Section: The Malaysian Insider (Malaysia)
Despite Western snub, Russia prepares to fete WWII anniversary
Russia is preparing this week to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany with imperial flair and a military parade viewed as an unapologetic show of force. In what is seen as punishment for the Kremlin’s policies on Ukraine, Russia’s World War II allies are boycotting the May 9 festivities, leaving...
EU, Nato try to counter Russian propaganda
Western powers are getting set to counter an expertly crafted Russian disinformation campaign over Ukraine which has left them wrong-footed too many times for comfort. The aim is to win the daily battle for the news headlines, to get the EU and NATO story out to show that Russia’s message falls well short of the truth. “In Russia, the...
Ukrainian billionaire tops British rich list
Ukraine-born businessman Len Blavatnik has been named the wealthiest man in Britain in a rich list being released on Sunday studded with members of the international jet set living in London. Blavatnik, an investor in a range of industries including oil, petrochemicals and media, is worth £13.17 billion (RM70 billion), according to...
‘No regrets’ on Crimea, says Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview broadcast today that he had no regrets over Moscow’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and that it was righting a historical injustice. “I think we did the right thing and I don’t regret a thing,” Putin said of his decision to take back the Black Sea peninsula from Ukraine,...
Kiev accuses Russians of not wanting peace
Ukraine accused Russia today of resisting a peaceful end to fighting in eastern Ukraine, and called for weapons from its allies, saying it is striving to settle the separatist conflict. “The situation is difficult. Russia does not want peace,” Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk told parliament. He accused Moscow of failing to uphold...
300 troops sent to train Ukrainian forces, says US Army
About 300 US paratroopers arrived this week, in Ukraine to train the Ukrainian National Guard which is fighting pro-Russian rebels in the east, the US Army said in a statement. The troops from the 173rd Airborne Brigade arrived on Tuesday and Wednesday in Yavoriv, western Ukraine, to spend six months training three battalions of Ukrainian…...
Nobel-winning author warned of another world war
Germany’s Nobel Prize-winning author Gunther Grass said he feared humanity was “sleepwalking” into a world war in the last interview he gave before his death on Monday. “We have on the one side Ukraine, whose situation is not improving; in Israel and Palestine things are getting worse; the disaster the Americans left in...
Germany calls on Russia, Ukraine to move to next phase of peace deal
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has called on Russia and Ukraine to set in motion the next phase of the shaky Minsk peace accords aimed at stopping the fighting in east Ukraine, ahead of talks about their implementation in Berlin on Monday. “We expect both Moscow and Kiev to seize the central issue of the implementation of...
Russia supplying arms, troops to Ukrainian rebels, says German paper
The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) believes that Russia has supplied more troops and weapons to pro-Russian separatists in east Ukraine, a German newspaper reported today. “We have noticed again support for the separatists, with weapons, troops and training. Russia is still sending troops and arms from one side of the open...
Ukraine far-right leader made army advisor in move to control militias
The controversial leader of Ukraine’s ultra-nationalist Pravy Sektor paramilitary group, which is fighting pro-Russian rebels alongside government troops, was made an army advisor Monday as Kiev seeks to tighten its control over volunteer fighters. Coming on the anniversary of the start of fighting in Ukraine, the move marks a key step...
