Section: News & Summaries
“You Have Not Defeated Me and You Never Will!” Ukrainian Fighter Pilot Nadiya Savchenko Tells Court
Even for Russia, where everyday life can best be described as Kafkaesque, the case of Nadiya Savchenko is outrageous. In 2014, during the war in Ukraine’s Donbas, Savchenko, a Ukrainian military officer captured by the pro-Russian separatists in combat, was transferred to Russia, where she was accused of involvement in the death of two...
Families of MH370 passengers sue airline
Families of 12 passengers on Flight 370 sued the carrier and the government, ahead of the second anniversary of the plane’s disappearance. ||| Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Families of 12 passengers on Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 on Friday sued the carrier and the government, ahead of a filing deadline next week on the second anniversary...
‘Free me or watch me starve to death’
A Ukrainian pilot on trial in Russia over the killing of two journalists plans to tell a court to release her or she will starve herself to death. ||| Moscow – A Ukrainian woman pilot on trial in Russia over the killing of two Russian journalists plans to tell a court to release her within 10 days of pronouncing its verdict or she will...
Remembering Boris Nemtsov
Boris Nemtsov’s legacy and his final project—exposing the Kremlin’s role in the war in Ukraine—were remembered at an event in Washington to mark the first anniversary of his assassination. “He was a man of great values,” said Paula J. Dobriansky, a Senior Fellow at Harvard University and an Atlantic Council board director. Nemtsov was...
Poll: 70% support 4th term for Putin
Public support for Vladimir Putin to serve another term as president has hit its highest level in four years, according to a poll. ||| Moscow – Public support for Vladimir Putin to serve another term as president has hit its highest level in four years, a survey by a state-run pollster showed on Thursday. Seventy-four percent of Russians...
Early Elections in Ukraine Are Scarier Than You Think
Should Ukraine hold new elections? Despite the failure of Ukraine’s parliament to remove the government of Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk from office on February 16, the defection of two parties from the governing coalition gives President Petro Poroshenko the ability to declare the absence of a majority coalition and force new...
Two Cheers for Cold War!
Russian Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev’s recent suggestion that Russia and the West are embroiled in cold war provoked hasty denials by Western policymakers and commentators.In fact, Medvedev was right: cold war between Russia and the West does exist. But the West’s denials were unnecessary, because cold war is the best possible...
Women of the Euromaidan: Where Were They Then and Where Are They Now
As Kateryna Kruk walked among her fellow protesters in Kyiv’s central square while checking her phone during the early days of the Euromaidan in December 2013, she noticed an opportunity: Ukrainians shared news of the revolution almost entirely in Ukrainian or Russian. Inspired by the use of social media during the Arab Spring, Kruk started...
The Real Fight for Ukraine’s Future
As rain clouds sweep in from the west on a winter morning, the Ukrainian Black Sea town of Mykolayiv does not present the most welcoming picture. Up to three feet of standing water obscure the city’s main intersections, where stray dogs and homeless people rush to traverse four lanes of traffic before the next taxi driver hydroplanes...
Early Elections in Ukraine Aren’t So Scary. Here’s Why
The dominant view in Washington is that Ukraine must avoid early parliamentary elections. Many Ukrainians, however, see them as inevitable and ultimately they decide. Therefore, we need to discuss not if early parliamentary elections should be held, but instead how and when.Both the United States and the European Union reckon that Ukraine needs...