Ukraine prepared to settle gas debt within 10 days, if Gazprom agrees to return the price to $268 – Ukrainian Prime Minister

Russian Gas Facility file photo

(Interfax – May 8, 2014) Ukraine is prepared to complexly settle its debt for Russian gas within 10 days after Russian gas giant Gazprom agrees to return the price to $268 per 1,000 cubic meters of gas and sign the corresponding supplementary agreement, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk said. “As soon as such a price is set and an additional […]

» Read more

Ukraine Candidate Poroshenko Backs Putin’s Call to Delay Referendum

Ukraine Map and Flag

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – May 8, 2014) Ukraine’s presidential front-runner Petro Poroshenko said he supported President Vladimir Putin’s call to postpone a referendum in eastern Ukraine as pro-Moscow separatists in the region reported a ceasefire on Wednesday in the first fledgling signs of easing tensions. Poroshenko, the leading candidate in the May 25 election, said Wednesday that he “welcomed […]

» Read more

Mixed reaction to Russian offer to reduce tensions in Ukraine

Map of Commonwealth of Independent States, European Portion

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – May 8, 2014) Reaction in the West to President Vladimir Putin’s statements on May 7 suggesting Russia is ready to help reduce the tension in Ukraine have been mixed, as the US and EU scramble to work out how serious the offer may be. Meanwhile, the EU moved to expand sanctions against Moscow. Putin […]

» Read more

Why The Russia-Ukraine Gas Dispute Is Making Europe Worried

Gas Flame file photo

(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Charles Recknagel – May 7, 2014) The European Union gets about one-third of its natural gas from Russia, and about half of that gas arrives in Europe via pipelines passing through Ukraine. Moscow is threatening to cut off natural-gas deliveries to Ukraine unless Kyiv promptly pays its outstanding bills. And that means the EU could potentially be caught in the […]

» Read more

NATO Is Ready for Russia Tactics, Estonia Minister Says

NATO meeting file photo

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Ott Ummelas – May 7, 2014) NATO is prepared to counter non-conventional warfare used by Russia to annex Crimea, Estonian Defense Minister Sven Mikser said. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s 1949 founding treaty “can be effectively used to counter new threats” and doesn’t need to be revised, Mikser said in an interview yesterday in the Estonian […]

» Read more

TRANSRIPT: Ukraine – Countering Russian Intervention and Supporting a Democratic State

U.S. Capitol in Bright Sunlight

Hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee “Ukraine – Countering Russian Intervention and Supporting a Democratic State” Testimony by David J. Kramer President, Freedom House May 6, 2014 Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Corker, Members of the Committee, it is an honor to appear before you once again, this time to discuss what I consider to be the greatest global challenge […]

» Read more

Interfax: 40% of Ukrainians support talks with separatist protesters – poll

Ukraine Map and Flag

KYIV. May 7 (Interfax) – Forty percent of Ukrainians stand for negotiations with the separatist protesters and 35% support the military crackdown, according to a poll conducted by the Rating sociological group and presented at a Wednesday press conference at Interfax-Ukraine. Pro-talks respondents propose partial satisfaction of the protesters’ demands but say the region must remain a part of Ukraine. […]

» Read more

Interfax: West turning a blind eye on true causes of Odesa tragedy – Lavrov

Sergei Lavrov file photo

VIENNA. May 6 (Interfax) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the West is concealing the true causes of the tragic events in Odesa on May 2 which left at least 46 people killed, and that the investigation will eventually die off. “Although the West condemns the Odesa tragedy, it is turning a blind eye on its true causes, the […]

» Read more

To settle Ukraine crisis, rebellious east should be heard – top Russian diplomat

Russian Foreign Ministry Building Tower file photo

(RIA Novosti – May 6, 2014) Russia would like the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to play a more active role in establishing a dialogue between the Kiev authorities and the separatist forces in Ukraine’s southeast, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov has said. He went on to say that any format of future international efforts to resolve the […]

» Read more

BNE: Russia is reportedly ready to provide a discount for gas to Ukraine

Russian Gas Facility file photo

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Concorde Capital – May 7, 2014) Russia will be ready to consider a discount for natural gas to Ukraine on the second round of negotiations on the gas issue where EU Commission representatives should also be present, Russian Izvestia reported on May 7 citing its source in the government. The “second round” of negotiations […]

» Read more

BNE: Ukraine investors scatter as civil war approaches

Ukraine Map and Flag

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Ben Aris in Moscow – May 7, 2014) Nathan Rothschild once famously said, “buy on the sound of canons, sell on the sound of trumpets.” However, the few investors that were still looking at Ukraine are fading away as the cycle of violence escalates and the body count rises. War is close and the […]

