Section: The Japan Times (Japan)
Russia takes page from Soviet era in missing troop saga
The last time Valeria Sokolova saw her husband, the 25-year-old paratrooper told her that he and his fellow soldiers were heading for military exercises in southern Russia, near the Ukrainian border. “He was vague in a way that was very unusual, and it was hard for all of them to say goodbye,” Sokolova said, recounting […] The post Russia takes...
Using loaded term ‘New Russia,’ Putin signals intent to carve pro-Moscow fiefdom out of Ukraine’s east
Russian strongman Vladimir Putin first used “Novorossiya” (New Russia) — the loaded Czarist-era name for what is now southern and eastern Ukraine — just after annexing Crimea from Ukraine in March, sparking outrage in Kiev. The Kremlin made a reference to the term again Friday when it released Putin’s address to Ukraine’s pro-Russian...
EU names Tusk, Mogherini to top jobs, readies Russian sanctions
European Union leaders on Saturday chose Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk to chair the European Council and named Italian Federica Mogherini to run the bloc’s foreign relations as it prepared to threaten Russia with new sanctions over Ukraine. A summit in Brussels shared the two coveted EU posts between a Kremlin critic from ex-communist...
Ukraine says Russian tanks flatten entire town; EU ready to prepare sanctions
Ukraine said on Saturday Russian tanks had flattened a small border town and pro-Russian rebels had made fresh gains in its east, as EU leaders signaled they were ready to prepare more sanctions on Moscow over the crisis. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, speaking ahead of a European Union summit in Brussels, said he was still […] The post...
Some Mariupol residents dig in, some flee as pro-Russia rebels close in
Residents in east Ukraine’s strategic port of Mariupol dug trenches Friday as others packed up and fled over fears the city could be the next target for advancing pro-Russian rebels. Journalists saw dozens of people hastily building defenses in a field on the eastern outskirts of the government-held city, after pro-Moscow forces that Kiev...
The audacity of taupe: Obama’s tan suit lights up social media
Quick! What exactly did President Barack Obama say from the White House briefing room about Syria, Iraq and Ukraine while dressed in the tan suit that created a stir around the world? Tan suit? Precisely. If you get all your news from social media. Obama’s summer fashion choice, not unprecedented among presidents — himself included […] The...
Moscow categorizes soldiers’ mothers group as a ‘foreign agent’
Russia on Friday officially labeled a regional rights group that monitors abuses in the armed forces a “foreign agent” as Kiev and the West claimed Russian troops are involved in fighting in Ukraine. The Russian Justice Ministry added a group called Soldiers’ Mothers of St. Petersburg to its register of “foreign agents.” The ruling means...
Russia, European nations both have incentives to lie over Russian troops in Ukraine
The conflict in Ukraine has brought many echoes of the Cold War, including a loose attitude to the truth. Although Russia’s denials of military involvement stretch credibility to the breaking point, for some they remain a convenient fiction. Russian President Vladimir Putin is chief among them, apparently hoping that denying a Russian role...
Kiev seeks to join NATO; Putin calls Ukraine Nazis
Ukraine called on Friday for full membership in NATO, its strongest plea yet for Western military help, after accusing Russia of sending in armored columns that have driven back its forces on behalf of pro-Moscow rebels. Russian President Vladimir Putin, defiant as ever, compared Kiev’s drive to regain control of its rebellious eastern...
Russian fund bypassed by U.S. sanctions
As President Barack Obama warns of stepped-up economic punishments against Russia for its military incursions inside Ukraine, U.S. sanctions have so far avoided one prominent financial institution: the $10 billion Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which has partnered with brand-name American companies and whose advisers include top U.S. and...
