U.S., Europe Impose New Sanctions on Russia | Ukraine Mayor Gennady Kernes Shot in Attack | Pro-Russian forces parade detained European officers | The Russia Problem - WSJ.com | Russia Tightens Grip on the Internet | Defending the "Obama Doctrine" - YouTube 28/04/14 10:27 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks

April 28, 2014

Armed men stand guard in front of a regional administrative building seized last night by pro-Russian separatists in the eastern Ukrainian city of Konstantinovka. Photograph: VASILY MAXIMOV/AFP/Getty Images

U.S., Europe Impose New Sanctions on Russia
Monday April 28th, 2014 at 10:08 AM

Updated April 28, 2014 9:58 a.m. ET

WASHINGTON—The U.S. imposed additional sanctions against Russia on Monday over its intervention in Ukraine. The latest measures target seven Russian officials and 17 companies the U.S. says are linked to President Vladimir Putin's inner circle.

President Obama give a press conference at Malacanang Presidential Palace in Manila. European Pressphoto Agency

The Obama administration also said the sanctions restrict licenses for U.S. exports to Russia that involve high-technology products that could contribute to Russia's military capabilities.

The European Union has agreed to hit 15 more Russians and Ukrainian individuals with sanctions, bringing the total number of individuals targeted by the EU over the Ukraine crisis to 46. The new list of sanctioned individuals, whom the EU holds responsible for helping violate Ukraine's territorial integrity, will be published Tuesday and take effect immediately. It doesn't include any businesses.

The sanctions signal the failure of a deal reached April 17 in Geneva designed to de-escalate tensions in eastern Ukraine. The U.S. announcement formally declares Russia in violation of that deal.

The new EU list has been agreed to by EU ambassadors in Brussels, and the 28 capitals are expected to sign off within hours. The move signals the final collapse of optimism regarding a recent deal in Geneva aimed at de-escalating tensions over Ukraine.

The EU list was drawn up several weeks ago, but action was suspended after the April 17 deal in Geneva aimed at reducing tensions in Ukraine. Western leaders say Ukraine was abiding by the deal, which required such steps as disarming militias and providing amnesty to protestors, while Russia essentially ignored it.

European and U.S. leaders say they are coordinating closely. But the U.S., with fewer economic and political ties to Russia, has been less cautious in choosing its targets. EU leaders also face a trickier legal landscape in imposing sanctions on companies.

"Since April 17, Russia has done nothing to meet its Geneva commitments and in fact has further escalated the crisis," the White House said in a statement on Monday. "Russia's involvement in the recent violence in eastern Ukraine is indisputable."

Russia has blamed the U.S. and the new Ukrainian government in Kiev for the instability. Russian officials have brushed off the impact of sanctions, saying that they are counterproductive.

The action taken Monday marked the fourth round of U.S. sanctions against Russian and Ukrainian individuals and firms. With Monday's action, the U.S. has moved against 45 individuals and 19 firms.

"The goal here is not to go after Mr. Putin personally," Mr. Obama said at a news conference in Manila, speaking just before the new sanctions were unveiled. "The goal is to change his calculus."

The new sanctions measures are the next step in what Mr. Obama called a "calibrated effort" to ramp up the costs for Russia's actions in Ukraine, though the president acknowledged that the more severe sanctions may not prove effective.

"We don't yet know whether it's going to work," he said in Manila, the last stop of a four-country Asian tour.

As the U.S. and European countries have warned over the past week of coming sanctions, the situation in Ukraine has continued to deteriorate. Pro-Russian separatists took a group of military observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe hostage on Friday, and on Sunday, they said they had captured three Ukrainian intelligence officers.

So far, sanctions have done little to deter Russian and pro-Russian provocations in and around Ukraine, and U.S. officials have said they have seen no evidence that Moscow intends to comply with the agreement reached in Geneva.

Mr. Obama has resisted suggestions that the U.S. should proceed with broader sanctions that would target large sectors of the Russian economy, as Ukraine has demanded.

Mr. Obama has said the U.S. will continue to ramp up pressure and that the next step could be wider sanctions, though he is still working to build support for that step among European leaders.

"We are keeping in reserve additional steps we could take," he said.

Write to Carol E. Lee at carol.lee@wsj.com, Colleen McCain Nelson at colleen.nelson@wsj.com and Naftali Bendavid at naftali.bendavid@wsj.com

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Ukraine: US and EU announce new sanctions against Russia - live updates | World news
Monday April 28th, 2014 at 9:59 AM

Latest News, Sport And Comment From The Guardian | The Guardian

Luke Harding in Donetsk, one of the main flashpoints in eastern Ukraine, has details of the mayor's shooting in Kharkiv.

The mayor of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city, was fighting for his life on Monday after unidentified gunmen shot him in the back as he went for a morning swim.

Gennady Kernes, aged 54, was undergoing emergency surgery in hospital, his office said. “The doctors are fighting to save his life,” his spokeswoman Tatiana Gruzinsyaka confirmed.

It was unclear who was behind the apparent assassination attempt. Kernes was a leading figure in the Party of Regions of Ukraine's ex-president Viktor Yanukovych. The mayor had bitterly attacked the Maidan demonstrations which saw Yanukovych flee to Russia in February. A flamboyant figure, with alleged ties to organised crime in the 1990s, he had backed closer ties with Moscow.

Since the change in government in Kiev, however, Kernes's statements had become distinctly more patriotic. He has stated that Kharkiv, an eastern university city near the Russian border, should remain part of Ukraine. A billionaire, he has also claimed that he was himself a victim of Yanukovych's corrupt system.

Posting on Facebook, a senior Kharkiv journalist Zurab Alasania blamed Russia for Monday's shooting. He noted that the mayor had not changed his routine of going for a morning dip in a Kharkiv lake, despite the deteriorating security situation in the east.

“The Russian Federation is identifying and liquidating key centres of resistance,” Alasania posted on Facebook.

Defending the "Obama Doctrine" - YouTube
Monday April 28th, 2014 at 9:27 AM

Published on Apr 28, 2014

Jake Tapper, Maeve Reston & Jonathan Martin on Obama's response to his critics & why he doesn't seek military options.

CrossTalk: Containment 2.0? (ft. Stephen Cohen & John Mearsheimer) - YouTube
Monday April 28th, 2014 at 8:54 AM

Published on Apr 28, 2014

What does Washington's "containment" policy mean? What threats does it pose? Will it work against today's Russia? And does this mean Washington has declared a new Cold War? CrossTalking with Stephen Cohen and John Mearsheimer.

Stephen Cohen: As US Rushes Into New Cold War, Where Is the Debate?
Monday April 28th, 2014 at 8:46 AM

Cost of trade sanctions on Russia 'price worth paying' says William Hague
Monday April 28th, 2014 at 8:12 AM

News | Mail Online

Foreign Secretary says damage to UK economy is worth it
America admits sanctions have more impact on EU than on US
Many fear London, where Russian oligarchs invest billions, will suffer

By Gerri Peev

Published: 22:48 GMT, 27 April 2014 | Updated: 10:52 GMT, 28 April 2014

19 shares

Damage to the British economy from trade sanctions against Russia would be a 'price worth paying', William Hague said yesterday.

Travel bans and asset freezes against Moscow's 'bullying' behaviour towards Ukraine were planned, the Foreign Secretary said.

America has admitted that the sanctions will have more impact on the EU than on the US – Europe buys much of its gas from Russia – and many fear London, where Russian oligarchs have invested billions, will suffer.

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Foreign Secretary William Hague has said travel bans and asset freezes against Moscow's 'bullying' behaviour towards Ukraine were planned

Mr Hague said that despite this 'more far-reaching measures' were being prepared that would have a fundamental impact.

He told Sky's Murnaghan programme: 'It would be a price worth paying if this situation continues to deteriorate... history teaches us that we have to stand up to such bullying behaviour from one state on to another.'

Any fresh sanctions made against Russia will be targeted to hurt those closest to Vladimir Putin and to have a significant impact on the Russian economy.

Those expected to be penalised include the companies controlled by the Russian President's inner circle and the Russian defence industry.

David Cameron has suggested that Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich could be hit by sanctions because of his association with Mr Putin.

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President Barack Obama said that Mr Putin (pictured) would be deterred from further aggressive acts in Ukraine if he saw the world was unified in punishing Moscow

ALEX SALMOND 'ADMIRES' PUTIN

Alex Salmond says he admires Vladimir Putin – despite the Russian President’s crackdown on Ukrainian sovereignty.

Scotland’s First Minister said Mr Putin had restored a ‘substantial part of Russian pride’.

His remarks to a magazine were made on March 14, just two weeks before Russian soldiers annexed Crimea.

Praising ‘certain aspects’ of Mr Putin, Mr Salmond added: ‘You can see why he carries support in Russia.’

Patricia Ferguson, Scottish Labour’s external affairs spokesman, said the comments were ‘insensitive and ill-judged’.

Last night neither Downing Street nor the Foreign Office would be drawn on who could be on the latest sanctions list, ahead of talks today.

In Washington, Republicans have called for the West to send 'shockwaves' by hitting Gazprom and Russian banks with sanctions. Financial markets have plummeted by more than a fifth in Russia since the start of the year, with the value of the rouble at an all-time low.

President Barack Obama said that Mr Putin would be deterred from further aggressive acts in Ukraine if he saw the world was unified in punishing Moscow.

He accused Mr Putin of failing to lift a finger to persuade pro-Russian militants to comply with the Geneva deal intended to defuse the situation.

One of a team of European monitors seized by pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine was freed last night. The man – believed to be Swedish – was released on medical grounds.

He was one of eight monitors detained in Sloviansk on Friday accused of being Nato spies.

Three bloodied and blindfolded Ukrainian men accused by separatists of being spies were allowed to be filmed. They were caught while on a mission to detain a Russian suspected of killing a Ukrainian MP.

Pro-Russian armed groups seized the main TV and radio station in Donetsk yesterday.

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U.S. Beefs Up Military Options for China as Obama Reassures Allies in Asia
Monday April 28th, 2014 at 8:10 AM

April 27, 2014 7:52 p.m. ET

The question of security in the South and East China seas has dogged President Obama, above in Kuala Lumpur Sunday, during his Asian trip. Larry Downing/Reuters

WASHINGTON—The U.S. military has prepared options for a muscular response to any future Chinese provocations in the South and East China seas, ranging from displays of B-2 bomber flights near China to aircraft-carrier exercises near its coastal waters, officials said.

The menu of options, described by officials briefed on the action plan, reflects concerns that U.S. allies in Asia have about the Obama administration's commitments to its security obligations, particularly after Russia's seizure of the Crimean peninsula.

The security question has closely followed President Barack Obama in recent days during his four-country Asian trip.

Washington's closest allies in Asia have told American counterparts that Crimea is seen as a possible litmus test of what Washington will do if China attempted a similar power grab in the South China and East China seas, according to current and former U.S. officials.

"They're concerned. But it's not only about Crimea. It's a crescendo that's been building," a senior U.S. defense official said, citing skepticism in Asia that Washington is prepared to back up its word and carry through on its renewed strategic focus on Asia.

Just before Mr. Obama landed in the Philippines on Monday, U.S. and Philippine officials finalized an agreement allowing for the return of U.S. forces, more than two decades after Philippine opposition forced Washington to abandon its military network there.

Similarly, Mr. Obama in a visit to Japan stood side-by-side Thursday with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and called the U.S. treaty commitments to Japan's security "absolute."

On each stop in Asia, including South Korea and Malaysia, Mr. Obama's trip was accompanied by concerns over aggression by Moscow and its militant allies in defiance of warnings by the U.S. and other Western powers.

Similar concerns were raised in September by South Korean officials after Mr. Obama abruptly called off plans to bomb Syria in response to the regime's use of chemical weapons against the opposition.

The new U.S. options were developed by the Hawaii-based U.S. Pacific Command in recent months, and come after the international crisis last year in which China unilaterally declared an air-defense zone around islands that are the subject of a territorial dispute with Japan.

Defense officials said the options have been drafted to apply to any provocative act in the region, whether carried out by China or North Korea. Defense officials are currently revising the options in the context of a possible act of aggression by North Korea, with some officials arguing Pyongyang is poised to begin a "cycle of provocation."

The Pacific Command, like other U.S. regional military commands world-wide, regularly drafts military options and contingency plans. The options were recently updated to make them brawnier, defense officials said.

"Combatant Commands plan…for everything from exercises and humanitarian assistance, disaster relief operations all the way up to full-scale combat operations," said Capt. Chris Sims, the spokesman for Pacific Command. "In the plans that they create, options are provided to senior military and civilian leadership."