» Read more

Accusations of Separatism Get Ukraine Communists Expelled From Parliament[ary Hearing]

Ukraine Map and Flag

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – May 7, 2014) Ukrainian lawmakers reportedly accused the Communist faction of separatism and expelled it from a closed-door parliamentary hearing on Tuesday, a move that the Communists say is an attempt to stifle dissent. Neither side has provided a detailed account of what happened Tuesday behind closed doors, but the conflicting reports have underscored a […]

» Read more

U.S. Presses Ukraine to Hold Vote as Russian Seeks Delay

Arm and Torso of Person in Brown Sweater Placing Paper Ballot into Ballot Box

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – May 7, 2014 – Daryna Krasnolutska, Terry Atlas and Ilya Arkhipov) The U.S. and its European allies urged Ukraine to proceed with its May 25 presidential election, rejecting Russia’s calls to postpone the vote as an offensive against separatists in the country’s east and south continued. Russia hasn’t lived up to its commitments in an accord […]

» Read more

TRANSCRIPT: Senate Hearing on the United States, Ukraine and Russia; Victoria Nuland Assistant Secretary, Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs

Victoria Nuland file photo

Testimony Victoria Nuland Assistant Secretary, Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs Statement Before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Senate Foreign Relations Committee Hearing on the United States, Ukraine and Russia. Washington, DC May 6, 2014 As prepared Chairman Menendez, Ranking Member Corker, thank you for inviting me to testify today on our efforts to counter Russia’s de-stabilizing, provocative actions in […]

» Read more

TRANSCRIPT: Hearing on the United States, Ukraine and Russia; Testimony by Dr. Angela E. Stent

U.S. Capitol in Bright Sunlight

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Hearing on the United States, Ukraine and Russia. May 6, 2014 Testimony by Dr. Angela E. Stent Director, Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies, Georgetown School of Foreign Service. Chairman Menendez, Ranking Member Corker, Members of the Committee: Thank you for giving me this opportunity to testify before the Foreign Relations Committee at this […]

» Read more

RUSSIA & UKRAINE: JRL 2014-#103 contents with links :: Wednesday 7 May 2014

St. Basil's file photo

[check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: 2014-#103 :: 7 May 2014 E-Mail: davidjohnson@starpower.net A project of the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George  Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs: www.ieres.org JRL homepage: russialist.org JRL on Facebook: facebook.com/russialist  JRL on Twitter: twitter.com/JohnsonRussiaLi Support JRL: russialist.org/funding.php To subscribe to the JRL email version, email David Johnson at davidjohnson@starpower.net 1. Wire Services: Russia […]

» Read more

Ultranationalist Right Sector Opens Molotov Cocktail Cafe in Lviv

Ukraine Map and Flag

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Howard Amos – LVIV, April 28, 2014) The marginal ultranationalist group so despised in Russia for its dalliance with anti-Semitism and violent role in toppling the legitimate government in Ukraine two months ago has traded in its body armor and ski masks for aprons and paintbrushes in Lviv. Street fighters known for their confrontational stance […]

» Read more

Interfax: Almost half of Ukrainians have negative attitude to Bandera – poll

Maidan Square file photo

KYIV. May 5 (Interfax) – Forty-eight percent of Ukrainian citizens have a negative attitude towards Stepan Bandera (a leader of the Ukrainian nationalist movement, 1909-59) and 31% have a positive attitude, according to a poll, titled “Nostalgia for the USSR and Attitude to Individual Figures”, conducted by the Rating Sociological Group in April. Thirty-one percent of those polled said their […]

» Read more

The abuse of history in the Ukrainian crisis

File Photo of Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler Riding in Convertible

(opendemocracy.net – Marco Siddi – May 5, 2014) Marco Siddi is a DAAD fellow and research associate at the Institute for European Politics in Berlin. Previously, he held a Marie Curie Fellowship at the universities of Edinburgh and Cologne, where he is completing his doctoral dissertation. His research focuses on relations between Russia, the European Union and its member states. […]

» Read more

Kerch Bridge To Crimea May Become Russia’s Link To The East

China Map

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexander Panin – May 6, 2014) Russian industry analysts said Monday that possible involvement of Chinese companies in building a bridge from mainland Russia to Crimea was a solid political and business option in solving the key transportation challenge faced by the Kremlin after absorbing the peninsula. State-owned China Railway Construction Corporation, or CRCC, may […]

