(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Harriet Salem in Slaviansk and Kramatorsk – April 17, 2014) The Ukrainian government’s military operation to disarm the pro-Russian separatists and take back the seized buildings in the east of the country is in chaos, with soldiers surrendering, abandoning materiel and fleeing in the face of a better organised and more disciplined opposition. This […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Nikolai Gorshkov, special to RBTH – April 17, 2014) While both Russia and the West are calling for a de-escalation of the situation in eastern Ukraine, there appear to be fundamental differences between each side’s view as to what constitute appropriate measures to achieve this aim. What are the possible options for resolving […]
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MOSCOW, April 17 (RIA Novosti) – Russia and Ukraine have grounds for dialogue, Russian political scientists said after analyzing President Vladimir Putin’s comments during a live question and answer session with the public on Thursday. “These words give hope that dialogue is still possible,” Alexei Makarkin, an analyst and deputy director at the Center for Political Technologies in Moscow said. […]
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… 3. Wall Street Journal: First Shots Rile Pro-Russian Crowds in Ukraine.
4. The Guardian: Troops fire as locals in Kramatorsk confront Ukraine general Vasily Krutov.
5. Reuters: Separatists fly Russian flag over Ukrainian armoured vehicles.
6. The Guardian: Ukraine crisis stirs resentment in birthplace of fugitive president. ….
(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, April 15, 2014) Vladimir Putin, in his effort to save his rule by intervening militarily in Ukraine, is pushing the world not toward a new cold war as many say but rather to something far worse and more dangerous, one in which one or another side may in fact view the use […]
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[“Russia believed to have plans to split Ukraine in three” – Australian Broadcasting Company – April 15, 2014] The Australian Broadcasting Company intereviews Taras Berezovets, Ukrainian political analyst and strategist. Berezovets also served as an advisor to Yulia Tymoshenka during her second term as Ukraine’s Prime Minister from 2007 to 2010. According to Berezovets, interrogations of captured Russian intelligence officers have prompted a conclusion […]
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[“US backs Ukraine military action in east region” – AP – April 15, 2014] AP reports that the Obama administration is giving tacit support to Ukrainian military action against pro-Russia separatists: White House spokesman Jay Carney says such action isn’t the preferred option, but that the Ukrainian government has to respond to what he says is an untenable situation. * * *… because […]
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[Separatists fly Russian flag over Ukrainian armoured vehicles – Gabriela Baczynska & Thomas Grove – April 16, 2014] Reuters covers emerging events in eastern Ukraine, including separatists hoisting a Russian flag … efforts by the Ukrainian government to reclaim buildings from armed rebels … and upcoming talks between Ukraine, Russia, the United States and the European Union … even as Russia speaks […]
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[“First Shots Rile Pro-Russian Crowds in Ukraine; Ukraine’s ‘Antiterrorist’ Operation Runs Into Strong Passions in Eastern City” – Wall Street Journal – James Marson – April 16, 2014] The Wall Street Journal covers the Ukrainian government’s military deployment against separatists in eastern Ukraine: Ukraine launched what it called an antiterrorist operation Tuesday, deploying a couple of hundred paratroopers and elite security-service officers […]
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(The Heritage Foundation – heritage.org – Daniel Kochis – April 15, 2014) Today, the Ukrainian military began “anti-terror” operations to wrest control of some eastern police stations and government buildings from pro-Russian militants who had seized these installations during the previous week. These militants, along with suspected Russian Special Forces, have stirred up unrest in cities in eastern Ukraine, capturing government buildings and […]
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BRUSSELS, April 16 (RIA Novosti) – NATO will intensify air patrols over Eastern Europe and dispatch extra ships to the Baltic and Mediterranean Seas due to the crisis in Ukraine, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said after a meeting of alliance ambassadors in Brussels. “We will have more planes in the air, more ships on the water, and more […]
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HANOI, April 16 (RIA Novosti) – All parties interested in settling the ongoing crisis in Ukraine must call on the Kiev authorities to move from words to action, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday. “Those who are a sincere friend of Ukraine, the Ukrainian people, are obliged to convince the current authorities to move from words to action and […]
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MOSCOW, April 16 (RIA Novosti) – Statements that Russia allegedly threatens Ukraine and Europe with a military invasion are “nonsense,” Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov told Rossiya24 TV channel Wednesday. “All the horror stories that Russia will take over Ukraine today and tomorrow the Russian troops will reach the English Channel, Bordeaux and the Cote d’Azur are complete nonsense. We […]
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KYIV. April 16 (Interfax) – Ukrainian Communist Party leader Petro Symonenko has expressed his indignation at the operation in eastern Ukraine and proposed an immediate referendum on the administrative and territorial division of Ukraine and the broadest powers of local communities. “This is the only way to preserve the integrity and unity of the country,” the party press service quoted […]
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(Interfax – Moscow, April 15, 2014) Europe and America should stop talking about the need to help Ukraine and finally do something to help its economy, Russian Prime Minister Dmitriy Medvedev has said. “All those who talk about the need to help Ukraine should finally do something for Ukraine. I mean our European partners and partners across the ocean. Let […]
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… 24. BBC: Jonathan Marcus, Ukraine crisis: What now?
