Ukraine At War

Ignoring Aksyonov, US Moves to Adopt Non-Recognition Law On Crimea

November 21, 2014

Staunton, November 21 – Sergey Aksyonov, head of the Russian occupation administration in Crimea, says that the international community will recognize Crimea as part of the Russian Federation after US President Barack Obama leaves office, a statement that underscores the need for a formal non-recognition policy on the part of Western governments. An important step […]

Putin Lost Ukraine Even Before the Maidan, Portnikov Says

Staunton, November 21 – On the first anniversary of the beginning of the Maidan demonstrations, Vitaly Portnikov says, it is important to understand that “Putin lost Ukraine even before the Maidan, before the dispersal of the students, before the bloodshed, before the occupation or Crimea and before the war in the Donbass.” He lost it, […]

Russian Draftees Refuse Military’s Plans To Send Them To Fight In Ukraine

Staunton, November 15 – Some 250 Russian draftees at a military base in Rostov oblast have rejected the appeals of their commanders to sign up as contract soldiers, a step that would allow Moscow to send them to fight in southeastern Ukraine, according to Valentina Melnikova of the Union of Soldiers’ Mothers of Russia. Melnikova […]

Defend Ukraine from Russian Aggression First; Then, Insist on Reforms

Staunton, November 20 – “September 3, 1939 – British and French commentators and officials said today that it could no longer be denied that Hitler was invading Poland and that the Nazi forces represented the most serious threat to the existence of that country, but they said that Warsaw could not reasonably expect allied assistance […]

Ukraine Live Day 277: Five Parties in Ukrainian Parliament Reach Coalition Agreement

Yesterday’s live coverage of the Ukraine conflict can be found here. An archive of our liveblogs 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 information service by making a donation towards our costs. View Ukraine: April, 2014 […]

Winter Is Coming For The Half-Million IDPs Who Fled Fighting In Eastern Ukraine

November 20, 2014

Kiev — During a midnight cab-ride, the taxi driver tells me: “No, no, I’m not a Kievyanin. ’I’m from Donetsk. Back home I was a manager, small company, we sold and installed air-conditioning.” The chauffeur tells a sad tale that is heard all over Kiev currently, but he is one of the lucky ones. Despite […]

West Has Means Short of War to Stop Putin in Ukraine, Eidman Says

Staunton, November 20 – Sectoral sanctions are not enough to stop Vladimir Putin’s aggression in Ukraine, and no one in the West wants to fight a war against Russia. But because of the nature of the Russian elite, including Putin, the West has a means of stopping Putin in his tracks, a means it has […]

Calls for Latinization of Ukrainian Alphabet On ‘Civilizational Grounds’ Anger Russians

November 19, 2014

Staunton, November 14 – Renewed calls by some Ukrainians to shift the alphabet of their national language from one based on Cyrillic characters to a Latin-based script in order to escape from the influence of Moscow and be closer to the West has infuriated Russian nationalists, who say that there is no chance Ukraine will […]

Crimean Tatars Launch Online Petition for Recognition as ‘Indigenous People of Crimea’

Staunton, November 19 – The Crimean Tatar Resistance Organization has launched an online petition drive to gain international recognition as the indigenous people of the peninsula, a step that Ukraine did not take earlier and that Russia has not taken since the Anschluss, and one that the organizers say is necessary to preserve their national […]