In addition to bomber flights and aircraft carrier maneuvers, the options include demonstrations of U.S. power such as increasing surveillance operations near China, and stepping up U.S. naval port visits to allies.

A senior Obama administration official declined to comment on details of any military options, but said unilateral moves by Beijing—such as the declaration of another air-defense zone in the region—" could result in changes in our military posture and presence" in the region.

The military options don't specify particular responses to individual actions. Rather, officials briefed on the options said, the actions would need to be tailored to the specific incident, such as maritime confrontation.

Under the U.S. options, any new moves in the region by China to assert its claims unilaterally would be met by an American military challenge intended to get Beijing to back down. U.S. officials said the White House would be prepared to step up military deployments in disputed waters in the South and East China Seas, in a more direct challenge to Chinese claims there than the U.S. has taken in the past.

The steps can be taken without risking a shooting war, officials say, citing intelligence that suggests there are divisions within the Chinese military establishment about how to respond. U.S. defense officials said some of the options are designed to send a subtle message, like stepped-up port calls by Navy ships or increasing the size and scope of already-planned exercises. All of the contingency plans, said a defense official, are designed to allow a potential adversary a chance to de-escalate.

"Never push your enemy into a corner because you might get a reaction you don't want," said a U.S. official, specifying the need for an "off ramp."

China has repeatedly said it would respond to American shows of military might in kind. China has been investing heavily in its military, modernizing its forces and becoming a stronger regional power.

The White House authorized U.S. military aircraft flights in a show of force last year during a spike in tensions with North Korea. The U.S. also flew B-52s over disputed islands in the East China Sea when China in November established its Air Defense Identification Zone.

Current and former officials said among the more provocative options on the table to counter China would include expanded U.S. surveillance flights and sending U.S. aircraft carriers through disputed waters close to the Chinese coast, including the strait of Taiwan.

The U.S. Navy regularly sends destroyers and cruisers through the strait of Taiwan in lower-profile freedom-of-navigation operations, but sending a carrier through would mark a significant escalation, officials said.

Doubts about U.S. resolve haven't been expressed publicly by Asian leaders during the president's trip.

Under threat from Russia, Kiev earlier this year appealed to Washington for small arms and ammunition, as well as for nonlethal items like flak jackets and night-vision goggles. Wary of antagonizing Moscow, the White House dragged out internal deliberations for weeks before deciding earlier this month to send helmets, sleeping mats and other nonlethal gear deemed by U.S. officials to be less provocative—but no arms.

U.S. officials say Asian allies who want to know how Washington would respond to future acts of Chinese aggression shouldn't look at what the U.S. is doing to aid Ukraine but instead at Pentagon moves to reassure Eastern European allies and Baltic states since the U.S. is bound by treaty agreements to help defend them.

The Pentagon last week said it is sending several hundred troops for exercises in Eastern Europe, and that it would keep a rotational naval presence in the Black Sea. A senior military official said the changes were small but "proportional to the threat."

As with its North Atlantic Treaty Organization partners in Europe, the U.S. has defense treaties with Japan, South Korea and the Philippines. The U.S., in contrast, has no such agreement to defend Ukraine, U.S. officials have told their Asian counterparts. "It's comparing apples and oranges," said a senior military official.

Like Ukraine, nontreaty allies in Asia would get more-limited support from the U.S., officials said.

U.S. officials have privately warned their Chinese counterparts in recent exchanges, including a visit to Beijing by Secretary of State John Kerry in February, that the U.S. won't accept moves by China to unilaterally declare another air-defense identification zone or to assert Chinese territorial claims in the South and East China Seas, according to U.S. officials.

It was unclear how seriously Beijing takes the warning. In February, following Mr. Kerry's visit to Beijing, Chinese leaders told a visiting American delegation that they didn't take U.S. warnings seriously.

"Unfortunately, I don't think they're convinced by our muscularity," said a former administration official who took part in the delegation. "If we think we're ready to pull the trigger but they don't think that we're ready to pull the trigger, that's when bad things happen."

—Colleen McCain Nelson contributed to this article.

Write to Adam Entous at adam.entous@wsj.com and Julian E. Barnes at julian.barnes@wsj.com

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Ukraine Mayor Gennady Kernes Shot in Attack, Kharkiv City Council Says
Monday April 28th, 2014 at 8:09 AM

April 28, 2014 6:23 a.m. ET

Gennady Kernes, mayor of Kharkiv, speaks to journalists on March 15 about unrest in the city amid pro-Russia protests. Kharkiv City Council

The mayor of Ukraine's second largest city, which has largely managed to fend off the unrest that has engulfed other parts of the east, was shot by gunmen Monday and is clinging to life, the Kharkiv city council said.

Kharkiv Mayor Gennady Kernes, a one-time supporter of the ousted Ukrainian president who has since taken a more conciliatory approach to the new government, was shot in the back around noon local time and was rushed to a hospital for surgery. (Read the latest updates on the crisis in Ukraine.)

"Doctors are fighting for his life. He is now in the emergency room undergoing an operation," the council said in a statement on its website.

The statement offered no details about the circumstances of the shooting, but Zurab Alasania, the director general of Ukraine's state-run National Television Company, wrote on his Facebook page that Mr. Kernes was shot while swimming in a local spring near Kharkiv.

Kharkiv had been an early target at the beginning of a pro-Russian separatist movement, in which mobs seized government buildings in the east of the country, but authorities had been successful in forcing the protesters out, unlike in other cities.

The colorful Mr. Kernes, 54 years old, was elected mayor in 2010, narrowly defeating Arsen Avakov, who is now Interior Minister. Mr. Avakov and his allies claimed the vote was rigged, which Mr. Kernes denied.

Mr. Kernes was a staunch ally of former President Viktor Yanukovych. During the antigovernment protests this winter, Mr. Avakov alleged that Mr. Kernes helped recruit gangs of civilians that were sent to Kiev to attack protesters. He denies this.

When Mr. Yanukovych fled at the end of February, Mr. Kernes briefly left the country before returning and adopting a softer tone toward new authorities. In March, he was placed under house arrest while police investigate alleged connections to kidnapping and threats.

The diminutive 54-year-old is known for his colorful lifestyle captured on his Instagram account where he posts photos of himself working out and posing with animals.

Militants hold at least 10 cities in the east as well as government buildings in several others. Ukraine has blamed Russia for fomenting the unrest, a charge Moscow has denied.

Write to Lukas I. Alpert at lukas.alpert@wsj.com and James Marson at james.marson@wsj.com

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Philippines Signs Pact to Allow Greater U.S. Troop Presence
Monday April 28th, 2014 at 8:06 AM

April 27, 2014 11:55 p.m. ET

The new defense agreement between the Philippines and the U.S. may not be a game changer for security in the region. The WSJ's Deborah Kan speaks to Lowy Institutes Aaron Connelly on the latest move by the U.S. to counter China's quest for military might in Asia.

MANILA—Philippine and U.S. officials on Monday signed a 10-year deal allowing greater American military presence in the Southeast Asian country, just minutes before President Barack Obamalanded for a state visit aimed at underscoring the U.S. "pivot" to Asia and enhancing its longest standing military alliance in the region.

Philippine Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and U.S. Ambassador Philip Goldberg signed the accord that would allow U.S. troops access to the Asian country's military bases for longer durations. The arrangement is similar to agreements that the U.S. has with Singapore and Australia.

Mr. Gazmin said the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement serves as "a framework for furthering the [two nations'] alliance" and helps improve cooperation in dealing with security challenges in the region.

Mr. Goldberg called the accord a "landmark" deal that builds on the two countries' Mutual Defense Treaty signed in 1951 and improves the Visiting Forces Agreement, which allows brief U.S. troop visits for joint military exercises.

The Philippine Senate in 1991 rejected a proposed new treaty that would have allowed the U.S. to maintain its naval base in Subic Bay and air base in Clark Airfield.

Philippine Defence Minister Voltaire Gazmin (L) and US ambassador Philip Goldberg (R) shake hands after signing the Enhanced Defense Agreement Cooperation Agreement in Manila on April 28, 2014.Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

"It will not reopen U.S. bases here," Mr. Goldberg said after signing the pact. He said the deal is meant to promote peace and security in the region.

Both officials didn't identify threats to the security of the region, but the U.S. has highlighted its "pivot" to Asia after North Korea's missile tests and China's aggressive maritime actions in the South China Sea.

Write to Cris Larano at cris.larano@wsj.com

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Obama announces new U.S. sanctions on Russia over Ukraine
Monday April 28th, 2014 at 7:57 AM

MANILA/SLAVIANSK, Ukraine (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama announced new sanctions against some Russians on Monday to stop President Vladimir Putin from fomenting the rebellion in eastern Ukraine, but said he was holding broader measures against Russia's economy "in reserve."

On the ground, pro-Moscow rebels showed no sign of curbing their uprising, seizing public buildings in another town in the east. Interfax news agency reported that the mayor of a further major eastern city, Kharkiv, had been shot and was undergoing an operation. It gave no details of the shooting.

Germany demanded Russia act to help secure the release of seven unarmed European military monitors, including four Germans, who have been held by the rebels since Friday.

The new U.S. sanctions, to be outlined in detail later on Monday, will add more people and firms to a list announced last month of figures whose assets are frozen and who are denied visas to travel to the United States.

The European Union is also expected to add targets to its Russia sanctions list on Monday. Ambassadors from the 28 EU states met in Brussels and an EU diplomat said they were expected to add around 15 new names.

Washington will also target some high tech exports, Obama said. But the measures do not yet include the wider sanctions, such as curbs on the Russian financial and energy sectors, that would do the most serious damage to Russia's economy.

"We are keeping in reserve additional steps that we could take should the situation escalate further," Obama said, acknowledging that he did not know if the measures he has ordered so far will work.

U.S. officials have said the new list would include Putin's "cronies" in the hope of changing his behavior.

"The goal is not to go after Mr. Putin personally. The goal is to change his calculus with respect to how the current actions that he's engaging in Ukraine could have an adverse impact on the Russian economy over the long haul," Obama said in Manila during a trip to Asia.

"To encourage him to actually walk the walk and not just talk the talk when it comes to diplomatically resolving the crisis in Ukraine."

Nevertheless, such measures have done nothing so far to deter Putin, who overturned decades of post-Cold War diplomacy last month to seize and annex Ukraine's Crimea peninsula and has since massed tens of thousands of troops on the frontier. He acted after Ukraine's pro-Russian president was ousted in February by protesters demanding closer links with Europe.

Moscow has in the past shrugged off targeted sanctions like those Obama announced on Monday as pointless.

Washington says armed rebels - who have captured towns and government buildings across eastern Ukraine - are operating under the direction of Kremlin agents.

Russia denies it is involved and says the uprising is a spontaneous response to oppression of Russian speakers by Kiev.

REBELS TAKE TOWN

The rebels took another town on Monday morning, seizing the police headquarters and municipal administration building in Kostyantynivka, an industrial city in the eastern Donetsk region. Separatists in the province have proclaimed an independent "People's Republic of Donetsk".

A Reuters photographer at the scene saw about 20 gunmen controlling the administration building.

The Interfax news agency quoted a spokeswoman for the mayor of Kharkiv, another large city in the east, as saying he was undergoing an operation for a gunshot wound in the back. It said no further details of the incident were available.

On Sunday the separatists paraded eight unarmed European military monitors before journalists. One, a Swede who is diabetic, was freed for medical reasons but four Germans, a Czech, a Dane and a Pole are still being held, described by the rebel leader as "prisoners of war" and NATO spies.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman Steffen Siebert said they were held "against the law and without justification".

"We ask the Russian government to act publicly and internally for their release, to distance itself clearly from such acts and to use its influence on pro-Russian perpetrators and forces in eastern Ukraine to secure their release."

Armed rebels also occupied Donetsk television on Sunday and ordered it to start broadcastingRussian state TV.

Obama is under pressure from opposition Republicans at home to move faster on sanctions. But in taking what he described as "calibrated steps", he has emphasized the need to act in concert with European countries, which have more at stake economically and a more cumbersome process for taking decisions.

The EU does more than 10 times as much trade with Russia as the United States and buys a quarter of its natural gas from Moscow. Most EU decisions require unanimity among member states.

Western countries say the targeted sanctions are already having an effect on Russia by scaring investors into pulling out capital. The central bank has been forced to hike interest rates to prop up the ruble and Russian firms are finding it more difficult and costly to raise funds.

Russian shares dropped on anticipation of the impact of new sanctions. The ruble-denominated MICEX index was down 1.3 percent early on Monday. The cost of insuring Russia's debt against default rose to its highest level since November 2011.

