Section: The Japan Times (Japan)
Ukraine clashes test truce as Russian opposition stages protests
Ukraine’s truce was tested by battles between government forces and separatists as Russia’s opposition held a peace march to protest President Vladimir Putin’s policy in the neighboring country. The government in Kiev and the rebels traded accusations of cease-fire violations even after they agreed to create a buffer zone to...
Ukraine has cease-fire ‘in name only,’ NATO chief says
NATO’s top general said Saturday the 2-week-old truce between Ukraine and pro-Russian militants fighting in the country’s east is a “cease-fire in name only,” and said that by enabling a free flow of weapons and fighters across the border, Russia has made it nearly impossible to determine how many of its troops are operating inside...
Ukraine peace talks negotiators agree to establish buffer zone
Negotiators in Ukrainian peace talks agreed early Saturday to create a buffer zone to separate government troops and pro-Russian militants and withdraw heavy weapons and foreign fighters in order to ensure a stable truce in eastern Ukraine. The deal reached by representatives of Ukraine, Russia, the Moscow-backed rebels and the Organization for...
Ukraine’s pleas for lethal aid from US go unmet
President Barack Obama welcomed the new leader of embattled Ukraine to the White House on Thursday, but stopped short of fulfilling his visitor’s urgent request for lethal aid to fight Russian-backed separatists. Earlier, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko renewed his call for American weaponry during an emotional address to a joint...
Ukraine’s pleas for lethal aid from U.S. go unmet
President Barack Obama welcomed the new leader of embattled Ukraine to the White House Thursday, but he stopped short of fulfilling his visitor’s urgent request for lethal aid to fight Russian-backed separatists. Earlier, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko renewed his call for American weaponry during an emotional address to a joint...
BBC reporters ‘badly beaten’ in Russia
A team of BBC journalists was assaulted in southern Russia while researching a story about soldiers “being killed at the Ukraine border,” the company said Thursday after lodging a protest with Russian authorities. The three reporters were working in the southern city of Astrakhan when they were “assaulted by unidentified men in a coordinated...
Ukraine leader to seek U.S. security pledge when he visits Obama
Ukrainian leader Petro Poroshenko will cast Russia as a global menace Thursday when he meets U.S. President Barack Obama in the hope of winning a “special status” guaranteeing his troubled nation’s security. The pro-Western president’s first tour of the White House since his May election comes two days after Ukraine took its first...
Ukraine’s president addresses Canadian Parliament
Ukraine’s president says his country has “crossed the Rubicon” to a new Westward-looking future that leaves behind the darkness of its Russian past. President Petro Poroshenko made the remarks during an address to the Canadian Parliament on Wednesday. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper welcomed Poroshenko, who lauded Canada for its...
Ukrainian people make history with EU pact, U.S. says
The United States on Tuesday welcomed Ukraine’s ratification of a landmark EU pact and new laws granting self-rule to the east, urging Moscow to implement a cease-fire deal in return. “We congratulate the people of Ukraine on making history today,” State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf said in a statement. By “forging ahead” with...
Ukraine parliament ratifies EU pact
Ukraine’s parliament on Tuesday ratified an agreement to deepen economic and political ties with the European Union, and passed legislation to grant autonomy to the rebellious east as part of a peace deal. The ratification vote draws a line under the issue that last year sparked Ukraine’s crisis, which resulted in the ousting of the...
