(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Joe Carroll, Nicole Gaouette and Julianna Goldman – April 23, 2014) Ukraine’s best hope for keeping furnaces and factories running through next winter is to store as much natural gas as it can after a U.S. aid pledge fell far short of the nation’s needs. Energy supplies have given Russian leader Vladimir Putin powerful economic leverage […]
» Read more
KIEV, April 24 (RIA Novosti) – A group of OSCE military observers is present at a Ukrainian checkpoint at the border with Russia that is surrounded by federalization supporters, the press center of the Ukrainian Security Service said Thursday. “An inspection team of OSCE military observers has been working on the site of the Luhansk border detachment over the past […]
» Read more
MOSCOW, April 24 (RIA Novosti) – Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced Thursday that Russia will conduct military drills in response to the developing situation in Ukraine’s southeast, where a special operation has targeted the country’s own citizens. “We are forced to react to such a development in the situation,” Shoigu said. “Starting today, exercises of battalion tactical groups from […]
» Read more
… 1. Atlantic Council: Intelligence Chief: 100 Russian Officers Are Leading Ukraine’s Uprisings. Ukrainian Security Agency Seeks to Arrest Russian Army Colonel Coordinating Subversion.
2. USAToday.com: Ukraine: Three Russian military intel officers detained.
3. The Daily Telegraph (UK): Russia ‘supported torture of Kiev politician.’ Ukraine’s acting president calls for ‘anti-terrorist operation’ against pro-Moscow separatists after body of a murdered town councillor is found.
4. The Daily Mail (UK): The face of Putin’s Ukrainian thugs: The sinister masked men behind eastern pro-Russian ‘people’s mayors’
5. Reuters: Ukraine’s leaders say have U.S. backing to take on ‘aggressors’ ….
(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Harriet Salem in Donetsk – April 23, 2014) Following an escalation of violence in eastern Ukraine over the past few days despite the four-way Geneva agreement reached between Russia, Ukraine, the US and EU, acting Ukrainian President Oleksander Turchynov said late April 22 that the government will re-launch its anti-terror operation in the region. […]
» Read more
(RFE/RL – rferl.org – April 22, 2014) Ukraine’s acting President Oleksandr Turchynov has called for the relaunch of an “antiterrorist” operation against pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine, citing the death of a politician from his party in the region. Turchynov said in a statement that two “brutally tortured” bodies were found near the rebel-held city of Slovyansk on April 22. One was that of […]
» Read more
(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, April 23, 2014) The best way to understand the events of the last several months, Stanislav Belkovsky argues, is to view them as a repetition of the August 1991 coup with only this difference: the leader of this coup is Vladimir Putin and the target of his radical shifts is the Putin […]
» Read more
(opendemocracy.net – Valery Kalnysh – April 21, 2014 Valery Kalnysh is editor of the Kommersant Ukraina newspaper There is a war on in Ukraine – and, moreover, it’s a pilot project for a new kind of war. History books we’ve read or lessons learned in school have given us a fixed image of what war is: the opposing sides send their tank […]
» Read more
(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, April 22, 2014) It is a measure of just how worried the leaders of countries bordering Russia are about the possibility that Vladimir Putin will build on his Crimean Anschluss by moving against their states that even Alyaksandr Lukashenka feels the need to deny that Mensk is oppressing ethnic Russians and to […]
» Read more
… 30. New York Times: Under Russia, Life in Crimea Grows Chaotic.
