Section: San Francisco Chronicle (USA)
Ukraine rebels to hold election, despite criticism
DONETSK, Ukraine (AP) — Rebel-held territories in eastern Ukraine are preparing to elect a parliament and leader in a vote that has been roundly condemned by the international community but backed by Russia. …read more Source: San Francisco...
Coal miners stuck in the middle of Ukraine’s war
DONETSK, Ukraine (AP) — Glistening black sweat rolls down the spine of a beefy miner as he jackhammers bedrock along the shaft at the Chelyuskintsev coal mine in Donetsk, Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland. Vitaly Khristich is one of hundreds of miners who each day brave the artillery fire that flares between pro-Russian separatists and...
Russia: gas flow will resume after Ukraine pays
Alexei Miller, the chief of Russia’s state-controlled Gazprom natural gas giant, made the statement Friday hours after Russia, Ukraine and the European Union thrashed out a $4.6 billion deal that will guarantee Russian gas supplies to Ukraine and further on to the EU. …read more Source: San Francisco...
Central Europe, Britain oppose Ukraine rebel vote
BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — The foreign ministers of four Central European countries and Britain have condemned a plan by pro-Russia insurgents in eastern Ukraine to hold local elections. In a common statement Thursday after their meeting in Bratislava, the ministers called the vote set for Sunday “illegitimate” and said it breached a...
Ukraine-Russia gas talks deadlocked in Brussels
BRUSSELS (AP) — Talks to guarantee that Russian gas imports flow into rival Ukraine throughout the winter appeared to be an impasse Thursday because of doubts over payments from Kiev. A European Union official says the negotiations, which were supposed to produce an agreement Wednesday, broke up inconclusively early Thursday, with a draft for a...
Brutal winter set to hit war-torn eastern Ukraine
The inhabitants move around like shadows, eyes dull and faces weary with hardship, dressed in several layers of worn-out sweatshirts, vests and jackets. The hospital lies in a residential area full of five-story blocks with missing roofs, gaping holes in the walls and gutted windows. Alexander Zuyev, the team’s supervisor, says it is not...
Russia, Ukraine looking for gas deliveries deal
After inconclusive talks last week, the negotiations between the energy chiefs of the two nations were seen as a last-ditch attempt to stave off another crisis that could leave Ukraine without sufficient heating in the dead of winter. Late Wednesday, an EU statement said a press conference to announce the results of the meeting was canceled and...
Russia defends rebel vote in eastern Ukraine
The EU also warned Wednesday that it wouldn’t recognize the vote, which “would run counter to the letter and the spirit of the Minsk Protocol and disrupt progress towards finding a sustainable political solution.” …read more Source: San Francisco...
Ukraine’s parliament to remain a rowdy place
Sunday’s elections produced a new-look legislature packed with pro-Western parties, giving them a mandate to enact a program of reform. Combating corruption has been a recurring theme in Ukrainian politics in recent months, but some worry whether rhetoric about cleaning up the justice system and police forces will be followed by action. THE...
Poland in defense shift as anti-Russia mood grows
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland is planning a major realignment of its military structure because of the conflict in neighboring Ukraine, the country’s defense minister said Monday, a move that could shift thousands of troops to its eastern border. The announcement follows a visit by U.S. President Barack Obama to Estonia last month in which...
