Section: Newsweek (USA)
Cyprus Agrees Deal to Let Russian Navy Use Ports
European governments are facing the prospect of a Russian beachhead in the Mediterranean after Cyprus confirmed they have agreed a deal to allow the Russian navy access to Cypriot ports, in the latest agreement struck between the two countries. Initial reports of a similar deal earlier this month prompted concern among Western experts, as the...
One Paramedic’s War in Ukraine, From Maidan to Debaltseve
A column of Ukrainian troop trucks rumbled across the frozen, pitted ground. Slowed by a full load of soldiers each, their drivers strained to see through mud-spattered windscreens in the early morning light. Thousands of Ukrainian soldiers had started their retreat from the besieged city of Debaltseve in the dead of night on 18 February, but the...
Top Secret Briefing Advising Putin on Break-Up of Ukraine Leaked
A top secret Kremlin briefing purportedly intended for the eyes of Russian President Vladimir Putin on the eve of Ukraine’s revolution which discusses how to co-opt regions of the country’s east into the Russian Federation has been leaked to the Russian media. The document, which forsees the break-up of Ukraine, with eastern regions...
Ukraine’s Currency Drops Under Gas Supply Threat
KIEV/MAKIYVKA, Ukraine (Reuters) – Ukraine came under increasing economic pressure from a collapsing currency and a threat to its gas supplies from the Kremlin on Wednesday, just as a long-awaited ceasefire took hold in the east. As the truce appeared to be coming into force, the Ukrainian army reported no combat fatalities in the past 24...
Moscow Court Hands ‘Death Sentence’ to Hunger-Striking Ukrainian MP
An appeals court in Moscow today refused to bring forward the trial date of the Ukrainian MP Nadiya Savchenko, who has been on hunger strike for over 70 days. The ruling could mean that Savchenko will die in pretrial detention, and her campaigners have slammed the decision as effectively being a “death sentence”. Russia charged Savchenko, 33,...
Eight of 10 Countries Ill-Treat and Torture Citizens: Amnesty
A majority of the world’s countries torture or mistreat their citizens and more people are at risk this year from the threat of violent armed groups, according to a far-reaching report by human rights group Amnesty International. Since 2013, there has been a growth in the number of armed groups operating inside countries; today 35...
France Says Russia Would Face More Sanctions If Mariupol Attacked
Moscow would face more EU sanctions if pro-Russia separatists attack the Ukrainian port of Mariupol, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Wednesday, potentially opening a corridor to the south, including the annexed Crimean peninsula. Kiev fears Mariupol, with its 500,000 people, could be the next major rebel target after separatists...
Britain to Help Train Ukrainian Army to Counter Russian Threat
Prime Minister David Cameron said on Tuesday Britain would deploy military personnel to Ukraine in the next month to help train the Ukrainian army, warning thatMoscow would move to destabilize other countries if left unchallenged. “Over the course of the next month we’re going to be deploying British service personnel to provide...
Four Russian Drones Violate Ukrainian Airspace in One Day
Four Russian drones have crossed into Ukraine’s airspace over the last day, while a total of 13 were detected near Ukrainian territory by the country’s defense forces, according to a military spokesperson. Andriy Lysenko, a spokesman for Ukraine’s armed forces currently stationed in separatist-occupied areas in eastern Donetsk...
Ukrainian Separatists Take Two Towns in Push on Mariupol
The pro-Russian separatist group calling itself the Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) announced fresh gains towards the key Ukrainian port city of Mariupol today, as government forces reported the rebels were indeed preparing to move in on the city. A spokesman for DNR told Russian news agency RIA Novosti that the separatists had today taken...
