Contents: The colorful Mikhail Saakashvili ‘invades’ Ukraine from Poland and threatens revolution; Saakashvili to ‘march on Kiev’ and challenge Poroshenko government
Contents: Putin says that North Korea would rather ‘eat grass’ than end its nuclear program; North Korea threatens the United States with ‘gift packages’
Russia’s RIA Novosti, a state-run Russian-language outlet, published a story on the occasion of Ukraine’s Independence Day to celebrate the annexation of Crimea as “the first step in the reunification of Russia.”
According to two Reuters reporters who said they personally witnessed the delivery, Russia has transferred two more gas turbines to Crimea, in defiance of sanctions imposed after Russia annexed the peninsula from Ukraine in 2014.
Speaking at a security forum in Slovakia on Sunday, a member of the Russian parliament suggested his country’s military would resort to nuclear weapons to repel a U.S. or NATO incursion into Crimea or eastern Ukraine.
President Donald Trump met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Ambassador Sergei Kislyak at the White House on Wednesday.
MOSCOW (AFP) – Russia’s main state television channel said Thursday it was dropping the Eurovision Song Contest from its schedules after Ukraine banned its performer from entering the country to take part.
At a meeting with NATO ministers in Brussels, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson declared that “American and NATO support for Ukraine remains steadfast,” and the allies “stand firm in support of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
Contents: Russia denies reports of Russian special forces in eastern Libya; Russian intervention comes as fighting between Libya’s militias increases; E-mail problems
BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union has extended for six months sanctions against 150 Russia-linked people over the territorial disputes in eastern Ukraine.
Contents: New fighting between Ukraine and Russia flares up in eastern Ukraine; Thousands of US troops in Poland conduct joint drills with Polish troops
Contents: Poland welcomes biggest deployment of American tanks and troops in decades; US troop deployment in Poland angers Russia
Contents: Ukraine still on track to host Eurovision song contest in 2017; Ukraine war: fighting just to carry on fighting; EU agrees to grant visa-free travel to people of Ukraine and Georgia
Ukraine’s missile tests in the Black Sea have reportedly prompted Russian forces to go on “high alert.” Kiev proceeded with the tests despite Russian threats to shoot the missiles down.
Appearing at an awards ceremony for young students at the Russian Geographical Society, President Vladimir Putin took issue with nine-year-old Miroslav Oskirko’s statement that Russia’s borders “end at the Bering Strait with the United States.”
Contents: Bulgaria: Socialist pro-Russian Rumen Radev wins election as president; Moldova: Socialist pro-Russian Igor Dodon wins highly polarizing presidential election
Contents: Turkey’s Erdogan and Russia’s Putin sign TurkStream gas pipeline deal; Turkey-Russia TurkStream deal based on pragmatism rather than reconciliation
Lithuania on Monday signed a deal for German-made armoured vehicles intended to boost its defence capabilities, as it seeks to allay concerns of a military resurgence of Russia on its doorstep.
As tensions between Russia and Ukraine increase, the Russians are moving state-of-the-art S-400 Triumph air-defense missiles into Crimea, which the Russians annexed in 2014. Russia claims the Ukrainians are planning to retake the peninsula by force.
Contents: Fears grow that a new Russian invasion of Ukraine is imminent; US forces in Libya may declare victory over ISIS this week
Russia has accused Ukraine of trying to sneak armed saboteurs into Crimea, a charge Ukraine rejects as Russian propaganda and possibly a pretext for a larger Russian military operation against them.
Contents: Russia massing tanks and troops in Ukraine on northern border of Crimea; China’s fury grows over South Korea’s plan to deploy THAAD anti-missile system
Contents: Japan’s elections put constitution’s pacifism clause into question; Nato deploying a ‘tripwire’ of 4,000 soldiers along Russia’s border
Contents: Orthodox ‘Great and Holy Council’ marred by defections and controversies; History of Catholic and Orthodox Christian ‘Ecumenical’ Councils
On Thursday, Ukraine’s State Security Service banned ex-Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev from entering the country for five years over Gorbachev’s very vocal support of Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Crimea in 2014.
Ukrainian pop singer Jamala wins the Eurovision contest with a song that evoked Moscow’s deportation of members of her Crimean ethnic group during World War II.
(AFP) – German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier Saturday said he had invited his Russian, Ukrainian and French counterparts to talks in Berlin on May 11 intended to smooth differences between Moscow and Kiev. “It is necessary to give new momentum
Contents: US military will deploy three brigades to eastern Europe to counter Russia; Libya’s Government of National Accord sails into port of Tripoli
Russia’s Defense Ministry is seeking to purchase at least five dolphins to use in military tasks, reviving a Cold War project.
Ukraine – which, under attack by Putin’s Russia, was not able to attend Eurovision 2015 – has chosen to submit to Eurovision 2016 a Crimean-Tatar song about the 1944 forced deportation of the entire population of Crimea’s native Tatar people by the Soviet Union under Josef Stalin.
Poland, ripped apart by Germany and Soviet Union in World War II, wants to implement a “46,000-strong” National Guard force due to the Ukraine crisis and possible Russian expansionism.
Contents: Mass protests force Moldova to choose between Europe and Russia; Moldova crisis presents opportunities and dangers for Russia
Russian President Vladimir Putin defended Russia’s annexation of Crimea but also pushed for more cooperation against terrorism in an interview with German publication Bild.
Ukrainians have expressed outrage after a Coca-Cola ad on a Russian social media website featured Crimea on the Russian map. The American business, though, claims a marketing agency changed the map without permission.
Israel should take a stand in the Ukraine-Russia conflict, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said in his address to the Knesset on Wednesday. “When evil wins in one place, it will try to continue to another,” Poroshenko warned. “We need to act
Contents: Russia’s Syria airstrikes kill many innocent civilians, but otherwise appear futile; European Union renews its sanctions against Russia for Ukraine invasion; Russia retaliates against Ukraine by banning food imports; Azerbaijan’s currency devalues 32%, following Russia and Kazakhstan
Former Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel gave an interview to Foreign Policy, billed as his first public interview since he was forced out of office in February. He said the White House sought to personally “destroy” him during his final days.
Contents: Russia and Ukraine escalate mutual trade sanctions over occupied Crimea; Despite China’s disapproval, US will sell $1.83 billion in weapons to Taiwan
Turkish media outlets have reported that a Russian warship fired at a Turkish fishing boat because the boat interrupted the ship attempting to hijack Ukrainian oil platforms.
Contents: Russia and Turkey exchange vitriolic accusations about ISIS oil sales; Russia cancels Turkey gas pipeline, prepares for Bosporus closure; Turkey’s grievances against Russia, and the road to war; San Bernardino mass shootings
