Worldcrunch
MOSCOW — As expected, the West reacted poorly to Russia signing an agreement allowing Crimea to join the Russian Federation. But will their threats of consequences really be felt? “We join Poland and the international community in condemning the continuing assault on Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrety,” said U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, who was […]
PARIS – On March 12, Mustafa Dzhemilev, a leading figure among the ethnic Crimean Tatars, had a long conversation over the phone with Vladimir Putin. No doubt, they talked about the referendum that was set to take place four days later. According to what Dzhemilev reported to the Ukrainian media, the Russian president asserted that […]
PEREVALNE — While Russian flags fly in Simferopol and people celebrate the “return home” in the main square, a few miles away in the village of Perevalne a strange calm has descended. For weeks now, the Ukrainian military regiments here have been surrounded by Russian forces, and armored vehicles have patrolled the streets. Pro-Russian activists […]
Given Europe’s dependence on Russian gas, Western diplomats and hedge fund managers alike are well aware of the risks of punishing Moscow with sanctions after its strong-arm tactics in Crimea. Tehran, meanwhile, may be calculating the stakes in a somewhat different way. The daily Aftab-e Yazd asked Thursday how could European states and the United […]
It will take the international community years to recover from the trust Russia violated over its illegal interference in Ukraine. But Putin and his close collaborators will never be punished.
Tensions are running high in Simferopol, the capital of the region of Crimea. A Polish reporter tries to take the pulse of a people increasingly divided.
Whatever political and ethnic forces are at play, all sides must remember that Crimea’s finances and infrastructure are Ukrainian to the core.
SEVASTOPOL — Tension is running high around the Ukrainian navy base in Sevastopol and around Belbek airport, with several spontaneous demonstrations breaking out. Meanwhile on the outskirts of the nearby city of Simferopol, says Vladislav Celeznevon, a Ukrainian Defense Ministry spokesman, military trucks without license plates are blocking in the perimeter of concrete military bases. […]
Europe and the U.S. must respond to Russian President Vladimir Putin with neither war nor capitulation. There is a third option: total isolation.
December 19, 2014 KURDS BEAT ISIS ON MOUNT SINJARKurdish forces have broken a months-long ISIS siege on Mount Sinjar after a two-day offensive backed by U.S. airstrikes. The BBC describes it as the Kurds’ “biggest victory yet” against the terrorist group. Thousands of displaced people had been trapped on the mountain in northwestern Iraq since […]
Monday, August 4, 2014 LIMITED CEASEFIRE FRAGILE AFTER ISRAEL STRIKE KILLS CHILD Palestinians have accused Israel of breaking its own ceasefire Monday after it launched a strike on the Shati refugee camp in Gaza City, killing an eight-year-old girl and wounding 29 people. Gaza Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra said the strike took place after […]
Friday, July 11, 2014 NEW EVIDENCE OF EASTERN UKRAINE TORTURE NGO Amnesty International says it has gathered evidence of “stomach-turning beatings and torture” committed by pro-Russian and pro-Kiev groups against “activists, protesters and journalists” in Eastern Ukraine. In its report, the organization notes however that pro-Kiev forces have committed “a smaller number of abuses,” and […]
Wednesday, July 2, 2014 CLASHES IN JERUSALEM AFTER DEATH OF PALESTINIAN TEEN A 16 year-old Palestinian who was allegedly kidnapped yesterday by Israelis, in an apparent retaliation for the death of the three abducted Israeli students, was found dead early this morning in a forest west of Jerusalem, AFP reports. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said […]
Tuesday, July 1, 2014 ISRAEL STRIKES GAZA AFTER RECOVERY OF SLAIN TEENSThe recovery late Monday of the bodies of three missing Israeli teenagers sparked widespread reaction across the country, including angry words from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, followed by swift military action. The Israeli army launched a major air strike operation in Gaza, hitting 34 […]
Friday, June 27, 2014 UKRAINE SIGNS EU PACT Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko penned this morning an association agreement that includes free-trade and political cooperation with the European Union, the same that former president Viktor Yanukovych had refused to sign months ago, triggering massive protests in Kiev that eventually brought his presidency to an end. “I […]
