MOSCOW, May 8 (RIA Novosti), Daria Chernyshova – Western politicians will say upcoming referendums in Ukraine are a Russian provocation, proving they do not understand the dynamics of the unfolding protests in the country, Asia Times correspondent Pepe Escobar told RIA Novosti Thursday. “The ‘international community’ of US, Canada, Japan and a few European politicians will of course say the […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Yuri Paniyev, special to RBTH – May 7, 2014) Events in Ukraine became the central focus of the 124th session of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in Vienna on May 6, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov questioning the appropriateness of holding elections in the current climate and calling […]
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(Interfax – Moscow, May 7, 2014) If the 11 May referendum votes on independence from Kiev, Donetsk Region may unite with other southeast regions of Ukraine into an independent Novorossiya, co-chairman of the government of the Donetsk people’s republic Myroslav Rudenko has said. “An independent Donetsk republic is an element necessary for creating a new state. After the referendum, if […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Ben Aris in Moscow – May 7, 2014) Russian President Vladimir Putin extended an apparent olive branch on May 7, as he announced he will respect the presidential elections planned in Ukraine for May 25, called for secessionist militia in the Donbass region to postpone a planned referendum on independence, and claimed Russian troops […]
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KIEV, May 8 (RIA Novosti) – The Kiev authorities’ special operation in southeastern Ukraine will continue regardless of the decision of the Donetsk People’s Republic to hold a referendum on the region’s status, a senior Ukrainian official said Thursday. Andriy Parubiy, the Secretary of the Committee on National Security, said that according to the country’s laws, the DPR does not […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Henry Meyer, Ilya Arkhipov – May 8, 2014) Vladimir Kiriyev says he was walking with his children near their apartment in Odessa when he saw an attack on a pro-Russia camp as the assailants backing Ukrainian unity set tents on fire and beat everyone who tried to flee. That was just one in a series of […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexander Panin – May 8, 2014) Despite the White House’s calls for major firms to boycott the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum, Russian officials said Wednesday that the forum would go on as U.S. CEOs bow out but send their deputies. The most prominent international economic meeting in Russia, chaired by President Vladimir Putin, the […]
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(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 […]
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(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 […]
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(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 […]
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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 […]
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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. […]
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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 […]
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(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 […]
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(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 […]
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(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 […]
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(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 […]
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(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 […]
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[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 […]
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(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 […]
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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 […]
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(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. […]
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(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 […]
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(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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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(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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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(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 […]
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[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 […]
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(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 […]
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(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. […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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[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 […]
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(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 […]
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(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 […]
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(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 […]
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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 […]
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[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 […]
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… 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’ …
(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 […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Ben Aris in Moscow – May 2, 2014) The April 17 deal that brought Ukraine back from the brink of war may be coming apart at the seams, though its true significance is that it was agreed at all. Rather than an end in itself, the deal is a harbinger of how events will play […]
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(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 […]
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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 […]
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(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 […]
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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 […]
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(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 […]
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… 1. RFE/RL: ‘Slap On The Wrist’: Congressional Critics Slam ‘Tepid’ Russia Sanctions.
2. www.mccain.senate.gov: STATEMENT BY SENATORS MCCAIN AND GRAHAM ON SANCTIONS AGAINST RUSSIA AND THE SITUATION IN UKRAINE.
3. Washington Post editorial: Obama’s half-measures give Vladimir Putin little to fear. …