Section: The Japan Times (Japan)
Ukraine far-right group demands minister’s ouster after deadly shootout
A Ukrainian far-right group demanded the resignation of the interior minister and said it would block roads around Kiev on Sunday in a standoff over a fatal gun battle that challenges the authority of the government. Kiev has called on Right Sector, which played a prominent role in protests that toppled Moscow-backed President Viktor Yanukovich...
Marine general says Russia poses ‘greatest threat’ to U.S., backs arming Ukraine
Russia now poses the greatest threat to U.S. national security and its behavior is “nothing short of alarming,” Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, the nominee to be the U.S. military’s top officer, said Thursday. Dunford, currently the commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, told senators at his confirmation hearing it would be “reasonable” to...
Forest fire blazes in Chernobyl off-limits zone
Fire has engulfed a large section of the exclusion zone around the destroyed Chernobyl nuclear plant in Ukraine, authorities said Tuesday. It was unclear if the blaze has hit parts of the zone heavily contaminated by radiation from the 1986 reactor explosion and fire, although authorities said the flames swept through about 130 hectares. The […]...
White House says Putin phoned Obama to talk about Ukraine, Islamic State, Iran
The White House says Russian President Vladimir Putin called President Barack Obama and discussed continued tensions in eastern Ukraine and the fight against the Islamic State in the Middle East. In a statement, the White House said the two leaders addressed continued bloodshed in Syria and agreed on the importance of unity among the six […] The...
Pentagon chief planning for longer-term rift with Russia
The United States and its NATO allies are preparing militarily for the prospect that their rift with Russia could outlast President Vladimir Putin, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said on Sunday. Russia’s intervention in Ukraine has put NATO allies in eastern Europe on edge and triggered a series of military moves by the alliance,...
Russia slams EU sanctions renewal as ‘blackmail’
Russia on Saturday slammed the EU’s extension of sanctions over its annexation of Crimea as “blackmail” and vowed it would not be pressured into returning the peninsula to Ukraine. “Crimea and Sevastopol are an integral part of the Russian Federation. It’s time to recognise this as a fact that cannot be changed with methods of […] The...
Senate-OK’d $612 billion defense bill aims to arm Ukraine, keep Guantanamo open
Over White House objections, the U.S. Senate on Thursday passed a $612 billion defense policy bill that calls for arming Ukraine forces, prevents another round of base closures and makes it harder for President Barack Obama to close the prison for terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The Senate voted 71-25 to approve the bill, […] The post...
Eastern Ukrainians stage rare rally against rebel militants
Several hundred Ukrainians in the country’s war-torn east demanded Monday that pro-Russian insurgents remove scores of rocket launchers from crowded city neighbourhoods and stop provoking return government fire on their homes. The small but unusual demonstration outside the offices of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic...
U.S. plans to store heavy arms in Baltic, Eastern Europe
The United States plans to store heavy military equipment in the Baltics and Eastern European nations to reassure allies made uneasy by Russian intervention in Ukraine, and to deter further aggression, a senior U.S. official said on Saturday. “We will pre-position significant equipment,” the official said, commenting on a New York Times report...
Ukraine requires ‘sincere’ peace efforts, pope tells Putin
Pope Francis met privately with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Vatican on Wednesday, using the talks to call for a sincere effort aimed at bringing peace to Ukraine. Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi said their talks concentrated on the Ukraine conflict and the Middle East, where the Holy See is worried about the […] The post...
