Section: Japan
- Japan Today (Japan) (302)
- Kyodo News (Japan) (71)
- The Diplomat (Japan) (28)
- The Japan Times (Japan) (892)
In Ukraine war, Putin playing a double game
As fighting intensifies in eastern Ukraine, signs are emerging that Russian President Vladimir Putin has adopted a twin strategy: pledge his willingness to support a negotiated settlement, but continue funneling arms to separatist rebels. “Putin in the last several weeks has been playing a dual game,” said Steven Pifer, a former U.S....
BRICS neutrality on Ukraine a victory for Putin
A summit of the BRICS group of emerging market countries will abstain from criticizing Russia’s recent actions in Ukraine, Brazilian officials said, a diplomatic victory for President Vladimir Putin. The summit statement will make only a passing reference to Ukraine and will echo the neutral stance adopted by Russia’s fellow BRICS...
Russia officers aiding rebels, Ukraine says
Ukraine accused Russian army officers on Monday of fighting alongside separatists in the east of the country and said Moscow was once more building up its troops on the joint border. A missile that downed a Ukrainian transport plane carrying eight people near the border was probably fired from Russia, Ukrainian officials said. President Petro...
World › Ukraine says military plane ‘likely’ shot down from Russia
Ukrainian forces hunted for the crew of a downed military plane Monday after Kiev said the aircraft was “likely” shot down from Russia, ratcheting up tensions along their volatile border. “Crew members from an AN-26 plane… that was shot down have established contact with the general staff,” said a statement…...
Russia threatens Ukraine after man dies in cross-border shelling
Russia on Sunday threatened Ukraine with “irreversible consequences” after a man was killed by a shell fired across the border from Ukraine, describing the incident in warlike terms as aggression that must be met with a response. Although both sides have reported cross-border shootings in the past, the incident appears to be the first...
Refugees flee Ukraine rebel bastions in fear of reprisal assault
Thousands of panicked refugees are flooding highways and packed trains heading out of the main remaining rebel strongholds in eastern Ukraine, fearing attacks by government forces that lost 30 soldiers in two days to defiant militants. Pro-Russian separatists killed 19 troops in a hail of heavy rocket fire on Friday near the Russian border in...
Ukraine death toll climbs, but information scant
The only thing clear about the death toll in eastern Ukraine, where government troops are battling separatist rebels, is that it’s mounting. After a faltering start, government efforts to reverse the tide of a pro-Russian insurgency have in recent weeks taken on an urgent impetus. It has frequently meant deadly results for the civilian...
World › Ukraine readies plan against rebels; Germany, France press Putin
Ukrainian forces regained more ground but sustained further casualties on Thursday in clashes with separatists, while two Western allies urged Russia’s Vladimir Putin to exert more pressure on the rebels to find a negotiated end to the conflict. Government forces have recently gained the upper hand in the three-month conflict…...
Kiev warns pro-Russian separatists of plan to retake territory in east
Ukrainian government forces on Wednesday warned separatists in the eastern town of Donetsk that a plan was now in place to take back the territory they occupy, but defiant rebels reported a steady flow of new recruits who were ready to fight. The Ukrainian military pushed the rebels out of their best-fortified stronghold in the […] The...
Ukraine threatens rebels with a ‘nasty surprise’
Ukraine’s government kept up military pressure against pro-Russian rebels on Tuesday, threatening them with an “nasty surprise,” but the militants said they were preparing to fight back after losing their main stronghold. President Petro Poroshenko, drawing confidence from the fall of the rebel bastion of Slovyansk over the...
