a document would be signed by Dec. 1, 2023, to create a single gas market […]
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“… Moscow’s hybrid war against the Western world continues unabated. … There are many advantages to a modern-day revival of the Lend-Lease concept. Firstly, it materially strengthens Ukraine by demonstrating growing U.S. support …. Secondly, this plan would help increase allied security and capabilities in threatened areas such as Romania in the Black Sea region and Poland in the north. […]
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(Article text ©2019 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – Tony Wesolowsky, Matthew Luxmoore – August 22, 2019 – article text also appeared at rferl.org/a/molotov-ribbentrop-what-do-russians-know-of-key-wwii-pact/30123950.html) It’s an anniversary few in the Kremlin, or elsewhere in Russia for that matter, are keen to talk about — let alone remember in some way. Eighty years ago, on August 23, 1939, […]
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The fight against corruption is often sold as the pill to end all postsocialist ills. Activists and researchers in Poland, Russia and Ukraine give their views on why we need to challenge it. (opendemocracy.net – Editors of Opendemocracy Russia – April 21, 2017) Recent years have seen a rise in anti-corruption protest movements across postsocialist states. In January, thousands took […]
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“On March 8, the Globe and Mail reported that ‘Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland has known for more than two decades that her maternal Ukrainian grandfather was the chief editor of a Nazi newspaper in Nazi-occupied Poland.’ … Her grandfather, Michael Chomiak, was a Nazi propagandist for Krakivski Visti (Crakow News), supervised by German intelligence officer Emil Gassert. Its printing […]
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“… major new deployments of tanks and other heavy equipment will fan out to nations on the #Russian frontier … part of the largest infusion of U.S. troops to #Europe since the 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union. … the long-planned effort comes at the most unsettled time for U.S.-European relations since World War II, with #Trump questioning old alliances […]
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“Tensions between the United States and Russia rose rapidly during the final months of the Obama administration. Symbolizing that trend is the new deployment of three thousand U.S. troops along with tanks and other military hardware in eastern Poland, directly on [the] border with Russia. … Long gone was the hope Obama expressed early in his presidency for a ‘reset’ […]
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“A massive movement of U.S. troops and materiel is underway, headed for Eastern Europe with one goal uppermost: ‘to deter Russian aggression.’ U.S. troops began offloading more than 2,000 pieces of equipment including Abrams tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles … [to] equip around 3,500 U.S. troops … one of the largest movements of American forces in Europe since the end […]
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(RFE/RL – rferl.org – The Daily Vertical: Brian Whitmore – July 18, 2016) So the big talking point coming out of the Kremlin is that NATO is overreacting to a non-existent Russian threat. According to Moscow, rotating just four combat battalion groups, a total of 4,000 troops, on the alliance’s eastern frontier constitutes a “provocation.” According to Vladimir Putin’s regime, […]
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(Voice of America – voanews.com – Pamela Dockins – June 8, 2016) U.S. lawmakers have expressed concern that the Obama administration may not be engaged enough in countering what they view as Russia’s bad behavior in Ukraine and Georgia. “I worry that the message that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin must be taking from our response is that his limit-testing aggression […]
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On May 12, U.S. officials declared the U.S. SM-3 missile interceptor site at Deveselu, Romania operational. The next day, ground was broken at Redzikowo, Poland for a second SM-3 installation. Moscow immediately made clear its displeasure at these developments, repeating its past claims that U.S. missile defenses in Europe pose a threat to Russia. At the end of May, President […]
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… In critical areas, including … Syria and Ukraine and arms control … both [the United States and Russia] would genuinely like to negotiate viable solutions. Nevertheless … mistrust … runs deep … vast differences of opinion and outright conflicts of interest will continue to undermine efforts …. With little hope of a positive outcome, the strategic decision-makers in Washington […]
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Now that the U.S. is only sending one—not two—battalions for the alliance military force on the eastern flank, there is a big question regarding which country will fill the void. … [NATO] has been working on a plan to step up its deterrence of Russia by creating a force of about 4,000 troops, a battalion for Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and […]
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(RFE/RL – April 15, 2016) Poland’s foreign minister has said that Russia is an “existential threat” to European countries and is more dangerous than the Islamic State (IS) militant group. Speaking at a conference in Bratislava on April 15, Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski said “Russia’s activity is a sort of existential threat because this activity can destroy countries.” The migration […]
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MOSCOW. Dec 11 (Interfax) – The number of troops deployed in the Baltic republics and Central Europe has grown manifold over the past year, and modernization of U.S. nuclear air bombs is pending. “Over the past year alone, the NATO contingent in the Baltic countries, Poland and Romania has grown eight-fold in terms of planes and 23-fold by the number […]
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(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, July 29, 2105) Many commentators suggest that the way to move beyond the Putin regime involves economic growth, de-militarization, and re-entering the international community, but “these are all second-order tasks” that pale in comparison with what is the most important one, according to Andrey Sklyarov. The historian says that the central task […]