Monday's sanctions build on those imposed over Crimea last month, which were deliberately designed to punish individuals close to Putin without having wider impact on Russia's economy or its trade with the West.

The new sanctions could still have a greater impact by widening the net to include personal transactions by the heads of big Russian companies, and the prospect of sectoral sanctions continues to hover over Russian business more generally.

"The heads of Rosneft and Gazprom are rumored to be on the list of targets," Uralsib bank analysts wrote in a morning note, referring to Russia's two biggest firms, its state oil major and natural gas export monopoly.

"Entire sectors of the economy could be targeted as well. Further sanctions for the energy and banking sectors could continue to harm sentiment if announced this week," they wrote, while adding that it was impossible to assess the impact until measures were announced.

(Writing Peter Graff; Editing by Giles Elgood)

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The Russia Problem - WSJ.com
Monday April 28th, 2014 at 7:45 AM

Updated April 27, 2014 6:03 p.m. ET

The U.S. and EU are saying they will impose new sanctions on Russia as early as Monday, albeit watered down again due to fears of economic harm in Europe. This continues the trend of incremental action that Vladimir Putin has consistently shrugged off. It also avoids the real need in the West for rethinking how to handle a revanchist Russia.

The sanctions-by-small-degrees strategy continues the hope that Mr. Putin's Russia can somehow, with the right balance of carrots and sticks, be brought back into the European fold. In this view Mr. Putin is reacting understandably to Russia's post-Soviet decline in power and the West's NATO expansion. Ukraine and the rest of the Russian near abroad are part of the Kremlin's historic sphere of influence, so let Mr. Putin have them and after a slap on the wrist we can all return to business as usual.

This is a false diagnosis wrapped in self-deception. It is how the West responded after the Russian invasion of Georgia in 2008, which President Obama downplayed as he entered office promising a "reset" of relations and offering concessions on arms control and missile defense while ignoring Mr. Putin's increasingly authoritarian grip at home. Six years later, with nothing to show for the reset save a smaller U.S. missile force, Mr. Putin grabbed Crimea, and his special forces are now fueling unrest in eastern Ukraine.

***

The beginning of strategic wisdom is to understand that Mr. Putin's Russia is not a status quo power with a few territorial grievances. It is an authoritarian regime bent on rewriting the rules of post-Cold War Europe. Lacking democratic legitimacy and with an economy dependent mainly on fossil-fuel exports, the Kremlin must employ an increasingly virulent nationalism and foreign conquest to maintain power. Expansionism and foreign meddling aren't limited to historic claims. They are central to the regime's survival and if unchecked will continue beyond Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin Associated Press

While the U.S. talked disarmament, and Western Europe practiced it, Russia has also upgraded its military. The Brookings Institution estimates that the Kremlin has increased military spending by 79% in the last decade, and Russian operations in Crimea impressed Western observers with their stealth and coordination. Russia is developing new mid-range nuclear missiles that could be targeted at Western Europe, in clear violation of the 1987 INF Treaty. Like France and Britain after World War I and the illusions of the 1920s, Western Europe is asleep while its adversary is rapidly re-arming.

A coherent response has to start by talking honestly about the nature of the Putin regime. The Kremlin promotes through its domestic media an anti-Americanism that is as vicious as anything that came out of the Soviet Union. In its telling the U.S. is promoting fascism and seeks political domination in Europe. Mr. Putin's propaganda campaign has become uglier as his domestic political control has tightened. Western leaders need to tell the truth about all this so their citizens, wary of foreign entanglements, begin to comprehend the threat.

The West also needs to act with more unity and conviction. Mr. Putin has figured he can split Western Europe from the Central Europeans and even from the U.S., and that is playing out. Germany is the weakest link, with many of its political class and business elite on Russia's energy payroll. The lack of a united Western front weakens the impact of sanctions and feeds the belief of Mr. Putin and his oligarch coterie that they can ride out any short-term punishment.

Yet Russia's economy is vulnerable to sanctions if the West would get serious. Standard & Poor's last week downgraded Russian debt to near-junk status, as capital flight picks up. A recession seems likely this year after slow growth in 2013. Sanctions against the Putin circle have their uses, but sanctions on the entire Russian financial system would have far more impact. Mr. Putin is riding a wave of nationalist popularity with his Crimea conquest, but that will erode if Russians conclude that his adventures are making them poorer.

The West also needs to move faster on making Europe less dependent on Russia for energy. Mr. Obama could send a global signal if he ordered his Energy Department to approve every U.S. liquefied natural gas export proposal. Not every project would be built, but approval would let capital find the best prospects. Yet the U.S. President, like the Germans, is hostage to his domestic renewable-energy lobby that hates fossil fuels. The West's climate-change obsessions have increased Mr. Putin's strategic leverage.

Above all Europe and the U.S. need to move quickly to revive NATO's forces and credibility. U.S. officials are sounding the right notes on NATO's Article 5 that commits all treaty members to respond to an attack on any member. But they need to reinforce that message with more than token deployments in Poland and the Baltic states.

While Ukraine is not a NATO member, the U.S. should also send lethal aid to Kiev as a way of making Mr. Putin think twice about the costs of an invasion. Mr. Obama is worried that this will be too provocative, but what is really provocative to this Kremlin is weakness.

***

Western leaders, and their publics, have wanted to believe that the end of the Cold War means the end of conflict in Europe. Georgia in 2008 should have burst that bubble, but there is no excuse after Ukraine. Vladimir Putin's Russia is a growing threat to Europe's peace and stability, and the longer the West waits to respond the higher the cost will be.

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· · · · ·

Obama Unveils Timing of New Russia Sanctions Over Ukraine
Monday April 28th, 2014 at 7:43 AM

April 28, 2014 6:58 a.m. ET

President Obama give a press conference at Malacanang Presidential Palace in Manila. European Pressphoto Agency

MANILA—President Barack Obama announced that new U.S. sanctions against Russia will be imposed on Monday and will target an expanded list of individuals and companies in an effort to pressure Moscow to reduce tensions in Ukraine.

High-technology exports to Russia's defense industry will be affected, the president said. The U.S. sanctions also are expected to take aim at Russian President Vladimir Putin's financial assets and ties to Russian billionaires, spotlighting the country's oligarchic financial system. Details were expected to be released later.

"The goal here is not to go after Mr. Putin personally," Mr. Obama said. "The goal is to change his calculus."

This will be the next step in what Mr. Obama called a "calibrated effort" to ramp up the costs for Russia's actions in Ukraine, though the president acknowledged that the more severe sanctions may not prove effective.

"We don't yet know whether it's going to work," he said during a news conference in the Philippines.

As the U.S. and other G-7 nations—including the U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Canada and Japan--have warned of coming sanctions, the situation in Ukraine has continued to deteriorate. Pro-Russian separatists took a group of military observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe hostage on Friday, and on Sunday, they said they had captured three Ukrainian intelligence officers.

Although White House officials had said the new sanctions would come early this week, Mr. Obama's comments were the first confirmation that the U.S. would move forward Monday.

So far, sanctions have done little to deter Russia's provocations in Ukraine, and U.S. officials have said they have seen no evidence that Moscow intends to comply with an agreement reached in Geneva that sought to de-escalate tensions.

Russian officials have brushed off the impact of sanctions, saying that they are counterproductive.

Mr. Obama has resisted suggestions that the U.S. should proceed with broader sanctions that would target large sectors of the Russian economy, as Ukraine has demanded.

Mr. Obama has said the U.S. will continue to ramp up pressure and that the next step could be wider sanctions, though he is still working to build support for that among European leaders.

"We are keeping in reserve additional steps we could take," he said.

Write to Colleen McCain Nelson at colleen.nelson@wsj.com

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· · ·

Next Page of Stories

Page 3

White House defends Russia foreign policy, amid criticism Putin goes undeterred
Sunday April 27th, 2014 at 7:33 PM

April 27, 2014: Pro-Russian activists at a rally in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine.REUTERS

The White House on Sunday defended its foreign policy strategy on Russia, saying the international sanctions are hurting that country’s economy and has Russian citizens losing faith in President Vladimir Putin.

White House Deputy National Security Adviser Tony Blinken said Russia’s financial markets are down 22 percent since the first of the year and that the ruble, Russia’s currency, hovers near all-time lows.

“What we're doing is bringing the world together to exert significant pressure on Russia,” he told NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “The actions we've taken in response are undermining [Russia’s] influence, undermining its economic influence, undermining its geopolitical influence.”

Blinken defended the Obama administration’s strategy since Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimea Peninsula last month and as Putin continues to keep troops on the Ukraine-Russia border and send operatives across the border to destabilize Ukraine’s new, temporary government.

In addition, armed, pro-Russian activists in Ukraine have for the past three days held captive eight international observers.

He also told CNN’s “State of the Union” that new penalties against Russia -- supported by European leaders -- are expected this week and that they will affect the people closest to Putin, amid criticism the Russian president continues his foray into Ukraine undeterred.

Earlier Sunday, President Obama said in Malaysia that the United States would be in a stronger position to deter Putin once he sees the world is unified in punishing Russia for not abiding by a deal reached Easter weekend to ease tensions in Ukraine.

Blinken also said Putin might have to reconsider his strategy because he is having to spend capital reserves on Crimea and cannot fulfil his pact with voters to deliver economic growth in exchange for their political support.

“Putin himself acknowledged [imposing sanctions] is having an impact on the Russian economy,” he said. “Crimea is going to be a dead weight on Russia. They are pouring billions and billions of dollars into Crimea to try to shore it up. … The bloom is going to come off this rose.”

Blinken didn’t rule out Putin invading Ukraine, saying he “has that card.”

However, he said the United States is trying to de-escalate the crisis.

“We don't see a military confrontation coming of this,” Blinken said.

Some of the sanctions are targeting those in Putin’s inner circle.

Maryland Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told NBC that part of the Russia elite is indeed “paying a price.”

However, Wyoming GOP Sen. John Barrasso, a fellow committee member, said the U.S. must get tougher.

“What we hear are sanctions against individuals,” he said. “I think we need to go much further than that: sanctions against Russia in terms of military activity, arms, in terms of finance, in terms of energy.”

Earlier this weekend, the administration was criticized for using Twitter for diplomacy with Russia.

“Note to the State Department: ‘The promise of a hashtag’ isn't going to make Putin pull out of Ukraine,” Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz tweeted Saturday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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· · ·

Pro-Russia Separatists Free One of Detained Observers in E. Ukraine
Sunday April 27th, 2014 at 1:24 PM

Voice Of America

— Pro-Russian separatists have freed one of the eight European observers being detained in the eastern Ukraine city of Slaviansk on Sunday evening.
The Swedish observer was escorted to an Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) vehicle and driven away.
A Reuters reporter outside the city administration building in Slaviansk said the man came out, escorted by three unarmed men, got into a white OSCE jeep and drove off.
Earlier on Sunday, a group of European monitors detained by pro-Russia insurgents in eastern Ukraine appeared in public Sunday to give assurances they are not being mistreated, even as negotiations began to secure their release.
With armed rebels watching as they spoke, the leader of the monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, German Colonel Axel Schneider, assured reporters in Slovyansk they were in good health.
The insurgents called the eight military observers "prisoners of war." Schneider said they were being held for political reasons.
"Our presence here in Slovyansk is for sure a political instrument for the decision-makers here in the region, and the possibility to use it for negotiations."
The OSCE sent a team of negotiators to eastern Ukraine to meet with the self-proclaimed mayor of Slovyansk, Vyacheslav Ponomaryov, about freeing the military monitors.
The rebels also displayed three bloodied and blindfolded officers from Ukraine's Security Service it captured. The officers were shown with heads bowed, and stripped of their pants and shoes.
Meanwhile, at a news conference in Malaysia, U.S. President Barack Obama warned economic sanctions against Russia will be stiffened because he said Moscow is encouraging unrest in the largely Russian-speaking eastern Ukraine.
"There is strong evidence that they have been encouraging the kinds of activities that taking place in eastern and southern Ukraine and so, collectively, us and the Europeans have said that so long as Russia continues down the path of provocation rather than try to resolve this issue peacefully and de-escalating, there are going to be consequences. And those consequences will continue to grow."
In a joint statement late Friday, the Group of Seven major economies announced it had agreed to "move swiftly" on new sanctions against Russia because of its interference in Ukraine.
The G-7 nations said they would take measures to intensify "targeted sanctions" against Moscow. A U.S. official said the penalties could take effect as early as Monday.
Obama says the U.S. and Europe must act together in levying sanctions against Russia over its actions in Ukraine that he says threaten that country's independence and sovereignty.
The American leader said a deal had been reached with Russia to de-escalate the crisis, but "Russia has not lifted a finger to help."
On Saturday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called for Russian support "without preconditions" for efforts to free the European monitors seized Friday.
A senior State Department official said Kerry delivered his demand in a telephone call to Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. Moscow later said it is taking what it called "all measures to resolve the situation," but blamed Ukrainian authorities for failing to secure the safety of the team.
The German-led OSCE team was acting under the authority of a four-party agreement directing the OSCE to monitor security and human rights in Ukraine's Russian-speaking east and south. The deal, reached in Geneva, was signed by Russia, Ukraine, the United States and the European Union.
Separately, interim Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk told reporters Saturday that Russian aircraft had violated Ukrainian airspace seven times overnight.
The Russian Defense Ministry said its "objective monitoring of the air situation" had not detected any overflight violations.
Meanwhile, in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk, VOA correspondent Brian Padden says he was confronted by an angry mob Saturday as he tried to cover a rally in front of an occupied building. He says protesters accused him of supporting a "fascist" U.S. government.
Armed pro-Russian gunmen have seized government facilities in about 10 cities in eastern and southern Ukraine, and are demanding a referendum on whether to secede from the country and join Russia.
Some information for this report provided by Reuters.

