Pro-Russian protesters have stormed administrative buildings in Donetsk and Luhansk today, while other rallies have been held in Dnipropetrovsk. Yesterday, the Russian state news agency, ITAR-TASS reported that the Russian Foreign Ministry has received “sacks of letters” asking for protection from Russia. There have been many rallies and repeated, temporary occupations of government buildings in […]
After the annexation of Crimea, the EU is working to both fast-track candidate nation’s acceptance into the economic union. But the EU is also working with Russia to ease tensions. And unlike NATO, another group scrambling to discourage further Russian expansion, the EU doesn’t have any tanks. Could the European Union be the key to […]
During the Cold War, Canada and NATO had diplomatic relations with Russia, and the United States cooperated with Russia to explore outer-space. With today’s news that Russia is pulling its military representative to NATO, relations between Russia and the West are arguably worse than they’ve been in more than a generation. Yesterday’s liveblog can be […]
Updated Daily. Russians protesting Putin’s forcible annexation of Crimea are experiencing a backlash from conservative officials and activists and a campaign of xenophobia and hatred for dissenters has been unleashed. In recent weeks, Dmitry Kiselyov, Russia’s chief TV propagandist, has reminded us that only Russia can “reduce America to radiocative ash.” Conservative Sen. Oleg Panteleyev, […]
Three to five days is all the Russian military would need to overrun Ukrainian resistance in the east and south of the country if the decision was made to invade. Within 12 hours of ordering an invasion, Russian troops described as: “a very large and very capable and very ready force” could be across the […]
Sergei Ryabkov, Russia’s deputy foreign minister, has given an interview to Interfax on Russia-US relations following the Crimean annexation. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs published it on their own website (in Russian) and translated below. – Ed. Question: Relations with the US are going through perhaps the worst period in the last 20 years. Washington […]
Ukraine has arrested members of the disbanded Berkut riot police that the Interior Ministry says are guilty of shooting protesters during the five-day Euromaidan revolution in February. Yesterday’s liveblog can be found here. For an overview and analysis of this developing story see our latest podcast. Please help The Interpreter to continue providing this valuable […]
This week, Boston College Professor Matt Sienkiewicz and Interpreter Magazine’s managing editor James Miller discuss the impact of Russia’s annexation of Crimea on geopolitics. Will we see a new Cold War? A Russia-China alliance? Russia isolated on the world stage? Perhaps this crisis will mean that the world’s superpowers, locked in an unending struggle, lose […]
Staunton, April 2 – Vladimir Putin’s Anschluss of Crimea is echoing through the non-Russian nations within the Russian Federation, but it is also creating a new Ukrainian problem for the Kremlin leader in the Russian Far East where a former Japanese defense minister has noted that 60 percent of the inhabitants on the disputed Etorofu […]
Mustafa Dzhemilev, former Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People and a member of Ukraine’s parliament, has addressed the UN Security Council. Below we have translated excerpts from his speech – Ed. Dear ladies and gentlemen! The dramatic events in Ukraine – the grave clashes between the people and the ruling regime on […]
