Section: Newsweek (USA)
Eastern European Trade Organization Picks English Over Russian
GUAM, the interstate association of Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova, will no longer be conducting meetings in Russian. The group could typically speak Russian during meetings, a holdover universal language from the Soviet era. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Pavlo Klimkin wrote on Twitter that the decision to switch languages to...
Russian ‘Humanitarian Convoy’ Heads for Separatist Moldovan Region
A Russian NGO with close ties to the Kremlin plans to send a 60-lorry ‘humanitarian convoy’ into Moldova’s pro-Russian separatist region, amidst growing tension in the small former Soviet state after pro-EU parties defeated the pro-Russian Socialist party in last week’s parliamentary elections. The first three lorries had...
The Kid With the Kalashnikov Isn’t Happy: Ukraine’s Revolution One Year On
He scowls at us from under a rain cape, water dripping off the peak of his army cap. He flourishes my passport. “Britain,” he says. “You are from Britain.” We are standing at a rebel roadblock on the main Zaporozhiye to Donetsk highway which does not appear to be under any kind of adult supervision. The skinny soldier with my documents stands...
Vladimir Was Here: Finding ‘Winners’ in the War in Ukraine
The kid with the Kalashnikov isn’t happy. He scowls at us from under his rain cape, water dripping off the peak of his army cap. He flourishes my passport. “Britain,” he says. “You are from Britain.” We are stopped at a Donetsk highway rebel roadblock that does not appear to be under any kind of adult supervision. The skinny soldier with my...
Ukraine Steps Up Fight Against ‘Communists’
Ukraine’s parliament tabled a bill banning “communist”, “Nazi” and “anti-Ukrainian” ideology on Wednesday, as Kiev has undertaken several projects billed as the “de-communisation” of Ukraine, amidst mounting concern about the state of the freedom of speech in the country. No explanation of the bill’s practical implementation has been...
Rouble Falls As Putin Warns of Russia’s Enemies in Keynote Speech
President Vladimir Putin accused Russia’s enemies on Thursday of seeking to carve it up and destroy its economy to punish it for growing strong, in an annual state of the union speech that seemed to outdo even his own recent strident nationalism. The Kremlin leader trumpeted his annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula, praised the...
Fleeing War and a Crumbling Economy, Ukrainians Flock to Europe
Andriy left his home town in western Ukraine earlier this year on a journey that brought him through the hands of shady traders in Poland to one of the world’s booming markets for illegal immigrants – London. Fleeing the strife of war with Russian-backed fighters and a shattered economy, Andriy is following a path similar to one taken...
Putin Under Pressure To Address Russia’s Economic Ills in State of the Union Address
MOSCOW (Reuters) – President Vladimir Putin is under pressure to show he has a prescription to cure Russia’s rapidly growing economic ills in his annual state of the union address on Thursday. Western sanctions over the Ukraine crisis, sharp falls in global oil prices and the ruble’s slide against the dollar culminated in an...
Explosion at Ukrainian Patriot Shop Investigated as Act of Terrorism
Patriot, a store that sells symbols of Ukrainian heritage in Odessa, Ukraine, was destroyed in an explosion Tuesday night. The Central Office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine in the Odessa region opened a criminal investigation into the explosion on the grounds that it was an “act of terrorism.” It was not immediately clear who was...
Hungary Objects to McCain Calling Prime Minister a “Neo-Fascist Dictator”
BUDAPEST (Reuters) – Hungary’s Foreign Ministry summoned the U.S. envoy on Wednesday after U.S. Senator John McCain called Prime Minister Viktor Orban a “neo-fascist dictator.” The United States has become increasingly critical of Orban’s government, accusing him of getting too close to Russia since East-West...
