Section: The Japan Times (Japan)
War-torn Ukraine to test sweeping new cease-fire
Ukraine and pro-Russian insurgents prepared to put to the test a comprehensive truce on Tuesday aimed at calming an upsurge of violence that has further eroded trust between Moscow and the West. Local authorities on Monday reported the deaths of at least 12 civilians over a bloody weekend in which government forces and organized militias […] The...
Putin allies channeled billions to Ukraine oligarch with sweetheart deals
In Russia, powerful friends helped him make a fortune. In the United States, officials want him extradited and put behind bars. In Austria, where he is currently free on bail of $155 million, authorities have yet to decide what to do with him. He is Dmitry Firtash, a former fireman and soldier. In little more […] The post Putin allies channeled...
Ukraine, rebels announce Dec. 9 cease-fire
Ukraine and the pro-Russian rebels said on Thursday they had agree to halt fire across the eastern war zone on Dec. 9 under the terms of a Kremlin-brokered truce. President Petro Poroshenko said the terms of the new cease-fire were already included in an earlier peace deal agreed with the help of European representatives in […] The post Ukraine,...
Ukraine energy minister claims nuclear plant accident poses “no threat”
An accident at a nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhya in southeastern Ukraine poses no danger to health or the environment, energy authorities said on Wednesday, an assessment later corroborated by the French nuclear institute IRSN. Energy Minister Volodymyr Demchyshyn said the accident occurred Nov. 28 in one of the six blocks at Zaporizhzhya,...
Ukraine parliament approves new government
Ukraine’s parliament approved the formation of a new government Tuesday, bringing an end to weeks of behind-the-scenes political wrangling following an October election that ushered in a group of pro-Western parties. The new Cabinet has come together as government troops and Russian-backed separatist forces agreed on a tentative cease-fire...
Russia lashes out at NATO over Ukraine conflict
Russia has lashed out at NATO, saying the alliance risked “destabilizing” Europe with military drills linked to a spike in tensions over the Ukraine crisis. Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Alexei Meshkov said Monday the U.S.-led military alliance was “trying to destabilize the world’s most stable region. “Endless military exercises,...
Russian jets pose threat to civilian planes, U.S. envoy says
Russian military aircraft are posing a threat to civilian planes by turning off communications devices and failing to file flight plans, the U.S. ambassador to NATO said on Monday. Russia has stepped up flights near NATO’s borders, the alliance says, coinciding with increased East-West tension over Russia’s role in the Ukraine crisis....
Three soldiers killed, 15 wounded in east Ukraine
Three Ukrainian soldiers have been killed and 15 wounded in the latest fighting in eastern Ukraine, a military spokesman said Sunday. Fighting was ongoing around Donetsk airport and in Stanitsa Luganska, near rebel-held Lugansk, the spokesman, Andriy Lysenko, told a news briefing. The town hall of Donetsk, also held by the separatists, said in a...
Mother of German victim of Flight MH17 takes Ukraine to human rights court
The mother of a victim of downed Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 has begun legal proceedings against Ukraine at the European Court of Human Rights, accusing the country of failing to close its airspace, the German daily Bild reported Sunday. The woman, who lodged her complaint at the Strasbourg-based court “last week,” is suing Ukraine for […] The...
West struggles to deal with ‘ambiguous’ Russian threat
When Russian soldiers crossed the border to fight with rebels in Ukraine earlier this year, Moscow said they had not been deployed but had gone on their own vacation time. When Estonia was the victim of a cyberattack in 2007 and blamed Moscow, the Kremlin responded that it could not control patriotic Russian hackers. Western […] The post West...