Read the whole story

· · ·

Russia Tightens Grip on the Internet
Sunday April 27th, 2014 at 12:52 PM

Voice Of America

WASHINGTON

— These are not easy days to blog or use social media in Russia – particularly, analysts say, if you’re critical of the Kremlin’s current occupant.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and other leaders want to “kill off the blogosphere” by year’s end, Andrei Malgin, an outspoken Putin critic, wrote on his “Notes From a Misanthrope” blog.

Putin stoked more speculation Thursday when he

referred to the Internet

at a media forum as “a CIA project,” one that was “still developing as such.”

The Web has drawn Putin’s ire for years, but pressure on his and the Kremlin’s detractors has been increasing, proponents of press freedom say.

Last month, the Kremlin blocked the websites of opposition leader Garry Kasparov, the independent Ekho Moskvy (Echo of Moscow) radio station and the online newspaper

Grani

Garry Kasparov, Russia's most prominent opposition leader and former world chess champion holds a news conference at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France Wednesday, May 23, 2007

On Monday, Pavel Durov, founder of the country’s most popular social network,

VKontakte

, said he was fired as CEO and

forced to flee

to Central Europe after refusing to hand over Euromaidan protesters’ private information to Russian authorities.

Also this week, Russia’s State Duma

passed a bill

that, if signed into law by Putin, would require bloggers with over 3,000 daily viewers to register with the government. They’d face the same scrutiny – some say censorship – experienced by Russian TV and newspapers.

“These are all very alarming developments,” said Eva Galperin of the Internet freedom organization Electronic Frontier Foundation, or EFF. “It’s all bad.”

Analysts say these actions indicate authorities intend to seize greater control of what Russian citizens can see and say online.

But controlling the Internet is notoriously difficult, Internet experts say, and Russian activists are finding ways to slip past the Kremlin’s efforts to censor the web.

Threat from social networks

Much of the current crackdown stems from December 2011, when thousands of Russians took to the streets to protest Putin’s campaign to return to the presidency, journalists Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan wrote in

Wired

. Protesters used social networks such as VKontakte and LiveJournal to vent their outrage and organize actions.

The protests came on the heels of the “Arab Spring” uprisings that were fueled at least in part by online activists, raising the stakes for the Russian regime, Soldatov and Borogan wrote.

The Kremlin appeared to be caught flat-footed by the opposition’s use of social networks, the two wrote. They said their sources in the secret services found Kremlin operatives to be technically “powerless to deal with social networks, especially any that were based outside of the country, such as Facebook and Twitter.”

Initially, the Kremlin responded by setting up a series of Internet blocks to stop Russians from visiting sites it considered troublesome.

That strategy proved ineffective. “Blocking access to sites is very trivial and takes almost no technical capacity to do,” said Steven Wilson, a lecturer on Russian politics and the Internet at Virginia Tech. “In the long run it’s not very useful, because it’s like playing Whac-A-Mole and not really accomplishing anything.”

When a government blocks a site, it essentially instructs the nation’s Internet service providers to simply not route any traffic to or from that site’s specific numeric Internet address.

Experts say blocks are easily defeated by using proxy servers abroad or circumvention software such as a VPN. The Turkish government found that out after attempting a wholesale block of Twitter in March. Even before a Turkish court ordered the Erdogan government to lift the ban, many Twitter users found ways to slip past it.

The challenge of DPI

The Russian government in 2012 began investing in something known as “deep packet inspection,” or DPI for short, Soldatov and Borogan wrote.

Visiting a website isn’t like phoning a friend, with one constant connection allowing conversation. Instead, all web traffic is broken into countless smaller “packets,” each separately routed to its destination and back again.

Normally, ISPs and routers just look at the packet’s top, or “header,” to send it on its way. However, using specialized DPI equipment, the service providers – or the government –can peek into the packet’s content, gaining access to all sorts of private information.

Conducting deep packet inspection even on a small scale is technically complicated and even more expensive. That’s probably why only China has implemented it on a mass scale.

Russian authorities have quietly been purchasing DPI systems from a variety of manufacturers, including Israel’s RGRCom, Canada’s Sandvine and China’s Huawei.

That, along with increasing restrictions on online activity, is raising fear of an even harsher crackdown.

“There’s definitely a move toward greater control and censorship of the Internet,” the EFF’s Galperin said, “and a reframing of the Russian government’s attitude toward the Internet that is focused on all of the bad things that people are able to say on it, and going after opposition members and people saying things that they don’t like.”

Social media appear to be of highest concern, Galperin said, in part because of the 2011 protests and its widespread use.

“The bothersome thing about social media is that anyone can post to it, and there aren’t a lot of immediate limits on what you can say,” she said.

Buying control of Russia’s web

Centralization of Internet control represents another concern. “We’re definitely seeing a consolidation of ownership of Internet companies under allies of the Putin regime,” said Wilson, the Virginia Tech expert on Russian Internet.

As VOA

previously reported

, financial control of VKontakte – Russia’s largest social network and Europe’s second most popular – has quietly been secured by the investment firm United Capital Partners. UCP is controlled by Alisher Usmanov and Igor Sechin

who made their fortunes in metals and oil, respectively. Both are said to have Putin’s ear.

For several years, Russia has restricted access to Western-based firms like Facebook, WordPress, Twitter, Google and others, thus channeling online users to the Russian firms.

Wilson said he thinks it unlikely that Putin’s allies will stop with VKontakte. “Russia is in a relatively unique situation in that (it) actually (has) companies distinct from the western companies, like Facebook and Twitter, that the majority of bloggers and social media are on,” he said. “And those are the companies that Putin has gobbled up.”

Another is LiveJournal, which analysts say is Russia’s most popular blogging platform. It’s owned by the firm SUP, which is controlled by, among others, Alexander Mamut. The oligarch

has been described

as “Putin’s man.”

Because LiveJournal is a Russian firm with at least some of its servers located in the country, it has to follow Russia’s changing laws about Internet use and control.

Knowing a company’s ownership is one of the best ways for Russians to evade the growing online censorship, Virginia Tech’s Wilson said.

“There’s no reason to be blogging on a platform owned wholesale by allies of the Kremlin,” he said. “… There are all sorts of free alternatives that (Russians) could easily migrate to.”

Fighting limits on control

Russians have proven adept at outsmarting government censorship with an ever-changing variety of tools,

a few of which are detailed here

However, these evasions are often a game of cat and mouse: Once a government catches on to a new trick, authorities will move to block it, leading to yet another trick, and on and on.

Growing ranks of Russians are also turning to various circumvention tools that can help protect their anonymity online while evading Internet blocks. Among the more popular of these are i2p, VPNs, fri-Gate and Tor. (VOA’s parent agency, the Broadcasting Board of Governors, provides financial support to several circumvention tools, including Tor.)

Putin’s recent accusation that the Internet is a CIA project may be little more than bluster, analysts say, though it may signal Moscow’s intent to step up its own Internet surveillance.

But there may be a limit on how much Internet control the Russian government can seize.

Building a comparable effort would require a legion of advanced engineers and vast sums of money, Wilson said.

“Russia’s particular limit on any ambitious government project has always been one of corruption,” he said. Despite having “a very large pile of foreign cash reserves,” it hasn’t been able to address “basic things like roads between their cities [that are] almost completely inadequate. If [Russians] try and spend any of that money, it will disappear down the rabbit hole of corruption.”

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· · · · · ·

Pro-Russian forces parade detained European officers
Sunday April 27th, 2014 at 12:30 PM

“We wish from the bottom of our hearts to go back to our nations as soon and as quickly as possible,” one of the observers, German Col. Axel Schneider, said at a news conference arranged by his captors.

Schneider said the men had “not been touched” and were in good health, but he gave no indication of when they might be freed.

The event came just hours after the Ukrainian security service said that three of its officers were captured by pro-Russian militants in the city of Gorlovka. The men were in the city to investigate the recent torture and murder of a local politician.

The three captives were later shown on Russian television blindfolded and hunched over in a room at the government building in Slovyansk, the breakaway eastern city where OSCE observers are also being held. The European officers had been stripped of their pants and shoes and were bound with packing tape.

Militants in eastern Ukraine have turned to kidnapping as a favored tactic in recent days. The detentions have instantly raised the stakes in an already fraught drama pitting the Ukrainian government against motley bands of separatists who have overtaken city halls across the country’s eastern half.

Although the standoff in Ukraine has for months been a proxy fight between Russia and the West, the imprisonment of military officers from NATO countries in a makeshift separatist jail threatens to draw the West more directly into the conflict.

Russia said Saturday that it would do all it could to win the release of the detained men, who include a total of eight military monitors from Germany, the Czech Republic, Poland, Denmark and Sweden, as well as five Ukrainian military escorts. But as of Saturday night, leaders of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic in the city of Slovyansk remained adamant that they had no intention of freeing the officers, accusing them of espionage. Ukrainian officials said they feared that the men would be used as human shields.

The standoff raised fresh questions about the ability of any government — whether Ukrainian or Russian — to control events in a region where security is perilous and where shadowy militias hold growing sway.

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, which is monitoring events in Ukraine and trying to broker local peace deals, said it would keep its monitors out of Slovyansk until further notice and that it was carefully watching conditions in other cities.

“It’s a very fluid security situation in a lot of these areas,” said Michael Bociurkiw, spokesman for the OSCE monitoring mission here. “We’re definitely taking more precautions.”

Bociurkiw said that OSCE monitors visited Slovyansk last week and that they had met with the pro-Russian activists who took over the city’s government buildings this month. “It was tense, but there was an understanding achieved,” Bociurkiw said.

The detention of the monitors Friday, Bociurkiw said, was “entirely unexpected.”

The detained men are military officers who also were here under OSCE auspices, but under a separate mission from the civilian observers.

OSCE dispatched a team to eastern Ukraine on Saturday and was leading negotiations aimed at securing the monitors’ release, according to officials from OSCE and from Germany, which led the mission.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier called Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov to discuss the situation Saturday, according to a Russian Foreign Ministry statement. Steinmeier’s spokeswoman declined to discuss the call.

Lavrov also spoke Saturday with U.S. Secretary of State John F. Kerry, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry. Kerry urged Lavrov to help free the monitors, while Lavrov called on Kerry to force Kiev to halt its military operations against antigovernment forces in southeastern Ukraine.

Reasons for visit unclear

The standoff comes at a critical time in Western decision-making over how hard to punish Russia for its meddling in Ukraine. In a statement released Saturday morning, the Group of Seven announced that it would impose new sanctions against Moscow, and officials indicated that they could come as early as Monday.

Germany, which has extensive economic ties to Russia, has led the call in the West for restraint in dealings with Moscow. But the detention of the officers, including four Germans, in Slovyansk could alter that balance.

It was not clear why the monitors, who were in military uniform but unarmed, decided to try to enter Slovyansk on Friday. The city, which has been known for weeks as a hotbed of separatist sentiment, was especially tense after a deadly Ukrainian military assault on several separatist checkpoints just a day earlier.

OSCE officials said they were not aware of the reason for the visit, and Germany declined to comment.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said Saturday that it was “taking all measures possible to resolve the situation.” But it added that the Ukrainian authorities “should have cleared the inspectors’ presence, activity and security in the regions . . . where a military operation has been launched against the people of their own country.”

The self-appointed “people’s mayor” of Slovyansk, Vyacheslav Ponomariov, told Russian news media that his men had detained the monitors on suspicion of spying, and that they had subsequently confiscated military maps that he said prove the accusation. The monitors were traveling on a bus that had been stopped at a checkpoint on the way into the city.

