Section: The Washington Post (USA)
A year ago he was the only Russian politician to vote against annexing Crimea. Now he’s an exile.
It’s just over a year since Moscow claimed Crimea as part of Russia. After Russian President Vladimir Putin and Crimean leaders agreed upon it, it needed the approval of Russia’s parliament, the Duma. It passed, of course, with 443 deputies voting in favor. Just one person voted against it (with one other abstaining). That sole...
A year after Crimean annexation, threat of conflict remains
MOSCOW — A fragile cease-fire in eastern Ukraine was coming under increased strain on Wednesday as pro-Russian rebels accused Kiev of violating a plan to give them significantly increased autonomy. The dispute risked casting war-torn eastern Ukraine back into a hot conflict after more than three weeks of relative peace. The immediate disagreement...
A rare interview with Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny recently spent about a year under house arrest, barred from most contact with journalists. He spoke to The Washington Post about his aspirations for Russia, about his fears after the killing of ally Boris Nemtsov and about how Ukraine’s allies can persuade the Kremlin to end the conflict in eastern...
Don’t send weapons to Ukraine, top Russian Kremlin critic says
MOSCOW — As Washington debates whether to send lethal weaponry to the Ukrainian army, one of the Kremlin’s biggest critics, Alexei Navalny, says it would be a mistake.His opposition to the U.S. proposal, expressed in a wide-ranging interview in his spartan Moscow office, highlights a dilemma for the small fraction of Russians who still...
Putin was surprised at how easily Russia took control of Crimea
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin personally directed his nation’s capture of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula, he said in a documentary aired Sunday, in which he offered details of his deep involvement in last year’s quick and effective takeover.Read full article >> …read more Source: The Washington...
The conflicted loyalties of Crimeans
SIMFEROPOL, Crimea — What happens when you’re born a Soviet citizen, grow up under the Ukrainian flag, and then have to take a Russian passport?Residents of the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea have been tied to three nations in the last 24 years, without ever having to move. Under such shifting and unpredictable allegiances, their ideas about...
Maps: How Ukraine became Ukraine
For the past year, Ukraine has been plunged into chaos. Mass protests against pro-Moscow President Viktor Yanukovych led to his ouster in February 2014. That sparked a spiraling crisis: a fledgling interim government in Kiev looked on as Russia first seized and then annexed the territory of Crimea, a strategic Black Sea peninsula. A pro-Russian...
Ukrainian soldiers ill-prepared for psychological toll of war
DESNA, Ukraine — In a military training class north of Kiev late last month, volunteer instructor Viktor Mosgovoi led 30 would-be officers through hours of jumps, breathing exercises and group massages — Ukraine’s first mandatory psychological training for recruits. Read full article >> …read more Source: The Washington...
Coal mine blast leaves dozens missing in eastern Ukraine
A huge blast rocked a coal mine in Ukraine’s rebel-held east on Wednesday, leaving more than 30 workers missing amid shifting reports on the possible death toll.The speaker of Ukraine’s parliament at first said the explosion killed at least 32 people and injured dozens more deep in the mine in Donetsk, a stronghold of pro-Russian...
Putin threatens to cut gas to Ukraine as showdowns shift to economy
MOSCOW — Ukraine’s showdowns with Moscow deepened Wednesday as Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened to cut off natural gas within days, displaying the Kremlin’s economic leverage even amid efforts to quiet fighting in eastern Ukraine.Read full article >> …read more Source: The Washington...