Thursday, June 26, 2014 SYRIA STRIKES ISIS IN IRAQ Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki confirmed in an interview with the BBC previous reports that the Syrian military had carried out air strikes against ISIS near the Iraqi border town of Qaim, explaining he had not requested them but “welcomed” the strikes against the jihadist group. […]
Monday, June 23, 2014 KERRY IN BAGHDAD AS ISIS ADVANCES U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Baghdad early this morning and is expected to meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki as well as Sunni and Kurdish leaders to push for a coalition government to fight ISIS, The New York Times reports. The […]
Thursday, June 12, 2014 JIHADISTS PUSHING TOWARDS BAGHDAD Jihadist fighters with the Islamic group known as ISIS have continued their offensive in northern and central Iraq and are heading south towards the capital Baghdad, where they have said that the “battle will rage,” Sky News reports. Meanwhile, Kurdish forces claimed to have gained control of […]
Wednesday, June 11, 2014 500,000 FLEE IRAQI CITY OF MOSUL As many as 500,000 people have been forced to flee their homes in Mosul, in northern Iraq, after Islamist fighters from the organization Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant took control of the city, the International Organization for Migration said in a statement. The […]
Monday, June 2, 2014 BATTLE AROUND LUHANSKAt least five separatists were killed after hundreds attacked a border post with automatic weapons in the eastern Ukrainian city of Luhansk near the Russian border. According to the AP, seven Ukrainian troops were also injured in the early morning attack. The news agency also quotes the spokesman for […]
Friday, May 30, 2014 REBELS CLEARED FROM PARTS OF UKRAINE Ukraine’s Interim Defense Minister Mykhailo Koval said that Ukrainian armed forces would push ahead with military operations in eastern Ukraine until peace and order were restored. They said they had “completely cleared” separatists from the southern and western parts of the Donetsk region and the […]
Wednesday, May 28, 2014 FIGHTS CONTINUE IN EASTERN UKRAINE Pro-Russian fighters in Donetsk have shot down a drone, self-appointed local authorities said, amid reports of ongoing fighting outside the building of the Security Service of Ukraine in the center of the eastern city, seized by the rebels. According to RT journalist Paula Slier, fights have […]
DOZENS DEAD IN DONETSK Dozens of separatist fighters and civilians were killed after violent fights against Ukraine’s armed forces around Donetsk airport. The exact number of victims is unclear because there is conflicting reporting between Western and Russian media. According to AFP, the mayor of Donetsk said that “two civilians and 38 participants” had died […]
Monday, May 26, 2014 POROSHENKO WINS UKRAINE PRESIDENCYAs many observers expected, multibillionaire Petro Poroshenko will become Ukraine’s next president. The man dubbed “The Chocolate King” leads the race with 53.75% of the votes in the first round, with 70% of the votes counted, The Kyiv Post reports. He said during his victory speech that his […]
Friday, May 23, 2014 MORE CLASHES IN DONETSK At least five people died in fresh fighting between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian groups near Ukraine’s eastern city of Donetsk, with an AFP photographer saying that four of the dead appeared to be rebels and the fifth a member of a “volunteer force attached to the military.” […]
Thursday, May 22, 2014 UKRAINIAN TROOPS KILLED IN FIGHTING Overnight attacks from pro-Russian gunmen on a Ukrainian military checkpoint in the Donetsk region and against a military convoy in the Luhansk region have left at least nine Ukrainian soldiers dead and several injured, AFP reports. But the total number of casualties is likely higher, with […]
Wednesday, May 21, 2014 U.S. UPS RHETORIC AHEAD OF UKRAINE ELECTIONU.S. Vice President Joe Biden threatened Moscow with tougher sanctions if it undermines Sunday’s planned presidential election in Ukraine. “If Russia undermines these elections on Sunday we must remain resolute in imposing greater costs on Russia and we must be equally resolute to invest in […]
Tuesday, May 20, 2014 THAILAND ARMY DECLARES MARTIAL LAW Thailand army chief Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha declared martial law throughout the country this morning in an attempt to restore peace and order after months of anti-government protests and the recent dismissal of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, The Nationreports. But the army insisted that the move was […]