25. Irish Times: Daniel McLaughlin, Ukrainian army rendered lame by Yanukovich’s neglect.
26. Voice of America: Q&A with US Amb. Geoffrey Pyatt: Ukraine Crisis Escalates as War Fears Grow.
27. Business New Europe: Ben Aris, MOSCOW BLOG: Nato refutes Russian claim was promised no expansion.
28. Moscow Times: Alexander Golts, Why NATO Should Erect a Monument to Putin. …
(Interfax – April 15, 2014) New U.S. sanctions against Russia may impact the global economy but may in the end stimulate economic reforms in Russia, businessmen’s rights commissioner Boris Titov said. “Of course, we would like to avoid sanctions. Money loves tranquility that is why the economy can develop only when international relations in the world are aimed at reducing […]
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MOSCOW, April 15 (RIA Novosti) – Russian President Vladimir Putin will answer questions from the public Thursday during his twelfth yearly call-in show called “Direct Line with Vladimir Putin.” This year’s “Direct Line” comes as the country is facing accusations of fomenting unrest in Ukraine after the breakaway republic Crimea voted by a landslide to leave Ukraine for Russia last […]
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Subject: A Way Forward in Ukraine Date: Mon, 14 Apr 2014 16:58:59 -0500 From: rware@siue.edu A Way Forward in Ukraine By Robert Bruce Ware Robert Bruce Ware is a professor at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. He is the co-author of Dagestan: Russian Hegemony and Islamic Resistance, and editor of The Fire Below: How the Caucasus Shaped Russia. In Ukraine, we […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Sangwon Yoon – April 14, 2014) The U.S. readiness to impose new economic sanctions on Russia over Ukraine is offset by the European Union’s reluctance to introduce stronger measures that could threaten its already fragile economic recovery. While the Obama administration said yesterday that it’s prepared to ramp up sanctions, possibly to target specific sectors of […]
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BEIJING. April 15 (Interfax) – Acting Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk’s initiative proposing dialogue with the southeastern regions of the country is a step in the right direction, albeit a belated one, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said. “As for the initiatives linked with Arseniy Yatsenyuk’s recent trip to the southeast and his announcement that the current Kyiv authorities […]
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(Voice of America – April 14, 2014) The escalating situation in Ukraine appears to be on the verge of armed conflict as Acting President Oleksandr Turchynov asked the United Nations Monday to send peacekeeping troops to the east of the country, where pro-Russia militias have seized government buildings and blocked major highways with impunity. Geoffrey Pyatt has served as United […]
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PARIS. April 15 (Interfax) – Democracy in Ukraine, as well as in any other country, can not be affirmed via nationalists’ ideology, Russian State Duma Chairman Sergei Naryshkin said. “The initial democratic impulse of many people [in Ukraine] has been essentially devalued by depending on radicals – those, who rattle their sabers in a domestic civil conflict and do not […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Christopher Brennan – April 15, 2014) A pro-Russian candidate for the Ukrainian presidency was beaten on Tuesday morning by a crowd in Kiev and remains in critical condition, the politician’s press service said. Oleh Tsaryov, a former Party of the Region’s deputy, was attacked by armed men outside the ICTV television station, where the lawmaker […]
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GORLOVKA (Donetsk region), April 15 (RIA Novosti) – The Ukrainian army started on Tuesday a special operation in a crackdown on pro-federalism militia in eastern Ukraine, with reports emerging of first casualties among protesters. The army operation has so far targeted the cities of Kramatorsk and Slaviansk in the Donetsk region, according to reports by protesters. The city of Slaviansk […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Chris Weafer, Macro Advisory – April 14, 2014) “Let me warn you, if you start chasing after views, you’ll be left without bread and without views” Nikolai Gogol Weekend headlines will add to market nervousness today. The headlines from east Ukraine over the weekend will unsettle markets at the start of trading today. The […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Mark Galeotti of New York University – April 14, 2014) Mark Galeotti is Professor of Global Affairs at the SCPS Center for Global Affairs, New York University Successful guerrillas master the art of asymmetric warfare, making sure that the other side has to play the game by their rules and doesn’t get the opportunity […]