In an appearance on Russian television, Ponomariov showed off the officers’ military ID tags, badges and medals. “They were soldiers on our territory without our permission,” he said. “Of course they are prisoners.”

He suggested that the men could be exchanged for pro-Russia activists being held by Ukraine.

A spokeswoman for Ponomariov, Stella Khorosheva, said the detainees were being treated well.

“We give them food and water,” said Khorosheva, who expressed frustration that the monitors were receiving so much attention from the Ukrainian news media “when they ignore those taken captive by illegal junta in Kiev.”

The pro-Russia forces argue that the Ukrainian government, which came to power in February after massive street protests that ousted the president, is illegitimate. They have called for a referendum early next month that would allow eastern Ukraine substantial autonomy from Kiev.

Tension on border

Ukrainian authorities and Western governments have accused Russia of covertly instigating the unrest in eastern Ukraine to destabilize the country, and possibly to justify an invasion. Tens of thousands of Russian troops are massed on the Ukrainian border, and they have engaged inincreasingly aggressive maneuvers in recent days.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk told reporters Saturday that Russian military aircraft “crossed and violated” Ukrainian airspace seven times overnight and that the incursions were designed “to provoke Ukraine to start a war.”

Russia has said it is simply conducting drills and has no intention of invading Ukraine, but there were signs along the border with Russia on Saturday that Ukraine was in a state of heightened alert. Military helicopters passed overhead, and at the lonely frontier crossing at Marynivka, the Ukrainian military erected a dozen large concrete anti-tank blocks.

Vehicles continued to move between the countries, though the traffic was light.

At a nearby Ukrainian Border Guard garrison, troops defended the locked entrance and scanned the rutted two-lane farm road with binoculars.

“But nobody has seen any Russians,” said the maintenance manager at a hilltop war memorial called Savur-Mohyla, which commemorates the Red Army’s battle against German forces in 1943.

The worker, who was hoeing weeds and said he had lived in a nearby village all of his life, declined to give his name because he works for the state.

He said that in his village, most residents would rather be part of Russia, because they think their wages and pensions would improve. Polls show that most Ukrainians — even those in the heavily Russian-speaking east — disagree and would rather stay in Ukraine. The surveys also show strong resistance to the idea of a Russian invasion.

But that doesn’t mean it won’t happen. The worker pointed at the country road that passed through the farms and orchards from Russia, just a few miles away.

“A Russian column traveling 30 mph with some helicopter support could be in Slovyansk in three hours,” he said. “There's really no Ukraine army here to stop them if they want to come.”

Booth reported from Marynivka. Alex Ryabchyn in Marynivka and Michael Birnbaum in Moscow contributed to this report.

Read the whole story

· · · · · ·

Ukraine: kidnapped observers paraded by pro-Russian gunmen in Slavyansk | World news
Sunday April 27th, 2014 at 12:20 PM

Latest News, Sport And Comment From The Guardian | The Guardian

Link to video: East Ukraine detainees: 'we have not been touched'

Eight European military observers kidnapped by pro-Russian gunmen in eastern Ukraine have been shown off at a press conference in the rebel-held city of Slavyansk.

The group, looking tired but unharmed, appeared next to Slavyansk's self-appointed separatist "mayor", Vyacheslav Ponomarev. They include four Germans, a Pole, a Dane, a Swede and a Czech officer. The rebels did not exhibit five members of Ukraine's armed forces captured at the same time on Friday.

Speaking in German, the senior officer, Colonel Axel Schneider, defended his mission to the region, under the auspices of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). He saidclaims by Ponomarev that the group were Nato spies were blatantly false. "We are not Nato," he said. "Our mission was transparent. All OSCE members including Russia knew about it."

Meanwhile, in Donetsk pro-Russian separatists seized control of regional state television offices. Masked men with truncheons and shields were seen at the entrance to the building as a crowd of about 400 people surrounded it, while police stood nearby but did not intervene. One of the separatists told Reuters they had seized the TV building because "they try to influence the people and they broadcast misinformation".

In Slavyansk, Schneider said his team had acted within diplomatic protocols. He said they had not attempted to enter the town but were instead a few miles south of it, heading back towards Donetsk, when armed gunmen intercepted their mini-van. He said they had been looking for tanks and artillery at the time but had not found any.

The rebels have described the kidnapped Europeans as "prisoners of war" and have said they might be bartered for imprisoned pro-Russian activists in Kiev. Schneider said he had no idea what the method for a prisoner-swap might be, adding: "We are completely in the hands of Mayor Ponomarev."

Masked gunmen escorted the EU nationals into the room in Slavyansk's town hall. Schneider said they had not been ill-treated, but said: "I cannot go home of my free will."

Earlier, Ponomaryov, who was wearing a pistol in a holster and was escorted by two armed bodyguards, told reporters that the OSCE observers "are not our hostages – they are our guests".

Schneider said they had initially been housed in a basement but were transferred on Saturday to a comfortable room with light and air-conditioning. He said they had agreed to take part in a press conference at Ponomarev's suggestion "so our families might see us".

The account of the kidnapping raises questions as to whether the rebels were tipped off about the group's movements in advance. The road between Slavyansk and Kramatorsk, nine miles (15km) to the south, is usually safe, with traffic flowing regularly in both directions. The one rebel check point on the outskirts of Kramatorsk is low-key. The military observers were carrying ID but were not wearing uniforms and were unarmed.

Schnedier denied rebel claims he had come to the area with spying equipment and said: "We just had small cameras with us." The mayor could use the group to get his message out, he added. Ponomarev, however, said he would not release the kidnapped military observers despite negotiations between the separatists and the Vienna-based OSCE. "We are in a war situation," he said.

The pro-Russian militia is also holding Ukrainian journalists, local residents and the town's elected mayor, who has been allowed visits from her family and hairdresser. Another Ukrainian reporter, Lviv-based Yury Lelyavsky, was seized on Friday. The EU nationals appear to be high-value bargaining chips as the west prepares for further confrontation with Moscow.

The G7 is expected to announce on Monday an expansion of the list of Russian individuals and companies subject to sanctions. They will include close friends of Vladimir Putin as well as those allegedly involved in co-ordinating unrest across Ukraine. The US and EU accuse Moscow of failing to implement a deal agreed in Geneva under which illegal groups would end takeovers of official buildings and give up their weapons.

The British foreign secretary, William Hague, said that while diplomatic routes to de-escalate the crisis remained open, Europe and the US were also working on more far-reaching measures of economic, trade and financial sanctions in case Russia did not back down.

"Those are for the future. What we will hear about in the coming days, what we will agree … is an expansion of existing sanctions, measures against individuals or entities in Russia," Hague told Sky News.

He said Britain and its allies would be willing to accept the potential costs to their own countries of implementing further reaching economic or trade sanctions.

"It would be a price worth paying if this situation continues to deteriorate," Hague said. "We will calculate them in way that has the maximum effect on the Russian economy and the minimum effect on our own economy and the European Union's."

He added that international observers being held by pro-Russian separatists should be released "immediately and unconditionally" and called on Russia to assist by lobbying the rebel groups.

On Saturday, a standoff continued between armed pro-Russian militias in Slavyansk and the Ukrainian army down the road. Ukraine's national guard established a checkpoint 13 miles to the north of the rebel city, on the main road to Kharkiv. "I love my country. I'm defending it against the fascists over there," said 23-year-old soldier Andrei, gesturing towards Slavyansk.

Officers made clear they had no orders to storm Slavyansk. Instead they said their role was to prevent weapons reaching the self-proclaimed "Donetsk People's Republic".

Andrei said he had arrived at the checkpoint that morning. "We are going to win," he said cheerfully. "We're stronger." Another soldier, lying under a blossoming tree, added: "We're going to win because we believe in God. He's on our side."

Despite the threat of war, the situation in Slavyansk was remarkably calm. Traffic, including scheduled buses, flowed in and out of town, waved through tyre checkpoints by militia volunteers. One militia checkpoint proclaimed "Stop Nato" and "Love, family and peace".

"The government in Kiev doesn't want to listen to us," said Volodya, a 49-year-old electrician. "They say they're the good guys and that we are bad guys and separatists." He added that when he went to school in the Soviet Union in the 1980s he learned that Stepan Bandera – the Ukrainian nationalist leader during the second world war and venerated by the west of the country – was a fascist. He called Ponomarev a "hero on the barricades".

Read the whole story

· · · ·

Mike Nova's Shared NewsLinks Review

Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks Review

» Defending the "Obama Doctrine" - YouTube
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mikenova shared this story . Published on Apr 28, 2014 Jake Tapper, Maeve Reston & Jonathan Martin on Obama's response to his critics & why he doesn't seek military options.

» CrossTalk: Containment 2.0? (ft. Stephen Cohen & John Mearsheimer) - YouTube
28/04/14 09:54 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Published on Apr 28, 2014 What does Washington's "containment" policy mean? What threats does it pose? Will it work against today's Russia? And does this mean Washington has declared a new Cold War? CrossTalk...

» Stephen Cohen: As US Rushes Into New Cold War, Where Is the Debate?
28/04/14 09:46 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story .

» Cost of trade sanctions on Russia 'price worth paying' says William Hague
28/04/14 09:12 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from News | Mail Online. Foreign Secretary says damage to UK economy is worth it America admits sanctions have more impact on EU than on US Many fear London, where Russian oligarchs invest billions, will suffer...

» U.S. Beefs Up Military Options for China as Obama Reassures Allies in Asia
28/04/14 09:10 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . April 27, 2014 7:52 p.m. ET The question of security in the South and East China seas has dogged President Obama, above in Kuala Lumpur Sunday, during his Asian trip. Larry Downing/Reuters WASHINGTON—Th...

» Ukraine Mayor Gennady Kernes Shot in Attack, Kharkiv City Council Says
28/04/14 09:09 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . April 28, 2014 6:23 a.m. ET Gennady Kernes, mayor of Kharkiv, speaks to journalists on March 15 about unrest in the city amid pro-Russia protests. Kharkiv City Council The mayor of Ukraine's second largest ci...

» Philippines Signs Pact to Allow Greater U.S. Troop Presence
28/04/14 09:06 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . April 27, 2014 11:55 p.m. ET The new defense agreement between the Philippines and the U.S. may not be a game changer for security in the region. The WSJ's Deborah Kan speaks to Lowy Institutes Aaron Connelly...

» Obama announces new U.S. sanctions on Russia over Ukraine
28/04/14 08:57 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . MANILA/SLAVIANSK, Ukraine (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama announced new sanctions against some Russians on Monday to stop President Vladimir Putin from fomenting the rebellion in eastern Ukraine, but ...

» The Russia Problem - WSJ.com
28/04/14 08:45 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Updated April 27, 2014 6:03 p.m. ET The U.S. and EU are saying they will impose new sanctions on Russia as early as Monday, albeit watered down again due to fears of economic harm in Europe. This continues th...

» Obama Unveils Timing of New Russia Sanctions Over Ukraine
28/04/14 08:43 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . April 28, 2014 6:58 a.m. ET President Obama give a press conference at Malacanang Presidential Palace in Manila. European Pressphoto Agency MANILA—President Barack Obama announced that new U.S. sanction...

» White House defends Russia foreign policy, amid criticism Putin goes undeterred
27/04/14 20:33 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . April 27, 2014: Pro-Russian activists at a rally in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine. REUTERS The White House on Sunday defended its foreign policy strategy on Russia, saying the international sanctions are hurting t...

» Pro-Russia Separatists Free One of Detained Observers in E. Ukraine
27/04/14 14:24 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. — Pro-Russian separatists have freed one of the eight European observers being detained in the eastern Ukraine city of Slaviansk on Sunday evening. The Swedish observer was escorted...

» Russia Tightens Grip on the Internet
27/04/14 13:52 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. WASHINGTON — These are not easy days to blog or use social media in Russia – particularly, analysts say, if you’re critical of the Kremlin’s current occupant. Russ...

» Pro-Russian forces parade detained European officers
27/04/14 13:30 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . “We wish from the bottom of our hearts to go back to our nations as soon and as quickly as possible,” one of the observers, German Col. Axel Schneider, said at a news conference arranged by his ca...

» Ukraine: kidnapped observers paraded by pro-Russian gunmen in Slavyansk | World news
27/04/14 13:20 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Latest news, sport and comment from the Guardian | The Guardian. Link to video: East Ukraine detainees: 'we have not been touched' Eight European military observers kidnapped by pro-Russian gunmen in easte...

» Тимошенко: Путина остановит только сила США и ЕС - YouTube
27/04/14 12:43 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Uploads by Reuters. Published on Apr 27, 2014 Юлия Тимошенко, бывший пре&...

