Section: The Washington Times (USA)
Ukraine’s progress slowed by ‘dirty money,’ simmering conflict
The U.S.-backed government in Ukraine is burdened by “dirty money and dirty politics” and its frozen conflict with Russia-backed separatists in the nation’s east is “heating up again,” the State Department’s point woman for European policy warned Tuesday. While Ukraine’s parliament pushed through key...
Ukraine’s corrupt oligarchs betray youths fighting for democracy
Corruption in Ukraine is the cancer that is slowly eating away at the rotting flesh of its dying democracy. In spite of the Orange Revolution of 2004 and the Maidan Revolution a decade later, when hundreds died and thousands more were wounded trying to change the political system, the oligarchs … …read more Source: The Washington...
Russia threatens U.S. with further sanctions after Obama prolongs penalties
Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday said Moscow reserves the right to reciprocate against Washington after President Obama this week renewed sanctions imposed as a result of the 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula. “We regret to note that the United States continues to enthusiastically play the anti-Russian...
MH17: Report claims Russian soldiers downed plane in Ukraine
A British-led online investigation has linked Russian soldiers to the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 in Ukraine in 2014. Up to 100 Russian soldiers and officers could have known about or been involved in the plane’s downing on July 17, 2014, according to the Bellingcat report, published this week. … …read more Source:...
Global tensions send Russian vodka exports plummeting 40 percent
Clashes with the West over Ukraine and Syria are hitting home for the Russian economy, as foreign markets for its signature spirit, vodka, fell sharply in 2015. The Russian business newspaper Kommersant reported Tuesday that exports of vodka by both value and physical volume was off 40.2 percent in 2015, … …read more Source: The...
Tatars step up resistance to Russian rule over Crimea
UROZHAYNE, Crimea (AP) — Elnara Asanova lives alone with her four small children because her husband, an ethnic Tatar, is in jail. Last April, when she was seven months pregnant, police grabbed him from the streets of their village because he had taken part in a Tatar protest against Russian … …read more Source: The Washington...
Russian PM: West rekindling the Cold War
MUNICH (AP) – Russia’s prime minister accused the West on Saturday of rekindling the Cold War, telling a meeting of top defense officials, diplomats and national leaders that sanctions imposed after the annexation of Crimea and new moves by the NATO alliance “only aggravate” tensions. Dmitry Medvedev said Russian President...
Obama wants to quadruple military spending in Europe to counter Russian aggression
In another acknowledgment that sanctions and diplomacy haven’t deterred Russian aggression in Eastern Europe, the Obama administration said Tuesday it wants to quadruple military spending in Europe to reassure NATO allies still anxious over Moscow’s intervention in Ukraine. The spending would increase to $3.4 billion under the new...
The Latest: Belgium mulls EU sanctions against Greece
AMSTERDAM (AP) – The latest developments in Europe’s immigration crisis (all times local): 2:30 p.m. The Belgian government says that because Greece is too weak to guard its own borders, it should face an EU “sanction mechanism” under which the rising number of refugees entering the country would effectively be …...
Poland’s defense chief: We want constant NATO, US presence
WARSAW, Poland (AP) – Poland’s defense minister says his country wants to have permanent NATO and U.S. troops’ presence to ward off security threats. Poland’s security concerns have been raised by the armed conflict in neighboring Ukraine and by the role that another neighbor, Russia, has in it. Minister Antoni …...
