Section: The Japan Times (Japan)
Chechen commander in Ukraine drawn into Russian intrigue
From a dimly lit room at his base in eastern Ukraine, the commander of a battalion of Chechens fighting Russia-backed rebels looked shaken as TV broadcast news of Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov’s slaying. Adam Osmayev hailed Nemtsov as a “true hero” both for condemning Russia’s war against separatists in Chechnya and for...
Movie men propose Russian fast-food alternative chain
Two of Russia’s best-known movie directors are aiming to create a chain of fast-food restaurants that would be an alternative to Western-style operations such as McDonald’s. The move by Nikita Mikhalkov and Andrei Konchalovsky, who are brothers, comes amid growing animosity toward the West, especially the U.S., over the conflict in...
Ukrainian soldiers executed by pro-Russia rebels, Amnesty International alleges
Human rights group Amnesty International said on Thursday at least four Ukrainian soldiers had been shot dead in what it described as “execution-style” killings by pro-Russian separatist groups earlier this year. The London-based organization said the torture and killing of captured soldiers was a war crime and urged a full investigation into the...
Ukrainian leader lifts objections to vote on regional power
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Monday publicly lifted his objections to a referendum that could give more powers to the restive regions engulfed in more than a year of warfare, reversing his government’s previous position. Russia-backed separatists, however, dismissed Poroshenko’s gesture as meaningless. The conflict between...
A year on, Putin’s Ukraine gamble largely pays off
A year since the start of the fighting in eastern Ukraine, Vladimir Putin may not have emerged the winner in his showdown with the West but he has not lost either. By supporting Ukrainian separatists, analysts say, he took a huge risk, but it largely paid off — he was able to both punish Kiev’s […] The post A year on, Putin’s Ukraine...
Former Putin allies question course Kremlin is taking
As Russian President Vladimir Putin marks 15 years since he was first elected, his former long-term allies are questioning his political course and warning of the economic consequences of his aggressive foreign policy. Putin’s approval ratings peaked last year as the Kremlin annexed Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula and have stayed at...
Slain Nemtsov’s report proves Russian army in Ukraine, ally says
Research collected by the slain anti-Kremlin leader Boris Nemtsov shows evidence that Russian troops fought and died in the conflict in Ukraine, fellow opposition activist Ilya Yashin said. The report is being completed and will be published in April, Yashin said on Facebook on Monday. Friends of Nemtsov, who was shot dead near the Kremlin […]...
Putin reviews war games, says more to come
President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that a recent Russian military exercise has marked the beginning of a series of such drills this year, a show of force that comes amid a bitter strain with the West over Ukraine. Reflecting the tensions, U.S. and other NATO forces staged maneuvers in the Baltics, and a convoy of […] The post Putin reviews war...
Yanukovych’s younger son reportedly killed in accident on Russia’s Lake Baikal
An associate of Ukraine’s deposed president says the former leader’s son has died in an accident in which a vehicle plunged through the ice on Lake Baikal in Russia. Nestor Shufrych, a deputy in Ukraine’s parliament, said Sunday in a statement on Facebook that 33-year-old Viktor Yanukovych, who had the same name as his father,...
Far-right politicians from Europe gather in Russia to support Putin
Nationalist supporters of Russian President Vladimir Putin brought together controversial far-right politicians from across Europe on Sunday in an effort to demonstrate international support for Russia and weaken European Union commitment to sanctions imposed on Russia over its role in Ukraine. Putin’s critics pointed to the irony of St....
