Category: Ukraine

Ukraine’s acting president said Tuesday that a military operation to wrest control of has begun. Oleksandr Turchynov said that the "antiterrorist" operation began in the early morning hours in the northern Donetsk region, where the majority of the cities commandeered by pro-Russian forces are located. "Overnight, an antiterrorist operation began in the north of Donetsk. But it will be phased, responsible and balanced. The purpose of the actions, I stress once again, is to protect the citizens of Ukraine," he told Ukraine’s parliament, according to Interfax. Also on Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that any use of force by Ukraine’s government to quell unrest in the east could derail upcoming talks in Geneva on Thursday between the U.S., Russia, Ukraine and the European Union. […]

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The U.S. readiness to impose new economic sanctions on Russia over Ukraine is offset by the European Union’s reluctance to introduce stronger measures that could threaten its already fragile economic recovery. While the Obama administration said yesterday that it’s prepared to ramp up sanctions, possibly to target specific sectors of the Russian economy such as financial services and energy, the EU limited its decision to expanding an existing list of individuals under asset freezes and travel bans. U.S. officials concede that squeezing Russia’s economy is the only realistic weapon the U.S. and its European allies have to respond to the clashes between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian authorities. Without European support, though, U.S. sanctions will have little effect on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ambitions in Ukraine, said Simon Mandel , vice president for emerging Europe equity sales at Auerbach Grayson & Co. “The level of trade between the U.S. and […]

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Russia and the U.S. traded barbs at an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council as a deadline passed for pro-Russian separatists to leave buildings they occupied amid escalating violence in eastern Ukraine . Russia called the meeting after protests escalated near Slovyansk, about 240 kilometers (150 miles) from the Russian frontier. Camouflaged gunmen fired on Kiev government troops in an anti-terror operation, killing one serviceman and wounding five, the Ukrainian government said. At the UN, Russia demanded the U.S. press Ukraine to drop acting President Oleksandr Turchynov’s 9 a.m. deadline to vacate the buildings. As of 9:44 a.m. local time, there were no reports of Ukrainian forces moving on the buildings. The U.S. said Russia was destabilizing Ukraine and President Vladimir Putin ’s government was telling “fairy tales” in accusing America and its allies of fomenting the unrest. The meeting comes as officials from NATO, the European […]

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SLAVIANSK, Ukraine (Reuters) – Towns in eastern Ukraine on Monday braced for military action from government forces as a deadline passed for pro-Russian separatists to disarm and end their occupation of state buildings or face a major "anti-terrorist" operation. As the 9 a.m. (2 a.m. EDT)) deadline issued by authorities in Kiev expired, a Reuters reporter in the flashpoint city of Slaviansk, where armed men had seized two government buildings, said there was no outward sign the rebels were complying with the ultimatum. Angered by the death of a state security officer and the wounding of two comrades near Slaviansk, acting president Oleksander Turchinov warned rebels on Sunday that a full-scale security operation, including the army, would be unleashed unless they met the deadline. Turchinov and other leaders blame Russia, which annexed Ukraine’s Crimea region when Moscow-backed former president Viktor Yanukovich fled after months of pro-Western protests, for inspiring […]

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SLAVIANSK, Ukraine (Reuters) – Towns in eastern Ukraine on Monday braced for military action from government forces as a deadline passed for pro-Russian separatists to disarm and end their occupation of state buildings or face a major "anti-terrorist" operation. As the 9 a.m. (2 a.m. EDT)) deadline issued by authorities in Kiev expired, a Reuters reporter in the flashpoint city of Slaviansk, where armed men had seized two government buildings, said there was no outward sign the rebels were complying with the ultimatum. Angered by the death of a state security officer and the wounding of two comrades near Slaviansk, acting president Oleksander Turchinov warned rebels on Sunday that a full-scale security operation, including the army, would be unleashed unless they met the deadline. Turchinov and other leaders blame Russia, which annexed Ukraine’s Crimea region when Moscow-backed former president Viktor Yanukovich fled after months of pro-Western protests, for inspiring […]

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Pro-Russia separatists occupying government buildings in eastern Ukraine defied a deadline from Kiev to surrender as Moscow promised to “protect” people in the region from violence. A Russian flag continued to fly over the police headquarters in the city of Slavyansk at 9am (7am BST), the time Oleksandr Turchynov, Ukraine president, had given gunmen to lay down their weapons. Masked gunmen continued to man barricades in front of the building, agencies reported. On Sunday, Mr Turchynov said in a televised address that Kiev was “not going to allow Russia to repeat the Crimean scenario in Ukraine’s east”, referring to Moscow’s annexation of the peninsula last month. He said a “large-scale antiterrorist operation” would be launched to re-establish control of the contested cities. But Moscow, which has massed tens […]

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The Ukrainian government on Sunday for the first time sent its security services to confront armed pro-Russian militants in the country’s east, defying warnings from Russia. Commandos engaged in gunfights with men who had set up roadblocks and stormed a Ukrainian police station in Slovyansk, and at least one officer was killed, Ukrainian officials said. Several officers were injured in the operation, as were four locals, the officials said. Russian news media and residents here disputed that account, saying the Ukrainian forces had only briefly engaged one checkpoint. In either case, the central government in Kiev has turned to force to try to restore its authority in the east, a course of action that the Russian government has repeatedly warned against. With tens of thousands of Russian troops massed along Ukraine’s eastern border near Donetsk, Western leaders have worried that Moscow might use unrest in Ukraine’s […]

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The political pressure is rising as the pipeline pressure falls Russia has threatened to cut gas supplies to Ukraine because of the dispute over prices. That could also affect EU countries, as much Russian gas is delivered to the West through Ukraine. We examine what’s behind the row, and its potential impact on Europe and its gas supplies. What is the row about? The immediate dispute is about Ukraine’s very large unpaid gas bill: $2.2bn (£1.2bn; 1.4bn euros), according to the Russian state-controlled utility Gazprom. If Ukraine does not settle its bill, Gazprom will in effect install the world’s largest pre-pay meter, and Ukraine will be obliged to pay for its gas in advance. If it fails to pay, Gazprom says it will restrict or suspend delivery. But lurking behind this is the power struggle between the interim Ukrainian government, which leans towards the EU, and Russia, which wants […]

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The US government has imposed sanctions against the Crimean subsidiary of Ukraine’s national gas company, which was seized by the region’s parliament in the run-up to its annexation by Russia. The Department of Commerce said on Friday afternoon that Chernomorneftegaz – also known as Chornomornaftogaz – had been added to the list of entities facing trade restrictions, saying the company’s assets were “now being overseen by Russian government interests”. The sanctions are likely to make it impossible for US companies to enter joint ventures with Chernomorneftegaz to explore areas in the Black Sea that are believed to hold significant oil and gas reserves. However, it had already been clear since Russia’s move into Crimea that the disputed status of those areas would make operating there very difficult for western companies. ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell had been pursuing an offshore joint venture in the Black Sea with companies other […]

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