» Read more

Why western sanctions will fail

Truck at Russian Border Crossing

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – MOSCOW BLOG, Ben Aris in Moscow – May 6, 2014) With the violence in eastern Ukraine escalating by the day, the West’s policy of imposing sanctions on Russia is bound to fail. All this policy has done is to paint both the Kremlin and Washington into their respective corners, making the chances of military […]

» Read more

RIA Novosti: Ukrainian Parliament Votes Against Referendum on Decentralization

Ukraine Map and Flag

KIEV, May 6 (RIA Novosti) – The Ukrainian parliament has voted against holding a decentralization referendum on May 25 in Ukraine, Parliamentarian Alexander Briginec wrote on Facebook Tuesday. “Some 154 members voted for. Did not succeed. Thank God,” Briginec wrote on his Facebook page. “Svoboda, UDAR, and Sovereign European Ukraine [political parties] have a similar stance, so it is unlikely […]

» Read more

RIA Novosti: PACE Points Out Shortfalls in Ukraine Election Campaign

Ukraine Map and Flag

KIEV, May 6 (RIA Novosti) – The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has pointed out shortfalls in Ukraine’s preparations for the presidential election scheduled for May 25, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said Tuesday. “The PACE delegation said there were still some shortcomings to be resolved, including campaign fundraising and more transparent media ownership,” the ministry said in a […]

» Read more

Interfax: Concerns grow in Russia about possibility of military conflict with Ukraine – poll

File Photo of Russian Tanks in Military Parade

(Interfax – May 6, 2014) Russians keep monitoring Ukrainian events amid growing concerns about the possibility of a military conflict between the two countries, Levada Center told Interfax following an April poll. Sixty percent of the respondents maintain a close interest in the events evolving in the neighboring state (the indicator stood at 64 percent in late March, 60 percent […]

» Read more

Interfax: Ukraine must not use military, national guard to suppress protests – Lavrov

Sergei Lavrov file photo

VIENNA. May 6 (Interfax) – A government order to stop using the Ukrainian Army and the National Guard to suppress protests should be the first step towards de-escalation in Ukraine, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. “As for de-escalation, I have already said that the first and obvious step is to cancel the order to use the army and the […]

» Read more

RIA Novosti: Ukraine’s Party of Regions Warns of Imminent National Collapse

Map of Commonwealth of Independent States, European Portion

KIEV, May 6 (RIA Novosti) – The Party of Regions, the previous ruling political force under ousted President Viktor Yanukovych, warned the current authorities in Kiev Monday that the process of Ukraine’s disintegration is becoming irreversible. The party, which draws most of its electoral support from rebel eastern and southeastern regions, has laid the blame for mounting tensions in the […]

» Read more

Ukraine’s Campaign Against Pro-Russia Forces Angers Residents in East

Ukraine Map and Flag

(Voice of America – Jamie Dettmer – May 5, 2014) There was heavy fighting Monday on the outskirts of the eastern Ukrainian city of Slovyansk, as government security forces resumed operations aimed at wresting control of the town from pro-Russian militants. But the government lost another helicopter, and it isn’t winning the battle for hearts and minds. The Ukrainian government […]

» Read more

The cycle of violence in Ukraine makes another revolution towards disaster

Ukraine Map and Flag

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – May 6, 2014) Nearly two dozen people were killed in intense fighting in the eastern Ukraine town of Slavyansk on May 5. This situation spiralling out of control as key of government attempts to retake control of the towns in eastern Ukraine ahead of presidential election slated on May 25. The fighting was heaviest […]

» Read more

RUSSIA & UKRAINE: JRL 2014-#102 contents with links :: Monday 6 May 2014

St. Basil's file photo

[check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: 2014-#102 :: 6 May 2014 E-Mail: davidjohnson@starpower.net A project of the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George  Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs: www.ieres.org JRL homepage: russialist.org JRL on Facebook: facebook.com/russialist  JRL on Twitter: twitter.com/JohnsonRussiaLi Support JRL: russialist.org/funding.php To subscribe to the JRL email version, email David Johnson at davidjohnson@starpower.net 1. Reuters: Both sides […]

» Read more

Ukrainian Events a Delayed Reaction to USSR’s Peaceful Disintegration in 1991, ‘Vedomosti’ Says

Ukraine Map and Flag

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, May 5, 2014) Commentators have long celebrated the fact that the USSR broke up with little violence in 1991 – the conflicts in Abkhazia, Tajikistan, Nagorno-Karabakh, Transdniestria and Chechnya typically have been treated as exceptions that prove the rule. But now, many of the unresolved issues from 23 years ago are leading […]