31. Brookings Institution: Putin Trying to Make a Basket Case out of Ukraine. (interview with Strobe Talbott)
32. Washington Post editorial: President Obama, disregarding his own red line, dithers on Ukraine. …
The White House Office of the Vice President For Immediate Release April 21, 2014 Background Press Briefing on Vice President Biden’s Trip to Ukraine Aboard Air Force Two En Route Kyiv, Ukraine 2:00 P.M. (Local) MR. SPECTOR: Just a reminder at the top this is on background as a senior administration official. He will give some brief remarks at the […]
» Read more
The White House April 22, 2014 REMARKS BY VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN AT A MEETING WITH UKRAINIAN LEGISLATORS Rada Kyiv, Ukraine 10:03 A.M. (Local) THE VICE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Mr. Ambassador. And I want to thank my colleagues for bringing me back home. For 36 years I sat in our legislature, and I used to actually have this seat in […]
» Read more
(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Kateryna Choursina – April 20, 2014) At least three people were killed in a clash in Slovyansk in eastern Ukraine, the nation’s Interior Ministry said, as a top security official accused Russia of exploiting the violence to prepare grounds for an invasion. Three “activists” were shot to death while on duty at a roadblock in an […]
» Read more
MOSCOW, April 22 (RIA Novosti) – The continuation of chaos in Ukraine could lead to a negative outcome not only for the country itself, but also for the US and Europe, a former special assistant to President George W. Bush said Monday. “We don’t have a consolidated Ukrainian state and it’s been remarkable how rapidly the state disappeared,” said Thomas […]
» Read more
(Interfax – Moscow, April 21, 2014) The situation in Ukraine, the deployment of a missile defence system by the USA and the expansion of NATO are increasing the number of threats to Russia’s security, the secretary of the Russian Security Council, Nikolay Patrushev, has said. “The scale of challenges and threats is expanding steadily. Today we are especially concerned about […]
» Read more
MOSCOW, April 22 (RIA Novosti) – Ukrainian presidential candidate Oleh Tsarev claims the country’s interim authorities offered members of the disbanded elite Berkut police force up to $200,000 to return to duty, the Moskovskiy Komsomolets newspaper reported Tuesday. “They will not come back,” Tsarev said in an interview published Tuesday. “They were offered big money to return … $100,000-200,000.” The […]
» Read more
DONETSK, April 22 (RIA Novosti) – The leaders of pro-federalization protesters in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk will meet with representatives from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on Tuesday, a source from the federalist camp told RIA Novosti. The meeting is scheduled for 2:00 pm local time (11:00 GMT) in the Viktoria Hotel in Donetsk, […]
» Read more
MOSCOW, April 22 (RIA Novosti) – Kiev has sent Moscow a note on the implementation of last week’s Geneva agreement aimed at resolving the crisis in Ukraine, the country’s acting Foreign Minister Andrii Deshchytsia wrote on Twitter Tuesday. “We sent a note to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on measures for the implementation of the Geneva accords taken by […]
» Read more
MOSCOW, April 22 (RIA Novosti) – A senior Russian lawmaker told RIA Novosti Tuesday that a campaign to capture pro-Russian activists by Ukrainian authorities was launched at the behest of the United States. “The same reward was offered in the US in times of McCarthyism, during the ‘witch hunt’ and as the US controls the Maidan, they expanded this practice […]
» Read more
MOSCOW, April 21 (RIA Novosti) – The United States runs the risk of making a huge foreign policy blunder by simultaneously antagonizing two major world powers, Russia and China, a senior Russian lawmaker said Monday. “For the United States, Russia is an enemy and China is a potential enemy. But the confrontation course with both major powers is a strategic […]
» Read more
(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, April 21, 2014) The Geneva accords represent “a complete victory” for Vladimir Putin and “the complete capitulation of Europe and Ukraine,” which when translated out of diplomatic language gives the Kremlin leader “a mandate” to seize as much of Ukraine as he wants, according to Yuliya Latynina. On her Saturday evening program […]
» Read more
(opendemocracy.net – Roman Osharov – April 14, 2014) Roman Osharov is a Moscow-based freelance journalist. His work has appeared in Voice of America’s Russian Service, The New Times magazine and Slon.ru Ukraine’s border and security officials are applying a restrictive policy on Russians entering the country, particularly male Russians of military age, and reporters In early February Andrei Yurov, a […]
» Read more
(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Sergei Markedonov, political scientist – April 21, 2014) The crisis in Ukraine has demonstrated the weakness of post-Soviet states, which should not be forced into making “either-or” choices between one side or another. The only way for these states to forge a productive future is to engage with both the West and Russia […]
» Read more
(Voice of America – Mil Arcega – April 21, 2014) Western sanctions are hurting Russia’s economy. That’s according to the country’s economic minister, who says Russia’s economic output is shrinking as investors take their money elsewhere. But some western companies are bucking that trend – expanding business interests in Russia – even as the U.S. and European allies consider wider […]
