Eventually, he and 12 others were found by the rebel government’s Committee on POWs and transferred to a detention facility in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk, the rebels’ main stronghold. […] allowed to call his wife, Lazarenko said the Cossacks had held him in a windowless basement where he could only lie down on sacks...

Oct09

Cease-Fire in Ukraine Could Be at ‘Tipping Point’ as US, EU Spar With Russia Over Syria

Sunday, October 9 , 2016 - 23:17 (EEST) Section: The Daily Signal (USA)

KYIV, Ukraine—The shaky cease-fire in eastern Ukraine has reached a “tipping point,” a high-level Ukrainian government official says. The official’s comments underscore how geopolitical events—from the war in Syria to the rise of nationalist parties across Europe—have tested international resolve to maintain sanctions on Russia. “There is...

Oct09

Time to wake up to corruption reality in Ukraine

Sunday, October 9 , 2016 - 23:17 (EEST) Section: The Hill (USA)

Of the many foreign policy pots and pans left neglected on the next President’s stove, the one marked “Ukraine” may be ready to boil over. It is a goulash of bribery, theft, official corruption and even murder – and nothing is as it first… …read more Source: The...

Oct09

Russia: ‘Aggressive’ U.S. Actions Pose Threat to National Security

Sunday, October 9 , 2016 - 17:01 (EEST) Section: Newsweek (USA)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Sunday he had detected increasing U.S. hostility toward Moscow and complained about what he said was a series of aggressive U.S. steps that threatened Russia’s national security. In an interview with Russian state TV likely to worsen already poor relations with Washington, Lavrov made it clear...

Oct09

Ukrainian War Prisoners Languish in Limbo on Both Sides

Sunday, October 9 , 2016 - 15:46 (EEST) Section: Voice of America (USA)

Just three days after Ukrainian soldier Oleksandr Lazarenko was taken prisoner in the war in Ukraine’s east, a peace agreement was signed under which the sides agreed to an “all-for-all” prisoner exchange. A year and a half later, his wife still waits desperately for his return. The so-called Minsk Agreement on ending the war...

Oct09

Seven Reasons the New Russian Hack Announcement Is a Big Deal

Sunday, October 9 , 2016 - 15:16 (EEST) Section: POLITICO - U.S. Edition (USA)

It’s been buried under news of Donald Trump bragging about his ability to grab women by their genitals, but Friday afternoon’s news dump included a stunning declaration by the Department of Homeland Security: the first direct accusation from the Obama administration that Russia is trying to interfere with our elections.”The U.S....

Oct09

Rabbi beaten in Ukraine airlifted to Israeli hospital

Sunday, October 9 , 2016 - 14:01 (EEST) Section: Jewish Telegraphic Agency (USA)

(JTA) — A Chabad rabbi who was severely beaten in a train station in the western Ukrainian city of Zhitomir was airlifted to Israel by emergency medical transport. Rabbi Mendel Deitsch is in serious but stable condition at Tel Hashomer Medical Center near Tel Aviv. He has emergency surgery at a hospital in Zhitomir before being airlifted to...