Monday, May 19, 2014 RUSSIAN TROOPS PULLED FROM BORDER The Kremlin announced in a statement that President Vladimir Putin had ordered Russian troops stationed near Ukraine to return to their home bases, AP reports. According to RT, Putin also expressed support for talks between Kiev and supporters of the country’s federalization, and urged the Ukrainian […]
Friday, May 16, 2014 UN WARNING ON HUMAN RIGHTS IN EASTERN UKRAINE In its monthly report on the Ukrainian crisis, the United Nations warned of an “alarming deterioration” in eastern regions of the country, the BBC reports. The organization denounces violent attacks on “peaceful demonstrations, primarily by supporters of Ukraine’s unity,” adding that local police […]
DONETSK SETS ULTIMATUM FOR UKRAINE FORCES Pro-Russian groups in the region of Donetsk have issued a 24-hour ultimatum to Ukrainian armed forces, threatening to take the region by force if they don’t leave, RT reports. This comes as acting President Olexandr Turchynov said the government forces had destroyed two rebel military bases, in Kramatorsk and […]
HUNDREDS DEAD IN TURKEY MINE BLASTAt least 205 workers have been killed in a fire following an explosion in a coal mine in Western Turkey, with hundreds still trapped inside the mine, Hurriyet reports. The country’s Energy Minister Taner Yildiz that Tuesday’s explosion could be “the worst mining disaster in Turkey,” as numbers given by […]
DONETSK AND LUHANSK START UNIFICATION TALKS The self-proclaimed People’s Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk have initiated talks that could lead to the two cities forming a single state after Sunday’s referendum demonstrated that voters wanted to secede from Kiev, Ria Novosti reports. This comes after Donetsk voiced its collective wish to follow in the footsteps […]
SEPARATISTS CLAIM VICTORY IN EAST UKRAINE REFERENDUM The Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk voted overwhelmingly yesterday in favor of political independence from Kiev, with regional Electoral Commissions claiming to have counted close to 90% in support in Donetsk and over 96% in Luhansk in what The New York Times describes as “chaotic and sometimes […]
UKRAINIAN ARMED FORCES PUT ON FULL ALERT Acting Ukrainian President Olexandr Turchynov announced that the country’s armed forces had been put on combat alert, as he fears Russia could launch a continental war, Interfax reports. According to Ria Novosti, Turchynov also admitted that “the power structures are incapable of operatively taking control of the situation […]
MOSCOW WORRIED BY NATO BUILDUP Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Moscow was concerned by the “unprecedented” increase in U.S. and NATO activity along the Russian border and urged U.S. counterpart Chuck Hagel to help “turn down the rhetoric” over the ongoing Ukrainian crisis, Reuters reports. This comes after U.S. troops were deployed in the […]
IN UKRAINE, MAYOR OF KHARKIV SHOT The Mayor of Ukraine’s northeastern city of Kharkiv, Gennady Kernes, was shot in the back and admitted to a hospital where “doctors are fighting for his life,” The Kyiv Post reports. It is unclear who shot him, with the newspaper explaining that although Kernes was a supporter of ousted […]
WEST STRENGTHENS ANTI-RUSSIA RHETORIC In what marks a further escalation of the war of words between the pro-Ukraine and Russian Federation factions, Ukraine’s Interior Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk said Moscow wanted “to start World War III.” The comment came after Russian President Vladimir Putin increased military exercises along the border following yesterday’s deadly fights in Eastern […]
KIEV LAUNCHES NEW ASSAULT IN EASTERN UKRAINE The Ukrainian military launched an offensive against pro-Russian militants just outside the eastern city of Sloviansk, sending armored vehicles and a helicopter, according to RTÉ, with Ukraine’s Interior Ministry reporting at least five dead on the pro-Russian side. According to AFP, civilians in the town hall have been […]
KERRY AND LAVROV EXCHANGE BLAME In a phone conversation with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry urged Moscow to “tone down escalatory rhetoric,” criticizing Russia for failing “to de-escalate” the crisis, The Guardian reports. During the conversation, Lavrov replied that Ukrainian ultranationalists were responsible for the collapse of the deal […]