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MOSCOW. April 14 (Interfax) – The Ekho Moskvy (Echo of Moscow) radio station has expressed protests against the fact that its correspondent was not allowed to enter Ukraine. “I protest strongly against the fact that Ekho Moskvy correspondent was not allowed to enter Ukraine,” Ekho Moskvy Editor-in-Chief Alexei Venediktov said in a statement obtained by Interfax on Monday. On April […]
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MOSCOW. April 14 (Interfax) – It is time to stop looking for the hand of Moscow in the Ukrainian events, Russian Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin said at a UN Security Council meeting. He dismissed as concoctions the allegations that Russia had amassed significant military forces on the border. “The possibility of averting a civil war in […]
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MOSCOW. April 14 (Interfax) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has renewed his calls on the Ukrainian authorities to refrain from using force against demonstrators in the country’s southeast. “If the current rulers in Kyiv decide to use force against demonstrators in the southeast, then our cooperation will be undermined, there is no doubt about that,” he said on Monday, […]
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KIEV, April 14 (RIA Novosti) – Kiev hopes to resolve the crisis in eastern Ukraine soon, acting President Olexander Turchynov said Monday, a day after the country’s special forces launched an operation to suppress pro-federalization protesters in the region. “I’m sure that soon the situation in the Donbas will be completely stabilized with the support of the people of the Donbas,” […]
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MOSCOW, April 14 (RIA Novosti), Daria Chernyshova – Civil war in Ukraine is unlikely as Kiev’s junta is quickly losing support, according to Jon Hellevig, co-author of the book “Putin’s New Russia.” “I don’t think there will be any civil war,” Hellevig, a managing partner at the Moscow-based Awara Group, told RIA Novosti. “The Russian people of eastern and southern […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber – April 14, 2014) The West is imploring Russia to help de-escalate tensions in eastern Ukraine after pro-Russia armed men seized government buildings in multiple towns over the weekend, even as Russia continues to deny involvement in the confrontations. Amid the West’s calls for a peaceful resolution to the mushrooming unrest, Ukraine’s central […]
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US Department of State Evidence of Russian Support for Destabilization of Ukraine Media Note Office of the Spokesperson Washington, DC April 13, 2014 On April 12, armed pro-Russian militants seized government buildings in a coordinated and professional operation conducted in six cities in eastern Ukraine. Many of the militants were outfitted in bullet-proof vests and camouflage uniforms with insignia removed […]
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US Department of State Dipnote April 13, 2014 Ukraine: Choosing Diplomacy Over Aggression By Douglas Frantz Douglas Frantz serves as Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs. This was no peaceful spring weekend for Ukraine. Coordinated, well-armed Russian-backed militants attacked government buildings in a professional operation in six cities in eastern regions. Many of the attackers were carrying Russian-origin weapons […]
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US Department of State Russian Fiction the Sequel: 10 More False Claims About Ukraine Fact Sheet Office of the Spokesperson Washington, DC April 13, 2014 “No amount of propaganda can make right something that the world knows is wrong.” – President Obama, March 26 Russia continues to spin a false and dangerous narrative to justify its illegal actions in Ukraine. […]
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(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, April 11, 2014) Despite Moscow’s protestations that it wants a resolution in Ukraine, Yevgeny Kiselyev says, Vladimir Putin in fact doesn’t need or want “stabilization” there anytime soon and that is in fact pursuing a policy based on the Leninist principle that “the worse things are [in Ukraine], the better [for the […]
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(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Tom Balmforth – KYIV – April 12, 2014) Just a few weeks ago, Yehor Sobolev was warned not to expect Ukraine’s parliament to pass legislation that would require judges to be screened for corruption and political bias. But on April 8, lawmakers did just that when a so-called “judicial lustration” bill sailed through the Verhovna Rada following street rallies that […]
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… 26. New York Post: Mark Nuckols, Behind Putin’s Ukraine ‘unrest’ game.