» East Ukraine detainees: 'we have not been touched' - video | World news
27/04/14 12:25 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . A group of kidnapped military observers give a press conference in Slavyansk, east Ukraine, where they are being held by pro-Russian separatists. Colonel Alex Schneider from Germany confirms the eight men hav...

» G-7 Prepares Russia Sanctions as Release of Observers Sought (2)
27/04/14 12:21 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Businessweek.com -- Top News. Group of Seven leaders said new sanctions on Russia will be imposed as soon as tomorrow, while the U.S. and the U.K. called on the government in Moscow to help release of obse...

» Video bloggers taking internet by storm and earn £20,000 a MONTH for posts
27/04/14 12:17 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from News | Mail Online. Some high-profile video bloggers have up to 26million subscribers 'Vloggers' can earn up to £20,000 for adverts on their YouTube sites UK's best-known bloggers include Zoe Sugg - w...

» Captured European Monitors in Ukraine say They are Well
27/04/14 12:10 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. A group of European monitors detained by pro-Russia insurgents in eastern Ukraine appeared in public Sunday to give assurances they are not being mistreated, even as negotiations began to...

» Pennsylvania Police searching for teens who left SUV on tracks in the path of train
27/04/14 12:04 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from News | Mail Online. Published: 20:38 GMT, 26 April 2014 | Updated: 14:19 GMT, 27 April 2014 11 shares Pennsylvania authorities are still trying to find the people who abandoned an SUV on train tracks, caus...

» "Strelok" gave interview - YouTube
27/04/14 09:32 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . "Strelok" gave interview WAR: UKRAINE-RUSSIA · 194 videos 123 Subscription preferences Loading... Loading... Working... 23 views 0 0 Published on Apr 27, 2014 Russian GRU officer Strel...

» Pro-Russian Commander in Eastern Ukraine Sheds Light on Origin of Militants
27/04/14 07:59 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . April 26, 2014 7:03 p.m. ET Pro-Russian militants stand guard outside the Ukraine Security Service building on Saturday in Slovyansk, Ukraine. The elusive commander of the pro-Russia militants who have seized...

» US, Europe Must Act Collectively Against Russia
27/04/14 07:54 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. U.S. President Barack Obama says the U.S. and Europe must act together in levying sanctions against Russia over its actions in Ukraine that he says threaten that country's independence an...

» Conn. school stabbing suspect under psychiatric evaluation
27/04/14 07:52 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . &amp;amp;amp;lt;A HREF="http://lax1.ib.adnxs.com/click?VAj2JtNO4z9HuuqtZmngP-XQItv5fso_R7rqrWZp4D9UCPYm007jP3u1R985QjEVFEyO1cnjiwpg4VxTAAAAABATGQD0AwAACAcAAAIAAAA0H68Aw8ICAAAAAQBVU0QAVVNEACwB-gAYYgAA3...

» Ukraine crisis: US pressures Russia on captive observers - European News | Latest News from Across Europe | The Irish Times
27/04/14 07:50 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from The Irish Times - News. US secretary of state John Kerry has urged Russia to support efforts to free military observers held by pro-Moscow forces in Ukraine . Mr Kerry also told Russian foreign minister Se...

» Obama urges united riposte to Russia for 'destabilizing' Ukraine
27/04/14 07:47 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . KUALA LUMPUR/SLAVIANSK, Ukraine (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama on Sunday said the United States and Europe must join forces to impose sanctions on Russia to stop it destabilizing Ukraine, where armed...

» Obama: World must unite to disapprove of Russian actions in Ukraine
27/04/14 07:36 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from CNN.com - Europe. Relatives and friends of a man killed in a gunfight participate in his funeral ceremony in the eastern Ukrainian city of Slavyansk on Saturday, April 26. Ukraine has seen a sharp rise in ...

» For Russia, Negatives Seem to Outweigh Positives of an Invasion
26/04/14 16:07 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . MOSCOW — Ukraine becomes more of a tinderbox by the day. Thousands of Russian troops are maneuvering along the border, with Russian fighter jets entering Ukraine’s airspace. Ukrainian leaders have...

» Ukraine’s Tymoshenko: The U.S. and E.U. ‘underestimate the real threat of this situation’
26/04/14 13:10 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Q. You must have had a hard time in 2½ years in prison. A. It is horrible to remember. I was in a special jail where psychological torture and pressure were the main goal. No normal person could survive ...

» Andrii Deschytsia: Russia Betrays Its Geneva Agreement
26/04/14 13:07 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . April 25, 2014 7:13 p.m. ET More than a week has passed since the four-party Geneva statement was signed by representatives of the European Union , the United States, Russia and the country I represent, Ukrai...

» To resist Russia, Georgia and Moldova would benefit from deeper ties to Europe
26/04/14 13:03 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Culture Connoisseur Badge Culture Connoisseurs consistently offer thought-provoking, timely comments on the arts, lifestyle and entertainment. More about badges | Request a badge Washingtologist Badge Washing...

» It is time for the West to move ahead without Russia
26/04/14 13:01 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Unfortunately, hope of a constructive relationship with Russia under Putin has vanished. A friendly rival has become, at best, an unfriendly adversary. Putin will not compromise his quest to dominate Russia&#...

» Best of the Web Today: Mutually Assured Derision
26/04/14 13:00 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . (Best of the tube tonight: Catch us on "Lou Dobbs Tonight," 7 p.m. ET on Fox Business, with a repeat showing at 10 p.m.) The U.S. State Department "has embraced the social media to re-shape public diplomacy a...

» Will Clinton run? - latimes.com
26/04/14 12:55 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . &amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/N4011/jump/trb.latimes/news/opinion;rs=B10248;rs=B0;;ptype=s;slug=la-oe-mcmanus-column-hillary-clinton-2016-election-20140427;pos=1;sz=300x250,336x280...

» Boy in Pennsylvania school stabbing spree left note about plans
26/04/14 12:37 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . The 16-year-old boy who stabbed 21 people at his Pennsylvania high school was charged on Friday with as many counts of attempted homicide. The 16-year-old boy who stabbed 21 people at his Pennsylvania high sc...

» OSCE sends team to Ukraine to secure release of hostages - European News | Latest News from Across Europe | The Irish Times
26/04/14 12:33 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from The Irish Times - News. The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has dispatched a negotiating team to try to secure the release of observers being held by pro-Russian separatists in e...

» School stabbing victim was giddy for upcoming prom
26/04/14 12:30 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Today's Op-Ed Headlines. HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — In the days before Maren Sanchez was stabbed to death inside her high school, her focus was on the junior prom she was helping to plan for Friday n...

» Five dead in British military helicopter crash in Afghanistan
26/04/14 12:19 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . KABUL Sat Apr 26, 2014 10:17am EDT KABUL (Reuters) - Five service members were killed when a British helicopter crashed in southern Afghanistan on Saturday, the NATO-led coalition forces and the British Minis...

» Ukraine's PM Accuses Russian Military of Airspace Violations
26/04/14 12:12 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. Ukraine's prime minister says Russian military aircraft have repeatedly crossed into Ukraine's airspace, in what he called Russian aggression designed to undermine global security. Arseni...

» U.S., G-7 allies will impose new sanctions against Russia as soon as Monday
26/04/14 11:54 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Post Politics. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images) SEOUL -- The United States and other members of the Group of Seven will impose new sanctions against Russia as early as Monday because it continues to support sepa...

» Rep. Michael Grimm indicted, according to people familiar with case
26/04/14 11:46 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Post Politics. Rep. Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.). (Photo By Tom Williams/Roll Call via Getty Images) Updated 9:35 p.m. Rep. Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.) has been secretly indicted by a federal grand jury in Brooklyn, ...

» Suicides down for active-duty troops. What about veterans?
26/04/14 11:42 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Federal Eye. A new Pentagon report shows that suicides among active-duty troops declined by 15 percent last year, offering hope that the military’s suicide-prevention programs may be working. But at ...

» 5 NATO troops killed in Afghan helicopter crash
26/04/14 11:41 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . KABUL — Five NATO troops were killed Saturday in a helicopter crash in southern Afghanistan, the deadliest day for the U.S.-led coalition in at least three months. In a statement, the Ministry of Defens...

» Divided Party Waits To Hear From Rand Paul At Maine GOP Convention
26/04/14 11:39 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Politics - The Huffington Post. BANGOR, Maine (AP) — Unity is the theme for the state GOP's annual convention, but it's a divided party that waits to hear from U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, a potential 2016 p...

» Al Qaeda chief urges Westerner kidnappings
26/04/14 11:37 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . DUBAI Sat Apr 26, 2014 8:43am EDT DUBAI (Reuters) - Al Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri has called on Muslims to kidnap Westerners, particularly Americans, who could then be exchanged for jailed jihadists includ...

» U.S., Europe Delay Moves to Impose More Sanctions on Russia Over Ukraine
26/04/14 11:34 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Updated April 25, 2014 10:37 p.m. ET Ukraine decided not to continue a military advance on the eastern city of Slovyansk, currently being held by pro-Russian separatists, after Russia activated the thousands ...

» G7 agrees new sanctions on Russia as observers held in Ukraine
26/04/14 11:33 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . SLAVIANSK, Ukraine (Reuters) - Leaders of the Group of Seven major economies agreed to impose more sanctions on Russia over the crisis in Ukraine, where armed pro-Moscow separatists have detained a group of i...

» 'Observers To Be Used As Human Shield'
26/04/14 11:31 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . It Is No Longer A Game For Separatist Militia Updated: 12:32am UK, Saturday 26 April 2014 By Sam Kiley, Foreign Affairs Editor in Slavyansk Their rifles were cocked. The safety catches off. Triggers were fing...

» Ukraine crisis: G7 to 'intensify sanctions' on Russia
26/04/14 10:35 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Ukraine Crisis - Latest news and developments from Ukraine and Crimea. "Today the official representatives of the OSCE are being held in inhuman conditions in the basement of the terrorists' headquarters,"...

» Military Suicides Dropped 15 Percent Last Year; Army National Guard Deaths Rose
26/04/14 09:29 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Politics - The Huffington Post. WASHINGTON (AP) — Suicides among Army National Guard and Reserve members increased last year, even as the number of active-duty troops across the military who took the...

» Ukraine crisis: G7 countries agree to intensify sanctions against Russia | World news
26/04/14 07:17 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Latest news, sport and comment from the Guardian | The Guardian. The leaders of G7 major economies have agreed to intensify sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine crisis, with a US official warning some...

» Sued Eduardo Bhatia - The New Day
26/04/14 07:05 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Some 32 former employees of the Office of Legislative Services (OLS) sued the Senate President Eduardo Bhatia course political discrimination. The lawsuit was filed in federal court, arguing That the co...

» Appoints Superintendent Cauldron
25/04/14 19:34 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Colonel Juan B. Rodríguez Dávila was named here Friday as associate superintendent of police by the superintendent José L. López Cauldron, During his third day in office in command of That...

» Senate Confirms Cauldron as Superintendent of Police
25/04/14 18:58 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . The Superintendent of Police appointed a public hearing appeared today. Videos By Antonio R. Gomez / antonio.gomez @ <a href="http://gfrmedia.com" rel="nofollow">gfrmedia.com</a> The Senate confir...

» The high cost of Puerto Rican statehood
25/04/14 18:31 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . The General Accountability Office has just published its findings on the cost of Puerto Rico statehood and the numbers are not pretty for the U.S. and for the Island. In sum the economic and fiscal costs of s...

» With GAO report, momentum builds for Puerto Rican statehood
25/04/14 18:21 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Last week, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report about the fiscal impact of Puerto Rico statehood on the federal government. The report strongly supports the conclusion that state...

» GAO report: Another step toward statehood for Puerto Rico
25/04/14 18:20 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . It has been a long road, but it’s now just a matter of days --April 3 to be precise -- before Congress finally releases the much anticipated report made on the cost of Puerto Rico becoming the nation ...

» Feeling blue in Puerto Rico
25/04/14 18:16 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . 24-hour news pundits may not be the most reliable sources, but even non-partisan, reputable economists and political scientists have long failed to predict the consequences, or benefits, of their favorite red...

» Democrats In Your State: Puerto Rico
25/04/14 18:08 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from News. Pick a different state Puerto Rico Chair: Hon. Roberto Prats Vice Chair: Luisette Cabanas Executive Director: Dominique A. Gilormini DeGarcia

» Telescope in Puerto Rico detects strange, rapid bursts of radio waves
25/04/14 17:48 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . San Juan, Apr 25 (EFE).- The radio telescope at Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico detected well-defined signals like distant bursts of radio waves or brilliant explosions lasting but fractions of a second, a...

