Section: News & Summaries

      Exiled Russian Lawmaker Ilya Ponomarev: Current US Sanctions Won’t Work
      Aug28

      Exiled Russian Lawmaker Ilya Ponomarev: Current US Sanctions Won’t Work

      The United States must expand the scope of its sanctions well beyond Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle if this effort—a response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea and its support for separatists in eastern Ukraine—is to have any real impact, says a Russian lawmaker. “The [US] government machine is doing what it can do,...

      NATO, EU Need Political Will from Europe to Tackle Challenges
      Aug28

      NATO, EU Need Political Will from Europe to Tackle Challenges

      In recent years we have witnessed significant changes in Europe’s eastern and southern neighborhood that have had a profoundly negative impact on our security. The threat from the East, whose nature could be described as traditional or conventional, stems from Russia’s aggressive posture. The illegal annexation of Crimea and the armed...

      Date set for final MH17 crash report

      The final report into the crash last July of flight MH17 over Ukraine will be published on October 13, the Dutch Safety Board said. ||| Amsterdam – The final report into the crash last July of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine will be published on October 13, the Dutch Safety Board said on Thursday. The crash, attributed in a...

      Things Are Looking Up for Ukraine: Debt Deal Reached
      Aug27

      Things Are Looking Up for Ukraine: Debt Deal Reached

      Today Ukraine received great news. Private owners of $19 billion of Ukraine’s Eurobonds have agreed to a substantial debt restructuring that will give Ukraine much-needed relief. The high bond yields have been sharply reduced, the bonds’ maturities have been prolonged, and the face value of the bonds has been reduced by 20...

      Moving to the Far Right in Hungary
      Aug27

      Moving to the Far Right in Hungary

      Challenged by the growing popularity of the country’s far-right party, Jobbik, the Hungarian government is radicalising its agenda in order to win back disgruntled voters. April 12th 2015 is was an unneventful day in most countries; certainly not for Hungary. In local elections held in the town of Tapolca, the candidate for the Movement for...

      Sentencing of Oleh Sentsov and Oleksandr Kolchenko is clear miscarriage of justice-U.S. Department of State
      Aug25

      Sentencing of Oleh Sentsov and Oleksandr Kolchenko is clear miscarriage of justice-U.S. Department of State

      On August 25, 2015, John Kirby, U.S. Department of State spokesperson, made a Press Statement about sentencing of Oleh Sentsov and Oleksandr Kolchenko in a Russian military court. “The United States strongly condemns today’s sentencing in a Russian military court of acclaimed Ukrainian director Oleh Sentsov and activist Oleksandr Kolchenko...

      How the West Can Stop Russia’s Escalating War in Ukraine
      Aug25

      How the West Can Stop Russia’s Escalating War in Ukraine

      This month, Russia stepped up military pressure on Ukraine, concentrating about fifty thousand troops along its border with Ukraine, using its proxy militias to shell Ukrainian government positions in the Donbas, and threatening Kyiv with “a big war.”The current escalation indicates Russian discontent with Ukraine’s refusal to...

      US wants to mend ties: Russia

      Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the United States has been sending “signals” that it wants to start mending ties with Moscow. ||| Moscow – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday the United States has been sending “signals” that it wants to start mending ties with Moscow, badly strained over the past year and a...

      Ukraine Has Every Right to Play Hardball With Its Creditors
      Aug24

      Ukraine Has Every Right to Play Hardball With Its Creditors

      As Ukraine fights Russian-backed separatists in the Donbas, the government is simultaneously engaged in a battle with its foreign creditors for the debt relief it desperately needs to prevent a full-scale economic collapse. Ukraine owes $32 billion in foreign currency Eurobonds.To stave off disaster, the International Monetary Fund and other...

      Terrorists fired at Ukrainians’ positions from artillery, mortars,grenade launchers 78 times – the ATO Press Center
      Aug23

      Terrorists fired at Ukrainians’ positions from artillery, mortars,grenade launchers 78 times – the ATO Press Center

      On August 23, 2015, the ATO Press Center reports that during the last night (August 22, 2015), the situation in the ATO zone remained relatively calm. Russian militants minimized the use of 100mm (and higher) mortars and artillery. At the same time, illegal armed groups mainly used small arms to provoke Ukrainian soldiers. “Though isolated...