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[“Russia’s grab for its neighbors: ‘Europe whole and free’ should be more than a slogan’” – Washington Times – Paula Dobriansky, Blaise Misztal – March 29, 2015] Writing in the Washington Times, Paula Dobriansky and Blaise Misztal address concerns about Russia’s impact on peace, security and economic stability in Europe. They also assess the prospects for political consensus in the United States to […]
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[“The West Hems in Russia Little by Little” – Stratfor.com – March 30, 2015] Stratfor considers bolstered U.S. military activities in Europe, including in the vicinity of Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin must be feeling very claustrophobic these days. … All along Russia’s frontier with Europe, the U.S. military is bustling with activity. Bit by bit, the United States is expanding various military exercises […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – bne IntelliNews – February 6, 2015) Nato has agreed to establish a new rapid reaction force, boost its troops in Poland and Romania, and establish six command and control centres in Central and Southeast Europe as part of the alliance’s response to the Russian aggression in Ukraine. According to Nato’s secretary general Jens Stoltenberg, […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Ivan Nechepurenko – January 28, 2015) As the world reflected on the horrors of the Nazi regime on Tuesday – International Holocaust Remembrance Day – Russia seized the opportunity to emphasize the Red Army’s role in liberating the death camps. Following a recent high-profile spat over differing interpretations of World War II history, the Defense […]
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(Interfax – January 13, 2014) Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend ceremonies marking the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland on January 27, although the Russian leader attaches great importance to all commemorative events, Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov told Interfax on Tuesday. “The president’s schedule does not include such a trip,” he […]
» Read moreSubject: Reply to Edward Lucas Date: Mon, 1 Dec 2014 From: John Helmer <mail.helmer@gmail.com> Reply to Edward Lucas (JRL#246, November 30, 2014, regarding Item #27) Readers of JRL who check Edward Lucas’ claims about what I reported about him in JRL#231 of November 6 won”t be able to find the evidence. Looming large in Fast Eddie’s brain as conflict of […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Henry Meyer – November 7, 2014) Russian troops marched in Red Square to commemorate a World War II parade held under the noses of German invaders in 1941 two days after President Vladimir Putin defended a 1939 non-aggression pact with Hitler. Six thousand soldiers and cadets accompanied by World War II-era warplanes and other weaponry today […]
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MOSCOW, October 1 (RIA Novosti) – The United States is deploying some 700 troops as well as battle tanks in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Poland in the next couple of weeks, NBC News reported Wednesday. “The purpose is to be a very visible demonstration of commitment to our allies,” said Captain John Farmer, public affairs officer for the Ironhorse, formal […]
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(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, March 29, 2014) Many have drawn parallels between what Vladimir Putin is doing and how the West is reacting with the Cold War or with the appeasement policies of Munich. But now that Putin has carried out the Crimean Anschluss, a far better analogy for today may be to “the phony war” […]
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(opendemocracy.net – Ola Cichowlas – January 7, 2014) Ola Cichowlas is a British-Polish freelance journalist. She covers Russian regional politics and the arts in provincial Russia. As Russia and the EU fight it out for Ukraine, Ola Cichowlas reports on a more positive initiative on another border, where Russians from Kaliningrad can travel to Gdansk in Poland to sample the […]
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MOSCOW. Nov 15 (Interfax) – The Russian Foreign Ministry has expressed surprise about the statements made by some Polish and Baltic countries leaders saying that the NATO training Steadfast Jazz 2013 indicates the allies’ readiness to defend the Eastern European countries from threats from the East. “Is it really appropriate to speak seriously about any threats of attack against NATO […]
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MOSCOW. Nov 14 (Interfax) – The World Russian People’s Congress believes the recent incident near the Russian Embassy in Warsaw is a result of Russophobia, which is cultivated in some groups of Polish society. “The main reason for these outrageous actions is the constant fuelling of hate for Russia and the Russian people in some parts of Polish society,” the […]
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WARSAW, November 13 (RIA Novosti) The president of Poland apologized to Russia on Wednesday for the attack by a nationalist mob on the Russian Embassy in Warsaw, calling the episode outrageous and unjustifiable. “We need to apologize on behalf of the Polish state,” President Bronislaw Komorowski told privately owned broadcaster Radio Zet. Thousands of people paraded through Warsaw on […]
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MOSCOW. Nov 12 (Interfax) – An attack Monday on the Russian Embassy in Warsaw by Polish nationalists was unprecedented in its scale, Russian Embassy spokesperson Valeria Perzhinskaya said on the Voice of Russia radio on Tuesday. “Nationalists take some actions against our diplomatic mission from time to time. However, this is the first time we see it on such a […]
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(Interfax – October 21, 2013) Russia’s representative at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg has welcomed the court’s ruling on Russia’s handling of its investigation into the 1940 Katyn massacre of more than 20,000 Polish prisoners-of-war by the Soviet secret police, the privately-owned Russian news agency Interfax reported on 21 October. Earlier in the day the ECHR ruled […]
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