Section: Today (Singapore)
Russia establishes seaborne lifeline for Syrian allies
LONDON – The Alexandr Tkachenko, an ageing ferry with a canary-yellow hull, usually carries people across the Kerch Strait, a bustling sea route and the only connection between Russia and Crimea, the peninsula Moscow annexed from Ukraine last year. But the… …read more Source:...
Ukraine’s new military doctrine names Russia as main aggressor
KIEV – Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed a new military doctrine on Thursday naming Russia as the main military threat to Ukraine, according to a statement on the presidential website. Ukraine and NATO accuse Russia of providing pro-Russian… …read more Source:...
In symbolic visit, NATO offers Ukraine support but no arms
KIEV – The head of NATO pledged to help Ukraine defend itself against pro-Russian separatists on Tuesday but disappointed some in Kiev who seek supplies of defensive weaponry that the West fears would threaten a fragile ceasefire with the rebels. In an… …read more Source:...
Syrian army reversals spook Kremlin into hasty military build-up
MOSCOW – For Vladimir Putin, Russia’s military build-up in Syria is a potential diplomatic trump card and a handy way of diverting attention from Ukraine’s frozen conflict. But it was a panicky realization that the Syrian government was being turned over on… …read more Source:...
Ukraine bars 3 BBC journalists from entering Ukraine
MOSCOW – Ukraine yesterday (Sept 16) barred a few dozen reporters, including three BBC journalists, from entering the country as an unspecified security threat. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko late yesterday signed a sanctions list barring nearly 400… …read more Source:...
Putin sees Syria as Russia’s path back into good graces of West
MOSCOW – To much of the world, Syria is a scene of unending tragedy, but to President Vladimir Putin of Russia it is a golden opportunity, a way out of the isolation he and Russia have endured since the West imposed sanctions over Ukraine – with the added… …read more Source:...
Ukrainian govt, rebels: much-anticipated cease-fire holds
KIEV – The Ukrainian government and Russia-backed rebels say a much-anticipated cease-fire is holding. The military conflict in eastern Ukraine has claimed more than 6,800 lives since it began in April 2014. A truce brokered by Western powers in February… …read more Source:...
Dutch prosecutors: fragments from MH17 site may be from Russian-made missile
AMSTERDAM – Dutch prosecutors from a joint international criminal investigation into the 2014 downing of flight MH17 in eastern Ukraine say some of the debris recovered from the site may belong to a Russian-made missile system. The Netherlands’ national… …read more Source:...
Ukrainian village marks anniversary of MH17 crash
HRABOVE (Ukraine) – Residents of the Ukrainian village where a Malaysian airliner was shot down with 298 people aboard are marking the disaster’s anniversary. Villagers carrying flowers gathered in the church in the centre of Hrabove at the start of a… …read more Source:...
Dutch say Malaysia jet inquiry is blocked in Ukraine
MOSCOW – Pro-Russian separatist leaders in the eastern Ukrainian region of Luhansk have blocked access to Dutch law enforcement officials pursuing an investigation into the downing of a Malaysian jetliner nearly a year ago, the Netherlands Public Prosecution… …read more Source:...
