Section: The Japan Times (Japan)
Tensions grow in Ukraine over Russia troop buildup on border
As the steadily advancing Ukrainian army sets its sights on reclaiming the largest rebel-held city in eastern Ukraine, tension is building over whether a large Russian army lying in wait just across the border will step in to protect the separatists. President Vladimir Putin has resisted mounting pressure from Russian nationalists to send the...
Ukraine keeps up anti-rebel offensive with nervous eye on Russia
Ukrainian government forces, backed by warplanes, kept up a military offensive to claw back lost territory from pro-Russian separatists on Tuesday while casting a nervous eye at Russian military exercises over the border. Kiev’s military said government forces had clashed 26 times with separatists in the Russian-speaking east in the 24...
Humanitarian crisis feared as power and food supplies dwindle in eastern Ukrainian city
Residents say the eastern Ukrainian city of Luhansk is dying. The power grid was completely down Monday, the city government said, and fuel is running dry. Store shelves are emptying fast, and those who haven’t managed to flee must drink untreated tap water. With little medicine left, doctors are sending patients home. As Ukrainian...
Talks underway after Ukrainian troops cross into Russia to avoid fighting
Ukraine said Monday it was in talks with Moscow over the return of 311 Ukrainian soldiers and border guards who had been forced by fighting with separatists to cross into Russia, but Russian border authorities said the troops were seeking asylum. Both sides seemed set to use the fate of the troops to score propaganda […] The post Talks...
Thousands of Russians stranded abroad after tour operator fails
Russia is striving to bring back nearly 16,000 tourists stranded abroad after the latest in a string of travel companies failed amid strains over the crisis in Ukraine, tourism officials said Monday. With Western sanctions threatening to tip Russia’s ailing economy into a recession and the value of the ruble taking a beating, the number...
Interfax reports 400 Ukraine soldiers desert in Russia
More than 400 Ukrainian soldiers have crossed the border into Russia and deserted the Kiev government, news agency Interfax quoted a border security official as saying Monday. Ukraine confirmed the crossing but said the soldiers were forced into Russian territory by rebel fire. Vasily Malayev, head of the Federal Security Service’s border...
Ukrainian army steps up attacks on rebel-held Donetsk
Pro-Russian separatists battled Sunday to keep advancing Ukrainian government forces at bay in heavy fighting on the outskirts of Donetsk, the rebels’ main stronghold in eastern Ukraine. Shelling by Ukrainian troops, some of them in sunflower fields outside the large industrial city, killed six people over the weekend, city officials said,...
Putin left with few palatable options to resolve Ukraine crisis
Punitive sanctions and the calling into question of a key arms control treaty with Washington have ratcheted up pressure on Russia, leaving President Vladimir Putin few palatable options to resolve the crisis in Ukraine, analysts say. Putin might have thought he could get away with keeping the conflict simmering with a divided Europe wary of...
More human remains recovered at Ukraine crash site
Investigators using sniffer dogs recovered more human remains and personal belongings at the Malaysia Airlines wreckage site in eastern Ukraine on Saturday, the head of an international recovery mission said. Speaking from the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, Pieter-Jaap Aalbersberg said 70 Dutch and Australian investigators were able to reach the site...
Putin may be past point of no return in Ukraine
Vladimir Putin risks becoming an international pariah over the Ukraine crisis but the Russian president is battening down the hatches for the gathering economic and political storm. The United States and the European Union saw the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 as a chance for Putin to distance himself from pro-Russian separatists in east...