» Russia will lose, Ukraine's former PM Yulia Tymoshenko tells Vladimir Putin – video | World news
25/04/14 17:30 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Copy and paste the embed code below Terms and conditions of use

» Taíno people - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
25/04/14 15:50 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Wikipedia - Recent changes [en]. Total population ancestral to mestizo population Regions with significant populations Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, Cuba, Bahamas, Jamaica Languages Taíno language , later ...

» political parties puerto rico - Google Search
25/04/14 15:28 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . List of political parties in Puerto Rico - Wikipedia, the free ... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ political _ parties _in_ Puerto _ Rico ‎ Cached Similar Share View shared post Wikipedia Loading... This...

» History of women in Puerto Rico
25/04/14 15:17 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Wikipedia - Recent changes [en]. The history of women in Puerto Rico traces back its roots to the Taíno , the inhabitants of the island before the arrival of Spaniards . During the Spanish colonizatio...

» Sila María Calderón - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
25/04/14 15:16 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Wikipedia - Recent changes [en]. Sila María Calderón Serra (born September 23, 1942) is a Puerto Rican politician, businesswoman , and philanthropist who served as the seventh Governor of the Com...

» Roberto Prats - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
25/04/14 15:09 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Wikipedia - Recent changes [en]. Roberto Prats Palerm (born 1966) is a former Senator of Puerto Rico , a lawyer , and a former candidate for Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico in the elections of 2004 . ...

» Micro-Independence to Break the Status Stalemate
25/04/14 15:08 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from The Canal: News and Analysis Blog from the PanAm Post. For decades, Puerto Rico’s political parties have been strictly divided along island status lines. The Popular Democratic Party ( PDP) , current...

» democratic party of puerto rico - Google Search
25/04/14 14:57 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Puerto Rico : Micro-Independence to Break the Status Stalemate PanAm Post (blog) - Apr 23, 2014 Share Shared on Google+. For decades, Puerto Rico's political parties have been strictly divided along island st...

» Republican Party (Puerto Rico) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
25/04/14 14:55 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Wikipedia - Recent changes [en]. The Republican Party ( Spanish : Partido Republicano ) is a political party in Puerto Rico, and the affiliate of the national Republican Party of United States . The party ...

» Democratic Party (Puerto Rico) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
25/04/14 14:54 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Wikipedia - Recent changes [en]. The Puerto Rico Democratic Party is the local branch of the Democratic Party in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico . Party membership consists of supporters of both the curren...

» Russia hijacks U.S. State Department’s Ukraine hashtag
25/04/14 14:13 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from WorldViews. If war is politics by other means, Twitter is flipping the bird by other means. While Russia feuds with the U.S. and its NATO partners over the crisis in Ukraine, the official Twitter account o...

» Girl Killed at Conn. School, Boy Arrested - Connecticut
25/04/14 14:08 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . MILFORD, Conn. (AP) — A 16-year-old girl was stabbed to death inside a Connecticut high school and a teenage boy has been taken into police custody. Emergency responders were called to Jonathan Law High...

» Видео: Чем грозит обострение военного противостояния на юго-востоке Украины - Газета.Ru
25/04/14 09:58 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . 24 апреля 2014, 21:07 Введет ли Россия войска н...

» Exclusive: Obama plans to call EU leaders in Russia sanctions push - sources
25/04/14 09:52 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama is expected to speak to several European leaders on Friday to try to nudge the EU toward fresh sanctions against Russia over Ukraine , sources familiar with ...

» Russia offers proposal to resolve Ukraine crisis | World news
25/04/14 09:42 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Latest news, sport and comment from the Guardian | The Guardian. Workers are already removing barricades and cleaning up Independence Square in Kiev. Photograph: Sergey Dolzhenko/EPA The Russian foreign mi...

» Ukraine Says It Won't Storm Slovyansk
25/04/14 09:39 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Updated April 25, 2014 7:19 a.m. ET Ukrainian officials say that up to five pro-Russian militants were killed in an early morning operation outside Slovyansk. WSJ's Paul Sonne joins the News Hub with a report...

» Ukraine dismisses Russian threats to intervene, continues ‘anti-terrorist’ campaign
25/04/14 09:26 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . “We do not want any casualties. We will not storm the city. We realize that there may be a large number of injured people in this case,” said Vasyl Krutov, deputy chief of Ukraine’s Security...

» John Kerry issues Ukraine ultimatum to Putin
25/04/14 08:41 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from News | Mail Online. US Secretary of State said Russia's window to change direction was closing Accused Putin of sabotaging the democratic process through 'intimidation' Also warned new sanctions on Moscow ...

» Mark Shand's secret lover reveals how she held her hand on his heart as he died
25/04/14 08:29 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from News | Mail Online. Shand, 62, died on Wednesday after hitting his head when he fell through a revolving door at the Gramercy Park Hotel's Rose Bar Ruth Powys, 36, tells MailOnline she was by his side at t...

» Russian Stocks, Bonds, Ruble Dive on S&P Rate Cut
25/04/14 08:25 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Updated April 25, 2014 7:17 a.m. ET Breaking Bank of Russia Raises Key Rate to 7.5% Analysts Expected Bank of Russia Not to Move Rates Bank of Russia Cites Higher Inflation Risks Behind Rate Increase Standard...

» Obama Warns N. Korea About Nuclear Test
25/04/14 07:35 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. President Barack Obama is in South Korea on the second leg of an Asian tour, where he gave a warning to North Korea against conducting a fourth nuclear test. In a newspaper interview with...

» Semiotics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
24/04/14 17:31 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Wikipedia - Recent changes [en]. Semiotics (also called semiotic studies and in the Saussurean tradition called semiology ) is the study of meaning-making. This includes the study of signs and sign process...

» Mark Shand pictured hours before his death outside New York bar
24/04/14 13:39 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from News | Mail Online. Duchess of Cornwall's brother, Mark Shand, 62, was pictured with his rumoured fianceé, Ruth Powys, 35, in New York only hours before his death Miss Powys is the CEO of his elephant...

» Putin's Russia | Photo gallery | Multimedia | The Moscow Times
24/04/14 10:35 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Putin's Russia

» Russia Is in No Economic Shape to Fight a War | Opinion
24/04/14 10:03 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Last Friday evening, the Russian Security Council met. In attendance were 12 men — almost all of whom are around 60 years old and who once worked in the KGB in St. Pet...

» Life of Camilla's brother Mark Shand who died after a fall in New York City
24/04/14 10:02 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Hellomagazine.com - Home updates. 24 APRIL 2014 Mark Shand was often to be found holding court at one of his parties, dazzling guests with his aristocratic good looks and stories of his globetrotting trave...

» British Royal’s In-Law Dies in Fall
24/04/14 09:56 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Advertisement The brother-in-law of the Prince of Wales died on Wednesday after falling outside a hotel bar in Manhattan and suffering a head injury, the police said. Mark Shand, the brother of Prince Charles...

» Camilla's Brother Died After Falling In Gramercy Park Hotel Revolving Doors - The Daily Beast
24/04/14 09:05 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Indigo/Getty Police in New York said today that conservationist Mark Shand, the brother of Prince Charles's wife Camilla, was killed after he slipped and fell while trying to make his way back through the rev...

» Camilla's brother Mark Shand, 62, dies after smashing head in fall in NY after leaving £1m charity fundraising event
24/04/14 08:00 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from News | Mail Online. Duchess of Cornwall's brother Mark Shand slipped while smoking cigarette He suffered a serious head injury and was taken to hospital Clarence House: 'Mark Shand was a man of extraordina...

» Gazprom Bills Ukraine's Naftogaz $11.4 billion
24/04/14 07:56 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . April 24, 2014 4:53 a.m. ET MOSCOW—Russian oil and gas company Gazprom has billed Ukraine's state-owned Naftogaz $11.4 billion for not importing the full amount of natural gas under a 2013 supply contra...

» Ukraine Interior Minister Says Kiev Took Back Control of Eastern City Council
24/04/14 07:54 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . April 24, 2014 4:49 a.m. ET MOSCOW—Ukraine regained control overnight of the city council in the port city of Mariupol, as Kiev restarted a military operation to drive our pro-Russian militants who had ...

» Ukraine Halts Military Push, Fearing Attack From Russia
24/04/14 07:54 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Updated April 24, 2014 8:54 p.m. ET Ukrainian officials say that up to five pro-Russian militants were killed in an early morning operation outside Slovyansk. WSJ's Paul Sonne joins the News Hub with a report...

» Ukraine Halts Military Push, Fearing Attack From Russia - WSJ.com
24/04/14 07:54 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story .

» Three Americans killed in Kabul hospital attack: U.S. embassy
24/04/14 07:53 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news , world news , business news , technology news , headline news, small business news , news alerts, persona...

» Guns Can Be Carried In Schools Under New Law
24/04/14 07:52 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Georgia has passed a law that allows people with a licence to carry a gun into bars and, in certain cases, in schools, churches and government buildings. Opponents of the law call it "guns everywhere" legisla...

» Afghan officer kills 3 U.S. doctors
24/04/14 07:49 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . &amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/N4011/jump/trb.latimes/news/worldnow;;ptype=s;slug=la-fg-wn-afghan-guard-kills-us-doctors-20140424;pos=1;sz=300x250,336x280;tile=2;at=Crime;at=CrimeLa...

» Obama poised for new sanctions on Russia if no progress on Ukraine
24/04/14 07:27 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . TOKYO/DONETSK, Ukraine (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama said on Thursday he was poised to impose new sanctions on Moscow if it does not act fast to end an armed stand-off in Ukraine, but there was a fi...

» 'Ukraine A Pawn In US Game Against Russia'
24/04/14 07:17 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Russia has accused the West of instigating a "revolution" in Ukraine as part of a "geopolitical game" against Moscow. Foreign minister Sergei Lavrov claimed the US and EU were behind the uprising that ousted ...

» Tom Daley's boyfriend Dustin Lance Black denies he is to be quizzed in Hollywood sex abuse case
24/04/14 07:13 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from News | Mail Online. Dustin Lance Black, 39, is in a relationship with the Olympic diver, 19 It was reported Mr Black will be called as a character witness for Singer A spokesman has denied that Mr Black wi...

» Russia Warns Ukraine of Potential Military Response
23/04/14 19:21 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . MOSCOW — Russia continued Wednesday to ratchet up pressure on the government in Kiev, warning that events in eastern Ukraine could prompt a military response and again accusing the United States of dire...

» Бордюжа: Россия и страны НАТО вышли на уровень прямого противостояния | Информационно-справочный портал Беларуси
23/04/14 18:29 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Россия и страны НАТО вышли на урове...

» Chelsea Manning, convicted in WikiLeaks case, granted name change
23/04/14 18:26 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from CNN.com - U.S.. From Shawn Nottingham, CNN updated 4:09 PM EDT, Wed April 23, 2014 STORY HIGHLIGHTS Manning is serving a 35-year sentence for leaking classified military information She was formerly known ...

» Ukraine To Restart 'Anti-Terrorism Operation'
23/04/14 18:23 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Ukraine's acting president has called for new anti-terrorist measures to protect citizens of his country after "brutally tortured" bodies were found near Slavyansk. Oleksandr Turchynov said the body of Volody...

» Putin Strategy With Ukrainian Separatists Differs From Crimea
23/04/14 18:21 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. STATE DEPARTMENT — Russian President Vladimir Putin's approach to pro-Russian militants destabilizing southern and eastern Ukraine differs from his strategy on Crimea, where Russian...

» U.S. soldier convicted in WikiLeaks case granted name change
23/04/14 18:18 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . &amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/N4011/jump/trb.chicagotribune/news;rs=D74391;rs=D72665;rs=B10248;rs=D70008;rs=D70033;rs=D70043;rs=D70045;rs=D70031;rs=D70105;rs=D71580;rs=D70071;rs=D7...

» Shocking moment Ukrainian politician is mobbed by furious crowd hours before being abducted and 'tortured to death' by pro-Russian militia
23/04/14 14:12 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from News | Mail Online. Ukraine ends Easter truce after two bodies found near town of Slaviansk One was Vladimir Rybak, a member of president's Batkivshchyna party He and another man tortured and dumped in riv...

» Russia s new culture policy a weapon against West
23/04/14 10:49 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Moscow (AFP) - The Kremlin is preparing a new culture policy for Russia focusing on its distinctive civilisation and traditional values, which observers say has political ends amid Moscow's standoff with the ...

» U.S. to Move Troops to Allies Near Russia as Tensions Flare in Eastern Ukraine
23/04/14 10:16 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Updated April 22, 2014 10:03 p.m. ET A funeral Tuesday in Slovyansk for three men killed in a gunfight on Sunday nearby. Both sides have denied responsibility for the violence. Agence France-Presse/Getty Imag...