27. The National Interest: F. Stephen Larrabee and Peter A. Wilson, Calling Putin’s Bluff.
28. NATO: Russia’s accusations – setting the record straight. Fact Sheet.
29. Commission on Security & Cooperation in Europe: U.S. Helsinki Commission. Testimony …
Commission on Security & Cooperation in Europe: U.S. Helsinki Commission “Ukraine: Confronting Internal Challenges and External Threats” April 9, 2014 Testimony :: Ambassador Motsyk Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States – Ukraine Embassy Washington, DC Dear Members of Congress: Today’s hearing comes at a time of great challenge and grave danger not only for Ukraine, but also for the […]
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(Eurasia Daily Monitor: Volume 11, Issue 68 – Vladimir Socor – Jamestown Foundation – jamestown.org -April 10, 2014) Moscow seems to be preparing the atmosphere for a possible military intervention in Ukraine’s eastern regions. Russia could, if it deemed expedient, intervene there with troops in some form or other, as it has just done in Crimea. But, more likely, Moscow would leverage […]
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Commission on Security & Cooperation in Europe: U.S. Helsinki Commission “Ukraine: Confronting Internal Challenges and External” [hearing transcript] Commission Members Present: Senator Benjamin Cardin (D-MD); Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI); Senator John Boozman (R-AR); Representative Michael Burgess (R-TX) Representative Steve Cohen (D-TN) Speaker: Victoria Nuland, Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs, U.S. Department of State The Briefing Was Held From […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – John Freedman – April 11, 2014) The Russian Culture Ministry raised eyebrows this week by replacing several respected figures in two departments involving the fine arts and theater. Many admit it was high time for these experts to be rotated out of their positions. But most also suggest that the actions were taken abruptly, without […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber – April 11, 2014) The Justice Ministry has ordered the Russian branch of American Councils, a U.S.-based nonprofit organization that administers student exchanges and other educational programs, to cease its operations indefinitely, in what appears to be part of an ongoing crackdown on NGOs funded by the U.S. and other foreign governments. American […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anna Dolgov – April 11, 2014) The Kremlin’s human rights panel has denounced as illegal the dismissal of a philosophy professor from Russia’s top university for aspiring diplomats for writing an article criticizing Russia’s actions in Ukraine and likening it to Germany in 1938. The presidential human rights council said in a statement on its […]
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(Kremlin.ru – Novo-Ogaryovo, Moscow Region – April 10, 2014) Vladimir Putin met with core members of the Russian Popular Front national public movement. In particular, the meeting addressed implementing the Russian Popular Front’s anti-corruption project, which includes monitoring purchases for state and municipal needs. Also, Russian Popular Front representatives talked about independent supervision over implementation of the presidential executive orders […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Volodymyr Verbyany – April 11, 2014) If they can do it in Kiev, we can do it in Donetsk. That’s what Roman Romanenko says as he organizes the occupation of this eastern Ukrainian city’s seat of government, which he and hundreds like him seized to protest Kiev’s new leadership. Clad in fatigues and a blue beret, […]
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BRUSSELS. April 10 (Interfax) – Russia’s permanent envoy to the European Union Vladimir Chizhov believes the evaluations given by the West to the events taking place in the eastern and southern regions of Ukraine clearly indicate double standards in the approach to the crisis in Ukraine. “We see what is going on in the eastern and southern regions of Ukraine. […]
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ANKARA, Turkey, April 11 (RIA Novosti) – The US guided-missile destroyer Donald Cook and French intelligence warship Dupuy de Lôme have entered the Black Sea, the Turkish newspaper Sabah reported Friday. According to the US military command, the dispatch of the Donald Cook destroyer was a move to reassure the country’s NATO allies in the region amid heightened tensions due […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – April 11, 2014) Burger King Worldwide reached out Thursday to quash reports that the fast food chain’s Russian franchise operator would expand to Crimea, which Russia recently annexed from Ukraine. On Wednesday, Burger King Russia CEO Dmitry Medovy told news agency Itar Tass: “We are planning to open in Crimea, but I cannot say […]
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