Section: The Guardian (The United Kingdom)
Belarus is no longer ‘Europe’s last dictatorship’
Analysis: Minsk severely restricts freedoms but the regime is far from totalitarian. Now that the president is playing peacemaker in the Ukraine conflict, its time for the west to review the way it sees Belarus, writes Ryhor AstapeniaFormer US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice labelled Belarus Europes last dictatorship in 2005 and since then it...
EU imposes further Russia sanctions
Sanctions target arms maker Kalashnikov and energy firms, as well as individuals including deputy speaker of parliamentSome of Russia’s best known companies including the arms maker Kalashnikov and the energy firms Rosneft and Gazprom have been targeted in the latest round of EU sanctions over the Ukraine crisis.Under the sanctions,...
Russia reacts to EU sanctions with further western trade embargos
Moscow imposes import ban on used cars, clothes and consumer products amid Ukraine crisisRussia is preparing to hit back at fresh EU sanctions with a new list placing embargos on imports of consumer goods and secondhand cars from western countries, deepening a tit-for-tat trade war sparked by the crisis in Ukraine.Andrei Belousov, an aide to...
Despair in Luhansk as residents count the dead
The worst-hit city in eastern Ukraine is struggling with the aftermath of violence as a semblance of normality returnsEach time a body arrives, Anatoly Turevich opens a word file on his computer and adds details to his list. Often the only detail he is able to add is “man” or “woman”. There are 511 entries.Turevich, the...
Russia stokes tensions with the west by cutting gas exports to Poland
Gazprom claims maintenance is behind the shortfall, as it is accused of penalising Poland over supplying gas to UkraineA decision by Russia to cut its gas exports to Poland without warning rekindled fears last night about Europe’s reliance on Siberian gas at a time of increasing tension between Moscow and the west.The Polish state energy...
Russia’s Gazprom ‘limiting gas supplies to Poland’
Polish gas monopoly says volume received is down by 20%, a move that some say aims to disrupt ‘reverse flows’ to UkrainePoland has said the volume of gas it has received so far this week from Russian gas monopoly Gazprom is down by at least 20%.Some European countries believe Moscow may use a disruption of gas to Europe as a trump...
Ukraine says most Russian troops have moved back across border
President Petro Poroshenko says most Moscow forces have retreated and eastern parts of country will get special statusKiev says Russia has now largely withdrawn its forces, following a major military offensive last month that pushed back Ukrainian troops and gave separatist rebels the upper hand.Speaking in a televised cabinet meeting, President...
Azov fighters are Ukraine’s greatest weapon and may be its greatest threat
The battalion’s far-right volunteers’ desire to ‘bring the fight to Kiev’ is a danger to post-conflict stability”I have nothing against Russian nationalists, or a great Russia,” said Dmitry, as we sped through the dark Mariupol night in a pickup truck, a machine gunner positioned in the back. “But...
MH17 destroyed in instant by ‘number of high-energy objects’, says report
Preliminary report by Dutch Safety Board reveals objects caused plane to break apart before alarm could be raisedMalaysia Airlines flight 17 was destroyed in an instant when the cockpit and other parts of the fuselage were peppered by “a large number of high-energy objects,” causing the plane to break apart over eastern Ukraine before...
The Russians protesting against the Ukraine conflict
A small number of Russians have braved public disapproval and possible arrest to stand against Moscows actions in Ukraine. RFE/RLs Russian Service spoke to some of themVladimir Barabanov is a veteran of the Soviet war in Afghanistan and heads a local branch of the Union of Afghanistan Veterans in Russias western Bryansk Oblast. Barabanov, a...