» Buy a shotgun, says Joe Biden – video | World news
23/04/14 09:18 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . US vice-president uses online Q&A with Parents Magazine to answer claims that law-abiding citizens will be left unprotected if there are greater controls on gun ownership, saying a shotgun, not an assault...

» US warns Russia over Ukraine as Moscow announces military exercises | World news
23/04/14 09:09 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Latest news, sport and comment from the Guardian | The Guardian. Joe Biden (left) and the Ukrainian prime minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, at a joint news conference in Kiev. Photograph: UPI /Landov/Barcroft M...

» Tony Blair calls on Western powers to 'co-operate' with Russia to fight radical Islam despite Ukraine crisis - Europe - World
23/04/14 08:29 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . In significant and controversial intervention, the former Prime Minister suggested that, as a result of failures in Iraq and Afghanistan, governments in Europe and America had become “curiously reluctan...

» Ukraine Poised To Relaunch Offensive As Lawmaker's Death Confirmed
23/04/14 08:15 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. U kraine's government says it has formally ended an Easter truce and is preparing a fresh military offensive against pro-Russian insurgents in the east following the kill...

» Закон о блогерах-журналистах - механизм контроля за свободой слова в России? | Важнейшие политические события в России: оценки, прогнозы, комментарии | DW.DE
22/04/14 20:03 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Государственная дума России в пят&...

» Министр обороны ФРГ: Конфликт на Украине затронет НАТО, но не бундесвер | Новости из Германии о Германии | DW.DE
22/04/14 20:01 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Министр обороны Германии Урсула ф&...

» США направляют сотни солдат к восточным рубежам НАТО
22/04/14 20:00 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Радио Свобода. Опубликовано 22.04.2014 22:47 С ША объявили о&...

» Estonia wants, expects more NATO troops on its territory
22/04/14 19:58 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . By David Mardiste TALLINN Tue Apr 22, 2014 10:51am EDT TALLINN (Reuters) - Estonia expects to see more NATO troops on its territory in reaction to what it fears will be Russian attempts to destabilize the for...

» Ракетный фрегат ВМС США Taylor войдет в Черное море в ближайшее время - Новости Политики
22/04/14 19:56 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Новости Mail.Ru. «Ракетный фрегат Taylor войдет в Чеl...

» последние события в Донбассе и Крыму
22/04/14 19:39 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Новости Украины 24 часа в сутки : ЛІГАБізнесІнформ. Что происходит в Харьков ...

» США отправляют в Восточную Европу 600 военнослужащих
22/04/14 19:38 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Новости Украины 24 часа в сутки : ЛІГАБізнесІнформ. &amp;amp;amp;lt;meta HTTP-EQUIV="refresh" content="0;url='http://news.liga.net/news/world/1471143-ssha_otpravlyayut_v_vostochnuyu_evropu_600_voen...

» Even Lukashenka is Worried about What Putin May Do
22/04/14 19:22 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from The InterpreterThe Interpreter. Alyaksandr Lukashenka. Photo: ITAR-TASS / Alexei Filippov Staunton, April 22 – It is a measure of just how worried the leaders of countries bordering Russia are about ...

» In Russia, a Soviet revival grips leadership
22/04/14 19:03 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . On Tuesday, another sign appeared — media reports that the Interior Ministry was banning foreign travel by every one of the nation’s police officers. And other law enforcement agencies were said t...

» President Obama, disregarding his own ‘red line,’ dithers on Ukraine - The Washington Post
22/04/14 13:46 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . The Post’s View President Obama, disregarding his own red line, dithers on Ukraine 607 Share to Facebook Share on Twitter Share on LinkedIn Add to PersonalPost Share via Email Print Article More By Edit...

» Vladimir Putin Is Kaput
22/04/14 11:22 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Guest Post Written By Avi Tiomkin Avi Tiomkin is an adviser to hedge funds who previously managed money for large fund firms. He specializes in global macro investing, focusing on major reversals. Putin has s...

» Бэтмен, Спайдермен и “зеленые человечки”
22/04/14 09:47 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Зеркало.. Автор Рауф Миркадыров . 19 апреля 2014 П...

» Is The Clock Ticking For Ramzan Kadyrov?
22/04/14 09:42 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. T he Russian government recently submitted to the State Duma a draft law that empowers the president and government to delegate to the regions responsibility for various ...

» Azerbaijan Arrests Prominent Journalist For Espionage
22/04/14 09:34 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. R auf Mirkadyrov, a commentator for the independent Russian-language daily "Zerkalo," was taken into custody by security personnel at Baku's Heydar Aliyev airport on Apri...

» Lukashenka Urges Belarusians To Learn From Ukraine's 'Mistakes'
22/04/14 09:33 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. I n his annual address to the nation, President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has told Belarusians to "learn from the mistakes" of their neighbors. Lukashenka specifically mentio...

» Germany Helped Prep Russia for War, U.S. Sources Say
22/04/14 09:18 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . The tiny sultanate is planning a return to medieval modes of shariah law, with vicious punishments for extramarital sex and anti-Muslim defamation. And nobody’s blinking an eye. Remember when we all tho...

» Germany Helped Prep Russia for War, U.S. Sources Say - The Daily Beast
22/04/14 09:18 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . David Mdzinarishvili/Reuter The world was shocked when Russian special operations forces invaded Crimea with advanced technology, drastically improved operations, and with so much operational security that ev...

» Ukraine crisis: Photographs 'show Russian troops' in eastern Ukraine - Americas - World
22/04/14 09:11 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Ukraine officials handed the documents to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe last week to denounce the presence of Russian troops in government buildings seized by militiamen. The photos...

» Biden pledges support for Ukraine as east edges closer to union with Russia | World news
22/04/14 09:09 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Latest news, sport and comment from the Guardian | The Guardian. Joe Biden meets Arseniy Yatsenyuk in Kiev: the US vice-president warned Russia that 'it’s time to stop talking and start acting'. Phot...

» So Far, Russia's Oil and Gas Allow It to Act Badly
22/04/14 09:04 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Updated April 22, 2014 7:47 a.m. ET Of all the lessons one might draw from Russia's bullying of Ukraine, this may be the most coldblooded of all: If you want to behave badly, it helps to have a lot of oil and...

» U.S. Plans Military Drills in Eastern Europe
22/04/14 08:11 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . WASHINGTON — The United States plans to carry out small ground-force exercises in Poland and Estonia in an attempt to reassure NATO ’s Eastern European members worried about Russia ’s milita...

» Under Russia, Life in Crimea Grows Chaotic
22/04/14 08:07 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . SIMFEROPOL, Crimea — After Russia annexed Crimea practically overnight, the Russian bureaucrats handling passports and residence permits inhabited the building of their Ukrainian predecessors, where Rom...

» Russia Displays a New Military Prowess in Ukraine’s East
22/04/14 07:50 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . WASHINGTON — Secretary of State John Kerry has accused Russia of behaving in a “19th-century fashion” because of its annexation of Crimea. But Western experts who have followed the success o...

» U.S. Gives Russia ‘Days’ to De-escalate Tensions in Ukraine | TIME.com
22/04/14 07:48 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from [Untitled]. The White House has warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that he has days, not weeks, to rein in pro-Kremlin insurgents occupying government buildings in at least 10 cities in eastern Ukrain...

» Ukraine Accord Nears Collapse as Biden Meets Kiev Leaders
22/04/14 07:41 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . An agreement to ease tensions in Ukraine showed signs of crumbling as the U.S. and Russia traded blame as Vice President Joe Biden meets government leaders in the Black Sea country. U.S. Secretary of State Jo...

» In Kyiv, Biden Expresses Support for Ukraine
22/04/14 07:39 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. U.S. Vice President Joe Biden has told Ukrainian leaders that the United States will stand with them in the face of what he called "humiliating threats." Biden is in Kyiv to meet with act...

» Biden Urges Ukrainian Leaders to Fight ‘Cancer of Corruption’
22/04/14 07:38 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . KIEV, Ukraine — In a display of Washington’s support for the interim authorities here, Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. signaled on Tuesday that the United States was ready to support them in se...

» With Sharp Rebuke to Russia, Biden Offers Strong Support to Ukraine
22/04/14 07:38 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . KIEV, Ukraine — Vowing that the United States would never recognize Russia’s “illegal occupation” of Crimea last month, Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. on Tuesday reiterated America...

» BBC News - Ukraine crisis: Biden warns of 'humiliating threats' to Kiev
22/04/14 07:31 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from BBC News - Europe. 22 April 2014 Last updated at 06:08 ET Mr Biden is visiting Kiev to show US backing for the new authorities US Vice-President Joe Biden has said the US stands with Ukraine's new leaders ...

» Sherpas consider boycott after Everest disaster that killed at least 13
21/04/14 18:12 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Nydn All Featured Columnist feed. Previous Next Enlarge NAVESH CHITRAKAR/REUTERS KATMANDU, Nepal — Buddhist monks cremated the remains of Sherpa guides who were buried in the deadliest avalanche to h...

» Why Vice President Biden is visiting embattled Ukraine now
21/04/14 16:18 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Christian Science Monitor | World. Vice President Joe Biden arrived in Kiev Monday for a two-day show of support for Ukraine’s pro-Western government as the Obama administration weighs whether to imp...

» After a Decade of War Abroad, a More Militarized Police Force at Home | Andrew Woodman
21/04/14 15:47 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from The Blog. On Sunday morning in East Williamsburg, NY, a joint Department of Homeland Security and NYPD raid of a drug ring was executed. The raid wasn't the big story though; rather it was the tactics used...

» В Белом доме объяснили, зачем Байден прилетел в Украину - Политические новости Украины - Американская делегация будет с визитом в нашей стране два дня
21/04/14 12:20 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from СЕГОДНЯ | Самые актуальные новости, мнения, комментарии. В Белом доме объяснили, з ...

» Президент России
21/04/14 11:19 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . 6 /12 Фото пресс-службы Президента Рос&#...

» Biden lands in Kiev as Russia accuses Ukraine of breaching deal
21/04/14 11:06 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Ukraine news, all the latest and breaking Ukrainian news. His arrival coincides with a moment of acute tension between Russia and the West. Pro-Russian activists have occupied public buildings across Donet...

» Biden heads to Kiev to meet Ukraine leaders
21/04/14 11:04 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . A deadly gunfight in a town in restive east Ukraine shatters a fragile Easter truce, with Russia declaring itself "outraged" at the return to violence. Video provided by AFP Newslook Vice President Biden (Pho...

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The U.S. and Global Security Review - Blog by Michael Novakhov

U.S., Europe Impose New Sanctions on Russia
Monday April 28th, 2014 at 10:08 AM

Ukraine: US and EU announce new sanctions against Russia - live updates | World news
Monday April 28th, 2014 at 9:59 AM

Defending the "Obama Doctrine" - YouTube
Monday April 28th, 2014 at 9:27 AM

CrossTalk: Containment 2.0? (ft. Stephen Cohen & John Mearsheimer) - YouTube
Monday April 28th, 2014 at 8:54 AM

Stephen Cohen: As US Rushes Into New Cold War, Where Is the Debate?
Monday April 28th, 2014 at 8:46 AM

Cost of trade sanctions on Russia 'price worth paying' says William Hague
Monday April 28th, 2014 at 8:12 AM

ALEX SALMOND 'ADMIRES' PUTIN

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U.S. Beefs Up Military Options for China as Obama Reassures Allies in Asia
Monday April 28th, 2014 at 8:10 AM

Ukraine Mayor Gennady Kernes Shot in Attack, Kharkiv City Council Says
Monday April 28th, 2014 at 8:09 AM

Philippines Signs Pact to Allow Greater U.S. Troop Presence
Monday April 28th, 2014 at 8:06 AM

Obama announces new U.S. sanctions on Russia over Ukraine
Monday April 28th, 2014 at 7:57 AM

The Russia Problem - WSJ.com
Monday April 28th, 2014 at 7:45 AM

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Obama Unveils Timing of New Russia Sanctions Over Ukraine
Monday April 28th, 2014 at 7:43 AM

White House defends Russia foreign policy, amid criticism Putin goes undeterred
Sunday April 27th, 2014 at 7:33 PM

Pro-Russia Separatists Free One of Detained Observers in E. Ukraine
Sunday April 27th, 2014 at 1:24 PM

Russia Tightens Grip on the Internet
Sunday April 27th, 2014 at 12:52 PM

Pro-Russian forces parade detained European officers
Sunday April 27th, 2014 at 12:30 PM

Ukraine: kidnapped observers paraded by pro-Russian gunmen in Slavyansk | World news
Sunday April 27th, 2014 at 12:20 PM

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