» Read more

Russia, EU, Ukraine set 4-week deadline to prevent new gas transit crisis

Gas Flame file photo

(Russia Beyond the Headlines/Interfax – rbth.ru – May 5, 2014) Ahead is a heavy schedule of negotiations aimed at resolving the problem by June, otherwise Europe will be left without the Russian gas it gets through Ukraine. The first round of trilateral gas negotiations between Russia, Ukraine and the European Union were limited to setting out initial, high negotiating positions. […]

» Read more

Interfax: Ukrainian troops try to prevent civilian casualties eastern Ukraine – Avakov

Ukraine Map and Flag

DONETSK REGION. May 5 (Interfax) – The forces used in the military operation in eastern Ukraine are not storming residential quarters and are trying to prevent civilian casualties, Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said. “We are not using anti-terrorist operation forces to storm residential quarters and they have the restriction on attacking places where civilian populations are located,” Avakov told […]

» Read more

RIA Novosti: Deadly Clashes Leave Dozens Killed, Hundreds Injured in Southeastern Ukraine

Ukraine Map and Flag

MOSCOW, May 5 (RIA Novosti) – Deadly clashes between pro-federalization supporters and Ukrainian security forces have raged across the country’s east and south in recent days, killing dozens and injuring hundreds. Some 46 pro-federalization activists died after being trapped in a fire at the trade union building in Odessa, and over 200 others were injured in a clash between the […]

» Read more

RUSSIA & UKRAINE: JRL 2014-#101 contents with links :: Monday 5 May 2014

St. Basil's file photo

[check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: 2014-#101 :: 5 May 2014 E-Mail: davidjohnson@starpower.net A project of the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George  Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs: www.ieres.org JRL homepage: russialist.org JRL on Facebook: facebook.com/russialist  JRL on Twitter: twitter.com/JohnsonRussiaLi Support JRL: russialist.org/funding.php To subscribe to the JRL email version, email David Johnson at davidjohnson@starpower.net 1. AFP: CIA, FBI […]

» Read more

Putin as a Fascist Leader Bears Total Responsibility for Crisis in Ukraine, Commentator Says

Ukraine Map and Flag

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, May 4, 2014) Had Vladimir Putin accepted the Maidan’s ouster of discredited Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovich and agreed to accept the results of the upcoming elections, nothing that has occurred in Ukraine since that time would have happened, according to a Ukrainian commentator. “Thousands of people would not have suddenly discovered in […]

» Read more

A new (failing) state or more of the same?

Ukraine Map and Flag

(opendemocracy.net – OLEKSANDER ANDREYEV and ANDREW WILSON – May 2, 2014) Ukraine is a state in political turmoil. But how much of this is the fault of separatists in the east and how much comes from ‘business-as-usual’ corruption from the Kyiv government?  Andrew Wilson is a Reader at University College London. He is the author of The Ukrainians: Unexpected Nation […]

» Read more

OSCE officers held in Slovyansk were treated well – head of Ukrainian group of OSCE military mission

File Photo of OSCE Banners

KYIV. May 3 (Interfax) – The OSCE military inspectors held in Slovyansk were treated well and their captors tried to find out what tasks they were fulfilling in the eastern regions of Ukraine, Colonel Ihor Turanskiy, the head of the Ukrainian group of the OSCE military mission and the head of the Verification Department of the Ukrainian General Staff, said. […]

» Read more

Putin’s envoy denies Russia coordinates Ukrainian separatists’ actions

Vladimir Lukin file photo

(RIA Novosti – Slovyansk, May 3, 2014) The Russian president’s special envoy Vladimir Lukin has commented on an audio recording, posted online by the Security Service of Ukraine [SBU], which, according to the SBU, was Lukin’s telephone conversation with leader of the Slovyansk defence forces Igor Strelkov. According to Lukin, this conversation did take place but its content has nothing […]

» Read more

Putin spokesman slams West, says partly responsible for bloodshed in Ukraine

Kremlin and Saint Basil's

(Interfax – May 3, 2014) Moscow considers the position the USA and a number of European countries have taken regarding the bloodshed in Odessa to be the “deepest cynicism”, and in approving Kiev’s “punitive operation” in southeast Ukraine, the West shares responsibility for what is happening, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitriy Peskov has said. He was speaking to journalists on 3 […]

