Liberal commentators are highly critical of President Donald Trump for what they see as a cozy relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Ukraine crisis: New ceasefire ‘holding with eastern rebels’ (BBC)
Ukraine’s defence minister says a new ceasefire has been holding in eastern Ukraine since midnight, despite a recent intensification of shelling.
Bruce Fein: Forget Trump: The Military-Industrial Complex is Still Running the Show With Russia
Trump is only background noise. Our enduring national security libretto is composed by the MICC with the acquiescence of the American people.
Paul Wolfowitz in the wilderness (Politico)
No surprise here: Paul Wolfowitz tells Politico, “I think [Russian President Vladimir] Putin would be more cautious if he faced the risk of more Russians getting killed in Ukraine,” he said. “And we’ve actually lowered that risk for him considerably.”
Daniel McCarthy: The Trump-Putin Summit and Reliving the Cold War
To speak of “treason” is silly, but if anything is against the Constitution, it is the belief of Trump’s critics that the president cannot gainsay the “intelligence community.” On the contrary, whatever it may report to him, he is free to speak and act as he deems best-the president’s orders are binding upon the intelligence community, not the other way around.
Did Russia Really Hack U.S. Election Systems? (Foreign Policy)
American e-voting is vulnerable to hacking, but that doesn’t mean Moscow’s agents hacked Illinois and Arizona voter databases — this time.
Sen. Rand Paul: Update from Washington on US-Russia Diplomacy
Throughout history, including during the height of the Cold War, both sides maintained constant dialogue and communications. Even during the Cuban Missile Crisis, we had diplomatic relations and constant communications. Foreign policy is difficult. It comes in many shades of gray, and those who treat it as a team sport do harm to our safety and to our politics.
The Arizona Election Hack Story Is An Embarrassment To Everyone Involved (Jeffrey Carr)
It’s an embarrassment to Ellen Nakashima and the Washington Post who ran the salacious and inaccurate headline “Russian hackers targeted Arizona election system”, and to every news organization that ran the same story including Financial Times (Geoff Dyer), the Washington Times (Douglas Ernst), and of course Yahoo (Michael Isikoff).
Stephen F. Cohen: Trump as New Cold War Heretic
The president has broken with the nearly 20-year orthodoxy of blaming Russia alone for today’s post-Soviet confrontations.
PODCAST: Update from Ukraine (David Speedie, Nicolai Petro)
Dr. Petro discusses the violence in Crimea, and Ukraine’s economic and political stalemate. For long-term stability, Ukraine has to reconcile with Russia, he says. “There’s simply no way that Ukraine can prosper with a perpetual enemy on its borders. Especially one that has always played such an enormous role in its political, cultural, and religious life.”
Katrina vanden Heuvel: We Need “Robust Debate” in Reporting on Russia, Not “Suffocating Consensus”
Katrina vanden Heuvel tells DN’s Amy Goodman that “The vilification of alternative, dissenting views or linking those views to a foreign power—in many people’s views, an implacably hostile foreign power—is the degradation of our political media culture.”
Who do I call if I want to speak to “pro-Russian forces” in Georgia? (Open Democracy)
In Georgia, whether you’re in opposition or in power, you can always call your opponent an agent of the Kremlin. (Just like in America – Ed.)
NY Observer: Former US Ambassador to Russia After Fall of USSR Clarifies Russia Hysteria Myths
It’s foolish to think diplomatic contacts with Russia are inherently sinister.
A Year After $18 Billion Debt Deal, Ukraine Is Hardly Better Off (Bloomberg)
A year after Ukraine averted default by reaching an agreement with creditors to restructure $18 billion of debt, the country’s bond market is again beginning to veer off course.
Jack Goldsmith: Uncomfortable Questions in the Wake of Russia Indictment 2.0 and Trump’s Press Conference With Putin
Mueller has not yet indicted anyone who worked with the Russians in releasing the stolen information
Mob in Ukraine Drives Dozens of Roma From Their Homes (NY Times)
Several dozen people in a Roma community in southern Ukraine were forced to flee their homes after a mob tore through their neighborhood over the weekend, breaking windows, tearing down fences and even setting a house on fire while the heavily outnumbered police stood by and watched.
Harry J. Kazianis: The Coming American-Russian Alliance Against China
Why not? A rising power challenging the international order can make even sworn enemies into bedfellows.
Poroshenko’s empire – the business of being Ukraine’s president (BNE)
When Ukraine’s president, Petro Poroshenko, was swept into power following the Euromaidan protests two years ago, he promised to sell most of his business interests to avoid any conflicts of interest…Yet two years later and he has sold nothing
Katrina vanden Heuvel: Parsing the surreal from the sensible in Trump’s Helsinki performance
Just because Trump says something doesn’t mean it is false.
Amnesty International To Ukraine: Authorities must commit to a thorough investigation of secret detention facilities
Fresh details of secret detention by the Ukrainian authorities have emerged following the release of 13 people from a Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) compound in Kharkiv, said Amnesty InternationaI and Human Rights Watch today.