Section: Newsweek (USA)
All Is Not Well on Ukraine’s Eastern Front
What is Vladimir Putin’s game in eastern Ukraine? NATO reports that long convoys of unmarked military vehicles transporting heavy artillery and tanks, along with armored personnel carriers and trucks bearing rocket launchers manned by troops dressed in camouflage without identifying livery, have reinforced the pro-Russian separatist...
Crimea Suffers Spike in Human Rights Abuses Since Russian Annexation, Report Shows
The Crimean peninsula has suffered a spike in human rights violations since it was annexed by Russia from Ukraine last spring according to a Human Rights Watch report published today. The report details instances of pro-Ukrainian activists and Crimea’s Muslim minority, the Tatars, suffering “unlawful detention, abduction, ill-treatment...
Putin May Have Left the G20 Early, but on Russian TV, He’s Still a Hero
MOSCOW (Reuters) – It may have looked in the West like Russian President Vladimir Putin fled this weekend’s G20 summit early with his tail between his legs after being berated over Ukraine. But it was a different story in Russia, where pliant media praised Putin for being courageous enough to “enter the lion’s den”,...
Czechs Mark 1989’s Fall of Communism With Red Cards and Candles
PRAGUE (Reuters) – Czechs marked the 25th anniversary of the fall of communism in Prague on Monday by again marching in protest, this time waving red cards rather than jangling their keys to serve notice to unpopular rulers. Over 5,000 people rallied in the capital to raise the soccer-style penalty warning against President Milos Zeman,...
Kiev Authorities Recieve More Than 230 Bomb Threats in Eight Months
One of Kiev’s most central metro stations was closed around noon on Monday after authorities received a bomb threat and were forced to investigate, according to local transport officials. Kiev’s Teatralnaya station was closed at around 11:50am and reopened an hour later in what is becoming a regular occurrence for the Ukrainian...
Ukraine to Close State Offices, Bank Services in Rebel-Held East
(Reuters) – Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko issued several decrees on Saturday to shut state institutions and banking services in pro-Russian eastern regions, pressing a move to cut links with the rebel-held territory. Ukraine has cut all state funding to separatist parts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions after separatists held elections...
Western Leaders Confront Putin at G20, Threaten More Sanctions
Western leaders warned Vladimir Putin at a G20 summit on Saturday that he risked more economic sanctions if he failed to end Russian backing for separatist rebels in Ukraine. Russia denied any involvement in an escalation of the separatist war in eastern Ukraine, where more than 4,000 people have been killed since April, but faced strong rebukes...
Russia Won’t Allow Ukraine to ‘Destroy’ Opponents, Says Putin
Russia will not allow the Ukraine government to “destroy” its political opponents and adversaries in east Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin told German television network ARD. He accused Western media of biased reporting on Ukraine. “The most important thing is that one does not have a one-sided view of the problem,” Putin...
Russia Plans Its Own Version of Wikipedia
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia plans to create its own “Wikipedia” to ensure its citizens have access to more “detailed and reliable” information about their country, the presidential library said on Friday. Citing Western threats, the Kremlin has asserted more control over the Internet this year in what critics call...
Ukraine’s PM Says Main Task Is to Build Army to Stop Russia
KIEV (Reuters) – Ukraine’s top priority is to build an army strong enough to stop Russian military aggression, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk said on Friday, as he made his recommendations for top positions in a new coalition government. Ukraine’s pro-Western leaders and NATO have accused Russia of sending soldiers...
