Section: The United Kingdom
Ukrainian rebels grow restless amid cracks in alliance with Russia
A trip to the self-declared Luhansk People’s Republic in eastern Ukraine reveals militants unhappy with the ceasefire and increasingly out-of-step with Moscow Portraits of Putin and Stalin adorn the room where the rebel commander, Yuri “Rostov” Shevchenko, holds court.In this former KGB complex in the industrial town of Alchevsk in the...
MH17, Arctic Sunrise and illicit edam – how it all went wrong for one Dutch diplomat
The Netherlands’ ambassador to Russia talks to The Moscow Times about the series of disasters marking his posting When Ron van Dartel agreed to take up the post of Dutch ambassador to Russia he thought it would be the perfect ending to his career. Eighteen months later, he concedes he might have been optimistic. “If we look at the...
Arrest of Ukraine oligarch’s ally politically motivated – lawyer
KIEV (Reuters) – The arrest in Ukraine of a close associate of the influential business tycoon Ihor Kolomoisky on suspicion of embezzlement is politically motivated, his lawyer said on Sunday. …read more Source:...
Why has the government taken international law out of the Ministerial Code?
The developments are sinister. First published in 1992, the ministerial code sets out the standards expected of ministers and makes them accountable to the Prime Minister for their conduct in office. It has been updated by successive Prime Ministers, but one small change in the latest edition, published this month, has left both constitutional...
Russia-U.S. rivalry spreads to ex-Soviet central Asia
ALMATY/VIENNA (Reuters) – After Ukraine and Syria, the ex-Soviet republics of central Asia could become the latest venue for geo-political rivalry between Moscow and Washington, driven by Kremlin worries about Islamists and U.S. suspicion about Russia’s true intentions. …read more Source:...
Russian OSCE monitor in Ukraine fired after ‘drunkenly saying he was a Moscow spy’
Maksim Udovichenko criticises Ukraine as he apparently drunkenly admits to working for Russian intelligence …read more Source: The...
Employees of raided Ukrainian library in Moscow say they were framed
MOSCOW (Reuters) – The shaken employees of a Moscow library specializing in Ukrainian literature accused Russian investigators on Friday of planting banned extremist books on their shelves to create a pretext to raid the library and detain their director. …read more Source:...
How long until Putin bans Echo of Moscow, Russia’s last bastion of free speech, from the airwaves?
Sergei Buntman, deputy editor of opposition-friendly radio station Echo of Moscow, gives us an insight into how long outlets like his have in Russia until they are shut down. Almost exactly 25 years ago, the Law on the Press came into force in the USSR, establishing freedom of speech, banning censorship and allowing independent media outlets to...
Ukraine calls deadly depot blast a terrorist act
KIEV (Reuters) – Explosions in a Ukrainian ammunition depot that killed two civilians overnight is being investigated as a terrorist act, the Defence Ministry said on Friday. …read more Source:...
At least two killed by ammunition dump explosion in Ukraine
Emergency services struggle to control blaze in Svatove as exploding shells force residents to take coverHuge blasts have rocked a town in eastern Ukraine after an ammunition depot exploded and a series of fireballs erupted into the night sky. At least two people were reported dead and three wounded, though the numbers of casualties are expected...