» Read more
Johnson’s Russia List :: 2014-#91 :: 21 April 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. New York Times: Photos Link Masked Men in East Ukraine to Russia. 2. […]
» Read more
(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Anna Fefelova, special to RBTH – April 21, 2014) Russian bloggers and politicians use social media to discuss the conflict in the Donbass. While Russian state television is giving one perspective on the events in Eastern Ukraine, politicians and opposition bloggers alike have been expressing different views online. Konstantin Dolgov, the Special Representative […]
» Read more
MOSCOW, April 21 (RIA Novosti) – Calls by local leaders for Moscow to intervene in the ongoing crisis in eastern Ukraine have put Russia in a very difficult position, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday. “Attacks are continuing in Slaviansk, Mariupol, and other different places in southeastern Ukraine, as well as the attacks carried out by militants in masks, […]
» Read more
(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Tom Balmforth – KYIV – April 20, 2014) Lyudmila, 60, a newspaper copy editor, and Yelena Andreyevna, 75, a pensioner, have a lot in common. They have lived most their lives in Kyiv. They are both ethnic Russian. And they are both practicing Orthodox Christians. On Easter Sunday they both prayed for peace and understanding in Ukraine amid fears of […]
» Read more
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Ivan Nechepurenko – April 21, 2014) When President Vladimir Putin described Donetsk as “Novorossia” in his call-in show late last week and stressed the region’s ties to Russia, he left out the fact that the region’s capital was actually founded by a Welsh engineer and entrepreneur named John Hughes. “This is Novorossia: Kharkov, Luhansk, Donetsk, […]
» Read more
Subject: RUSSIA REPORT on PUTIN Date: Sun, 20 Apr 2014 From: Sharon Tennison <sharon@ccisf.org> [President and Founder, Center for Citizen Initiatives, www.ccisf.org] As the Ukraine situation has worsened, unconscionable misinformation and hype is being poured on Russia and Vladimir Putin. Journalists and pundits must scour the Internet and thesauruses to come up with fiendish new epithets to describe both. Wherever […]
» Read more
Johnson’s Russia List :: 2014-#90 :: 20 April 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: David Rohde and Arshad Mohammed, Special Report – How the U.S. made […]
» Read more
(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – April 19, 2014) The Russian-Ukrainian military transport aircraft has completed state testing, but series production is impossible in the current political climate. The Russian-Ukrainian Antonov An-70 military transport plane has successfully completed state testing. All the air craft’s systems were tested, as well as its short take-off and landing characteristics. The navigational accuracy […]
» Read more
LUHANSK, April 18 (RIA Novosti) – Federalization supporters in the eastern Ukrainian city of Luhansk are engaged in talks with the country’s acting defense minister about turning the region’s militia into a lawful unit, a leading activist said on Friday. The coordinator of local protesters, who identified himself as Oleh, said they have been in talks with acting Interior Minister […]
» Read more
(Interfax – April 18, 2014) According to the agreements reached at the Geneva meeting, all illegal armed formations in Ukraine should be disarmed and all administrative buildings should be returned to owners, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said. “The taken buildings should be returned to their owners and occupied streets, squares and other public places in all Ukrainian cities should […]
» Read more
KYIV. April 18 (Interfax) – The International Criminal Court (ICC) has received a request from the Ukrainian government to investigate the events that occurred on Independence Square, widely known as the Maidan, in the center of Kyiv from November 21, 2013 to February 22, 2014. “Today, April 17, 2014, the Registrar of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Herman von Hebel, […]
» Read more
KIEV, April 18 (RIA Novosti) – Special operations to crack down on protests in eastern Ukraine are continuing, but have switched to an “inactive phase” following an agreement at four-party talks in Geneva on Thursday, the country’s Security Service said Friday. “In line with the Easter holidays and the Geneva agreements, operations are now in an inactive phase. Headquarters is […]
» Read more
(Interfax – April 18, 2014) Federation Council Chairperson Valentina Matviyenko is confident that Russian President Vladimir Putin will not have to use the Federation Council’s permission to send troops to Ukraine for protecting the civilian population. “I am positive that will not be necessary. The Geneva meeting mapped out ways to resolve the Ukrainian crisis (…) I very much hope […]
» Read more
(RFE/RL – April 18, 2014) Ukraine, Russia, the United States, and the European Union have reached an agreement in Geneva on a series of steps to de-escalate tensions in Ukraine. We take a look at the key points in the agreement and the steps taken — or not taken — thus far to implement them. “All sides must refrain from […]
» Read more
… 2. Supreme Allied Commander Europe: General Philip Breedlove, Who Are the Men Behind the Masks?
