Section: The Epoch Times (USA)
US Lifts Sanctions on Belarus Energy Company
MINSK, Belarus— The United States is lifting sanctions on a Belarus energy company, underscoring a thaw in relations in the wake of Minsk’s key role in negotiations over Ukraine. The US announced online that it was lifting sanctions against Belorusneft that were implemented in 2011 in response to the company’s announcement that it...
Embattled Ukrainian Town Struggles to Come Back to Life
DEBALTSEVE, Ukraine—When the wind picks up, the rattle of the corrugated iron roof of a destroyed gas station can sound like artillery. Four charred tanks sit stranded nearby, machine oil splattered on the ground, while a pick-up truck lies on its side surrounded by shrapnel. Debaltseve, the center of one of the fiercest battles of...
Ukraine President Says Arms Withdrawal Almost Complete
KIEV, Ukraine— Ukraine’s president says government and Russian-backed separatist forces have pulled back the bulk of their artillery and rocket launchers from the front line in the east, in compliance with a cease-fire deal. Petro Poroshenko told a state broadcaster Monday evening that some heavy weaponry remains in place at the airport of...
Putin Describes Secret Meeting to Take Crimea
MOSCOW— Russian President Vladimir Putin has described a secret meeting with officials last year when Russia decided it would take Crimea — the Black Sea region Moscow annexed from Ukraine last March. In a trailer for an upcoming documentary on state-owned television aired late Sunday, Putin said that he met with security officials in February to...
Ukraine Industry Seeks Ties With West, but Buckles in Crisis
KIEV, Ukraine—Volodymyr Kuzovkin’s office is less than 50 miles from the European Union, but for him and his factory, the EU is a world away. Despite Ukraine’s desperation to integrate with Europe, a desire so strong it sparked the protests that ousted pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych last year, much of Ukrainian business...
Russian Court Charges 2, Detains 3 Others in Nemtsov Killing
MOSCOW—Five men were behind bars Sunday either charged or suspected in the killing of Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov, but details remained unclear in the case that has shaken Russia’s marginalized and struggling opposition movement. The five appeared in a Moscow court, where two of them were charged in connection with the shooting of Nemtsov...
2 Nemtsov Suspects Detained in Russia, Prompting Skepticism
MOSCOW—Russia’s security service head said Saturday that two suspects in the killing of leading opposition figure Boris Nemtsov have been detained. Russian news reports later cited an official as saying one of them had served with police troops in Chechnya. The short and vague announcement of the detentions by Federal Security Service...
EU Warms, a Little, to Belarus as Russia Relations Freeze
RIGA, Latvia— The European Union is starting to warm to Belarus again after years of bitter division during which the east European nation was coined as “the last dictatorship” on the continent. At the end of Saturday’s EU foreign affairs meeting, the Latvian host said that as relations with Russia take a further dive “we see the...
Ukraine Declares Heavy Weapons Pullback From Front Line
KIEV, Ukraine— Ukrainian military officials say government forces are withdrawing heavy rocket launchers from the front line with Russian-backed separatists in accordance with last month’s cease-fire accord. Military spokesman Col. Andriy Lysenko said the Uragan launchers were being pulled back by 35 kilometers (22 miles) from the line of...
EU Chief Speaks out Against Arms Supplies for Kiev
RIGA, Latvia— The European Union’s foreign policy chief is speaking out against bipartisan calls in the U.S. to provide lethal, defensive weapons to Ukraine in its fight against Russian-backed separatists. Some lawmakers from both major parties have been pressing the Obama administration to provide lethal arms to Kiev, a move the president...
