On March 3, 2015, several thousand mourners in Moscow attended a memorial service for former Russian deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov. Late on the evening of Feb. 27, the 55-year-old Nemtsov and his Ukrainian girlfriend walked across a bridge not far from the Kremlin. As a snowplow passed, an assassin (perfectly positioned) fired four bullets […]
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Fareed Zakaria: Pick the best means to win the battle
NEW YORK — The deal announced Thursday to end the fighting in Ukraine will face the same obstacle the previous such agreement has faced — how to ensure that Russia will abide by it. Frustrated by Russia’s continued support for Ukrainian separatists, Western statesmen have begun discussing military assistance for the Ukrainian government. But in […]
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Austin Bay: Strategist Putin strikes an ominous deal with Iran
Russian president Vladimir Putin made dangerous history in 2014. His invasion of Crimea and subsequent annexation of the peninsula shredded the diplomatic agreements stabilizing post-Cold War Eastern Europe. Then Putin ignited a low-level war in Eastern Ukraine. Despite a September 2014 ceasefire agreement, Putin’s overt covert war-making continues in Eastern Ukraine. The Kremlin has concluded […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Obama to sign bill authorizing new sanctions on Russia
WASHINGTON — The White House says President Barack Obama will sign congressional legislation slapping new sanctions on Russia and providing aid to Ukraine. Spokesman Josh Earnest says Obama continues to have concerns about the bill but believes the legislation still gives him the flexibility he needs. The president is expected to sign the bill this […]
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Austin Bay: Putin’s Kemlin losing the oil price war
Free enterprise is proving to be Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s most potent foe. Moscow’s February 2014 invasion of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula and its immediate annexation drastically altered international diplomatic calculations. In a year marked by the homicidal rise of the Islamic State and Chinese probes of East Asian maritime borders, Putin’s destruction of post-Cold War […]
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Austin Bay: Putin has a definitive strategic goal
Events in Ukraine since mid-August demonstrate that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin knows how to create operational and tactical options in order to achieve long-range, history-shaping strategic goals. Russian tanks “flattening” the tiny Ukrainian border town of Novosvitlivka (on Aug. 30) is the most demonstrative operation. As for the tank troops’ tactics, Ukrainian defense ministry spokesman, […]
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Austin Bay: Put some teeth in Russian sanctions
Ultimate responsibility for the massacre of the 298 people aboard Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 begins and ends in the Kremlin office of Russian president Vladimir Putin. Even if the triggermen who fired the missile turn out to be Donetsk locals, the so-called pro-Russian separatist militia fighters are armed and advised by Russian intelligence officers. Until […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Activists say Portland’s sister city discriminates
PORTLAND — Activists in Portland, Maine say the city should suspend its “sister city” relationship with Archangel, Russia, because of anti-gay laws adopted by the Russian city. The local community groups began a campaign on Monday that includes an online petition to suspend Portland’s relationship with the Russian city of 350,000. Megan LaSala, a member […]
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Austin Bay: Putin’s creeping war of aggression will continue
On April 28, around noon, according to one report, Mr. Gennady Kernes, mayor of the eastern Ukraine city of Kharkiv, went for a cross-training jog in a city park. En route, an assassin shot the mayor in the back. According to his bodyguards, a sniper fired at Kernes from long range. Hitting the back of […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Diplomats reach deal to defuse Ukrainian tensions
GENEVA — Top diplomats from the United States, European Union, Russia and Ukraine reached agreement Thursday on immediate steps to ease the crisis in Ukraine. The agreement, reached after seven hours of negotiation in Geneva, requires all sides to refrain from violence, intimidation or provocative actions. It calls for the disarming of all illegally armed […]