Section: San Francisco Chronicle (USA)
Bosnia concerned over arrival of Russian Cossacks
BANJA LUKA — Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — The arrival of a group of Russian Cossacks in Bosnia ahead of elections there has stirred controversy in the Balkan nation. […] Bosnian media has aired footage showing Djakonov commanding over a paramilitary unit in Crimea that helped the region secede from Ukraine. …read more Source: San...
Fighting rages around airport in eastern Ukraine
DONETSK, Ukraine (AP) — Pro-Russian rebels are pressing to seize a key airport in eastern Ukraine despite fierce resistance by government forces. An AP reporter on Friday saw three rebel tanks firing at the main terminal of Donetsk airport, where government forces have holed up. …read more Source: San Francisco...
Latvia holds election with Ukraine on its mind
RIGA, Latvia (AP) — The Ukraine crisis looms large over Latvia’s parliamentary election on Saturday as the Baltic country worries over how best to deal with resurgent neighbor Russia. Alarmed by Moscow’s intervention in Ukraine, Latvia’s center-right coalition government has welcomed the buildup of NATO forces in the region as...
Red Cross office hit by shells in Ukraine, 1 dead
AP footage from Donetsk showed the victim’s bloodied body lying on the pavement and what the rebels said were his passport and his ICRC identification. The rebels, who have exchanged fire with the Ukrainian government forces holed up in the Donetsk airport just north of the city, said the shelling came from the Ukrainian side. …read...
Ukraine wary of fragile peace as patriotism surges
BOYARKA, Ukraine (AP) — Since Ukraine’s conflict with Russia erupted, Oleksandr Federenko has gone from village kid to army cadet, trading computer games for knife-throwing classes and morning marches. Army ads dominate TV stations, war heroes are at the top of every party’s list for this month’s parliamentary election and...
Putin: state will support sanctions-hit sectors
Putin said Thursday the sanctions, imposed by the United States, the European Union and others over Russia’s role in the Ukraine conflict, violate basic principles of the World Trade Organization and obstruct international economics. …read more Source: San Francisco...
NATO gets new chief—one Putin may approve of
BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO’s new chief is calling on Russia to comply with international law, but says there’s now a chance for improved relations between Moscow and the West. “We see opportunity in the cease-fire that has now been established in the eastern Ukraine,” Jens Stoltenberg, the alliance’s new secretary general,...
Ukraine rebels close in on Donetsk airport
Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council spokesman Andriy Lysenko told journalists in Kiev that the airport was still under control of government troops who were “brilliantly carrying out their duty” and holding ground there. […] rebel leader Alexander Zakharchenko was quoted by Interfax news agency as saying that...
EU keeps Russia sanctions in place for now
EU foreign affairs spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic said ambassadors from the 28 EU countries agreed Tuesday that although there has been encouraging progress in bringing about an end to the conflict in eastern Ukraine, not enough has been done to justify rolling back sanctions. …read more Source: San Francisco...
Putin visits Kazakhstan after remarks cause alarm
MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Kazakhstan on Tuesday to stress the need for close ties between the two countries, a month after he caused alarm in the former Soviet republic by seeming to question its future as an independent state. Putin went on to say that most people in Kazakhstan wanted closer relations with Russia and...
