NATO Supreme Allied Commander in Europe Philip Breedlove told reporters on the sidelines of a conference in Greece that the alliance would welcome the withdrawal of Russian troops from the Donetsk region of Ukraine, but that no “major improvements” have been seen. Despite this proclamation, this past Saturday Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered 17,600 troops…
Newly elected Ukrainian President and former chocolate magnate Petro Poroshenko addressed the UN General Assembly earlier this week. Poroshenko, in a cautionary address directed principally at the United States and the European Union, warned that removing sanctions currently levied against Moscow too quickly could lead to a ramping up of Russian involvement in eastern Ukraine,…
Ukrainian defense minister Valery Heletey announced on Sunday that NATO would begin delivering weapons to government forces to, as he put it, “stop” Vladimir Putin. Heletey said he had discussed the supply agreements with NATO defense ministers during the summit in Wales during the first week of September. NATO statements described the shipments as “non-lethal.”…
World leaders assembled for the NATO summit in Wales today, with the lead issue being the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. NATO leaders met with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Thursday to discuss providing arms and materials to assist in the ongoing fight against Russian-backed separatists and alleged Russian troops. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned…
The souring of US-Russia relations continued yesterday, as U.S. President Obama, speaking at a NATO in Wales, urged NATO to train and arm the Ukrainian military to defend itself from Russia. The American president described Russian activity in Ukraine as a “brazen assault” on Ukraine, and called for members of NATO to consider the accession…
President Vladimir Putin warned over the weekend in the wake of increased sanctions from Australia and the EU that “Russia is one of the leading nuclear powers,” while speaking at a pro-Kremlin youth camp. He additionally denied any involvement in destabilizing eastern Ukraine while simultaneously warning Western powers that he would use force to defend…
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…
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…
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