» Read more

Putin updated on events in east Ukraine 24 hours a day – Peskov

Vladimir Putin file photo

MOSCOW. May 3 (Interfax) – Russian President Vladimir Putin receives round-the-clock updates on what is happening in southeast Uykraine, his spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. “The president gets reports from intelligence and other relevant agencies, he also receives information from media reports,” Peskov told reporters on Saturday. “Essentially, we now realize how justified and right were the actions of president Putin, […]

» Read more

Russia cannot persuade militiamen to disarm – Peskov

Kremlin and Moscow Environs Aerial View

MOSCOW. May 3 (Interfax) – Russia has effectively lost influence over self-defense forces in Ukraine and cannot settle the situation on its own, Russian President’s Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said. “Western sponsors (of the Kyiv authorities) are making a reservation all the time that self-defense forces in the southeast of the country are armed and show armed resistance. From now […]

» Read more

RUSSIA & UKRAINE: JRL 2014-#100 contents with links :: Sunday 4 May 2014

St. Basil's file photo

[check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: 2014-#100 :: 4 May 2014 E-Mail: davidjohnson@starpower.net A project of the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George  Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs: www.ieres.org JRL homepage: russialist.org JRL on Facebook: facebook.com/russialist  JRL on Twitter: twitter.com/JohnsonRussiaLi Support JRL: russialist.org/funding.php To subscribe to the JRL email version, email David Johnson at davidjohnson@starpower.net 1. Reuters: Ukraine accuses […]

» Read more

RUSSIA & UKRAINE: JRL 2014-#99 contents with links :: Friday 2 May 2014

St. Basil's file photo

… 1. Reuters: Rebels down Ukraine helicopters, Putin denounces city assault.
2. www.euronews.com; Tymoshenko dismisses civil war fears, says Putin’s regime facing its end.
3. Financial Times: Ukraine PM warns of ‘most dangerous 10 days’ …

» Read more

BNE: Snipergate: who ordered the shootings on Kyiv’s Maidan?

Ukraine Map and Flag

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Ben Aris in Moscow – April 30, 2014) Who were the snipers that shot and killed the so-called “Heavenly Hundred” on Kyiv’s Independence Square, known as Maidan, on February 20? An investigation by Germany’s leading broadcaster ARD TV lends weight to the allegations that some section of the Ukrainian opposition was involved. The report […]

» Read more

Moscow Times: U.S. Space Restrictions on Russia May Strike Back

File Image of Earth Orbit and Asteroids

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Matthew Bodner – April 30, 2014) With the latest restrictions on high-technology defense articles and services announced Monday as part of new U.S. sanctions on Russian officials and businesses over the conflict in Ukraine, Washington is playing a dangerous game that may wipe out two decades of closely cultivated commercial ties between the Russian and […]

» Read more

Russia expects Ukraine to spend part of IMF loan toward clearing gas debt – minister

Gas Flame file photo

WARSAW. May 2 (Interfax) – Russia expects that Ukraine will spend part of the loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) toward clearing its debts for Russian gas already supplied to it, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said. Speaking in Warsaw on Friday, Novak pointed out that Ukraine had received the first tranche of an IMF loan in an amount […]

» Read more

Russia Beyond the Headlines: How are Western sanctions affecting Russia?

Truck at Russian Border Crossing

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Alexei Lossan, RBTH – May 1, 2014) More than a month has now passed since the EU and the United States first imposed sanctions on Russia in response to what they saw as its annexation of Crimea. On Monday, April 28, the U.S. hit Russia with a further round of sanctions. But what […]

» Read more

Interfax: Kyiv claims of nationwide poll on state structure are cynical amid continuing military operation – Russian Foreign Ministry

Russian Foreign Ministry Building Tower file photo

MOSCOW. May 1 (Interfax) – The Kyiv authorities are engaging in “shams” in place of a broad nationwide discussion involving all of the country’s political forces and regions on ways to end the continuing crisis, the Russian Foreign Ministry has said. “We have taken note of the remarks made by “acting Prime Minister of Ukraine” [Arseniy] Yatsenyuk, who said that […]

» Read more

BNE: Ukraine teeters on brink of civil war as military launches big operation in east town of Sloviansk

Ukraine Map and Flag

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – May 2, 2014) Tensions in eastern Ukraine are rising to a new level after the Ukrainian army began a special operation against Russia-backed separatists in Ukraine’s eastern town of Sloviansk. The situation is extremely confused and journalists are being turned away from approaching the city at roadblocks, but social media is carrying unconfirmed reports […]

» Read more
1 98 99 100 101 102 116