Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has proclaimed that Russia has undertaken an incursion onto Ukrainian soil, and ordered that a draft of Ukrainian citizens be instituted as the situation in Eastern Ukraine worsens. Pro-Ukraine media sources within Russia have estimated the invading force at 15,000, although these estimates have been denied by a number of Western…
Petro Poroshenko announced earlier this morning that troops from Russia have been moved across the border, crossing into eastern Ukraine. He cancelled a planned visit to Turkey and a convocation of the national security council was called to devise a response. Ukraine is also formally requesting a meeting of the UNSC, as a leader of…
A peaceful outcome to Afghanistan’s presidential elections has grown increasingly unlikely. Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, one of two principal presidential candidates, has issued a series of demands that, should they not be met, will lead to Abdullah’s Reform and Unanimity party abandoning the audit of the vote. The main complaints seem to stem from the manner…
Chinese President Xi Jinping played host to Islam Karimov, his Uzbek peer, this past week in Beijing. The meeting between the two heads of state was held in order to foment stronger ties between officials in Beijing and Tashkent alike, and culminated in the signing of substantive economic and political agreements. The two sides have…
The unauthorized aid convoy that has attracted so much international attention in the past week has returned to Russian territory over the weekend after visiting the eastern city of Luhansk. Kiev and Western officials, noting the lack of Red Cross observers and direct inspection of the humanitarian aid, contend that the trucks had military equipment…
This morning, the first trucks from the Russian convoy long delayed in light of an artillery barrage last week, crossed over into eastern Ukraine on Friday without the consent of the Ukrainian government and unaccompanied by observers from the Red Cross, which was one of the original stipulations of sending them into Ukraine in the…
Iran has shown every indication that it will comply with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) protocols, as stipulated in the interim nuclear deal agreed on this past November. The IAEA’s director general went as far as to say that officials in Tehran have been “useful” and lauded the Gulf state for its cooperation in every…
A group of Afghan government officials have vowed to take control of the government if the election impasse is not resolved within the month. According to the NY Times, the officials have condemned the inability of presidential candidates Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani, calling on them to make compromises in order to end the crisis.…
A humanitarian convoy carrying refugees out of the eastern Ukrainian city of Luhansk was completely destroyed yesterday as it came under intense, unannounced rocket fire. The attack has quickly been attributed to pro-Russia separatists fighting in the region, though separatist groups have been quick to deny culpability and have even suggested that the attack never…
In mid-August we had a chance to speak with Jos Boonstra, a Senior Researcher at leading European think tank FRIDE, where he specializes in Eurasian and transatlantic security issues, as well as Central Asia and the South Caucasus. He is the director of the Europe-Central Asia Monitoring (EUCAM) program, and has published dozens of policy…
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