3. Paul Goble: Window on Eurasia: Betrayal of Ukraine in Geneva ‘Worse than Munich,’ Illarionov Says.
4. Carnegie Europe: Judy Dempsey, Europe Looks On as Russia Marches Into Ukraine. …
(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, April 18, 2014) What the US, the EU and Ukraine itself agreed to in Geneva is “worse than Munich” because Kyiv joined in giving international sanction to actions of the Russian aggressor and opening the way for the transformation of the internal arrangements of Ukraine regardless of what Ukrainians want, according to […]
» Read more
Supreme Allied Commander Europe http://aco.nato.int/saceur2013/blog/who-are-the-men-behind-the-masks.aspx 17 April 2014 Who Are the Men Behind the Masks? By General Philip Breedlove NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) and Commander of U.S. European Command. [DJ: Headline in Military Times : “4-star: Armed attackers in Ukraine are Russian troops in disguise”] It’s hard to fathom that groups of armed men in masks suddenly sprang […]
» Read more
… 11. Financial Times: Kathrin Hille, The Putin Show.
12. Jamestown Foundation Eurasia Daily Monitor: Pavel Felgenhauer, Putin Hovering on the Brink of a Massive Invasion of Ukraine.
13. www.thenation.com: Katrina vanden Heuvel, For Now, Diplomacy Defuses Ukraine Crisis. …
(Eurasia Daily Monitor: Volume 11, Issue 73 – Pavel Felgenhauer – Jamestown Foundation – jamestown.org – April 17, 2014) The Ukrainian crisis and the “reunification” of Crimea with the rest of Russia dominated President Vladimir Putin’s almost four-hour-long televised national phone-in-an annual PR performance that had been previously dominated by discussion of pensions, utility payments, inflation, wages and other internal “bread […]
» Read more
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Ivan Nechepurenko – April 17, 2014) Breaking his tradition of publicly tongue-lashing opponents at home and abroad, President Vladimir Putin assumed a non-predatory stance Thursday to diffuse fears of escalation of the ongoing rift with the West over the Ukraine crisis during his annual live call-in show broadcast on national television and online. “I believe […]
» Read more
… 11. New York Times: Talks a Chance for Russia to Step Back on Ukraine.
12. Irish Times: Ukraine’s anti-terror operation undone by villagers.
13. Wall Street Journal: Ukrainian Troops Encounter Angry Words, Gifts of Food.
14. The Guardian: Ukrainian troops ‘demoralised’ as civilians face down anti-terror drive. …
[“Is Vladimir Putin Another Adolf Hitler?” – Forbes – Paul Johnson – May 5, 2014] Forbes recalls the aggressive expansion of the Third Reich and draws parallels with the ideology and policies of today’s Putin-led Kremlin. … Had the Allies stopped Hitler at the beginning, when he was remilitarizing the Rhineland, he’d have been overthrown and World War II avoided. But the only one […]
» Read more
[“A fearful new world, imperiled by Russia’s subterfuge” – Anne Applebaum – Washington Post – April 17, 2014] The Washington Post covers Russia’s reported involvement in Ukraine, including the role of Russia special forces and military intelligence: … So far, the Russian invasion of eastern Ukraine looks nothing like these battles. This war involves not soldiers but local thugs and […]
» Read more
[“U.S., EU, Russia Talks Working Toward Joint Statement on Ukraine; First Sign That Geneva Discussions are Making Progress” – Wall Street Journal – Laurence Norman – April 17, 2014] The Wall Street Journal reports on unfolding talks in Geneva between the foreign ministers of Ukraine, Russia, the U.S. and the European Union. While there reportedly was mention of a joint statement as a sign […]
» Read more
MOSCOW, April 17 (RIA Novosti) – Kiev’s claim that Russian special forces are involved in orchestrating protests in Ukraine “smells of paranoia,” Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Thursday. Shoigu’s comment followed a statement by Ukrainian security chief Valentin Nalivaichenko, who alleged Russian special forces are participating in ongoing pro-federalization protests in southeastern Ukraine. “These statements smell of paranoia,” Shoigu […]
» Read more
WASHINGTON, April 17 (RIA Novosti) – Moscow and Kiev can find common ground during Thursday’s four-party talks on the crisis in Ukraine in Geneva, former US Ambassador to Ukraine Steven Karl Pifer told RIA Novosti. If Russian Prime Minister Sergei Lavrov comes with a mandate to try to defuse the crisis, “the US, EU, Ukrainian and Russian representatives could have […]
» Read more