Timothy Snyder is at it again.
NATO weighs four battalions in Eastern states to deter Russia: U.S. (Reuters)
The NATO alliance is weighing rotating four battalions of troops through Eastern member states, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said on Monday, in the latest proposal by allies to guard against aggressive behavior by Russia.
CNBC: Trump congratulates Putin on election win, says ‘we will probably get together’ soon
President Donald Trump spoke to Vladimir Putin over the phone Tuesday morning, after the Russian leader’s overwhelming re-election victory.
Tensions run high in Odessa on anniversary of deadly clashes (The Guardian)
A huge police and security operation has been launched to keep the calm in Odessa on Monday, the second anniversary of one of the bloodiest days in Ukraine’s recent history.
Mary Dejevsky: The British Government’s response to Sergei Skripal proves we’ve learnt nothing from the Iraq War
As leader of HM Opposition, and with the Iraq WMD experience behind him, Corbyn is entirely justified in not taking Government assurances on trust. Indeed, is this not what an opposition is for?
Aleppo onslaught: Russia ‘working’ on extending truce (Al Jazeera)
Russia has said it is working towards halting fighting in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, which has been under heavy government bombardment for more than a week.
Josh Cohen: Commentary: Ukraine’s neo-Nazi problem
As Ukraine’s struggle against Russia and its proxies continues, Kiev must also contend with a growing problem behind the front lines: far-right vigilantes who are willing to use intimidation and even violence to advance their agendas, and who often do so with the tacit approval of law enforcement agencies.
US ONCE AGAIN FORCED TO TURN TO RUSSIA FOR HELP ON SYRIA (AP)
Scrambling to resuscitate a nearly dead truce in Syria, the Obama administration has again been forced to turn to Russia for help, with little hope for the desired U.S. outcome.
Patrick Lawrence: Behind this week’s Russia headlines
By the end of the week I thought of those early-1950s horror movies, wherein the cameras linger on mobs of innocent citizens as they hold their hands up and their faces dissolve into a combination of fear and revulsion. That is what we are supposed to feel, do and look like, it seems. The Russians!
Germany ‘to host fresh Ukraine talks’ (AFP)
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier Saturday said he had invited his Russian, Ukrainian and French counterparts to talks in Berlin on May 11 intended to smooth differences between Moscow and Kiev.
Gordon Hahn: Chasing Putin: Russia’s Pro-Democracy Parties and the Presidential Election
Long-standing Russian President Vladimir Putin will win Russia’s presidential election by a landslide, garnering some 70 percent of the vote.
Russia says talks to extend Syrian lull in fighting to Aleppo (Reuters)
Russia said on Sunday talks were taking place to include Aleppo in a temporary lull in fighting declared by the Syrian army in some western parts of the country, a sign of intensified efforts to halt a surge of violence in its former commercial capital.
Paul Robinson: Three Doses of Drivel
Stalin oversaw the Great Terror in which some 700,000 people were executed. And somehow Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin is the same.
The Lasting Effects of the Post-Chernobyl Parade (Lev Golinkin)
May 1, 1986, was a beautiful day for a parade in Kharkov, Ukraine. Red banners and optimism were the hallmarks of Soviet parades, and this one had plenty of both…The only oddity was the reviewing stands, where the city authorities stood, were mostly empty. “Sveta – get him indoors!” my grandmother shouted from our apartment balcony as soon as she saw my mom and I returning home.
Anton Troianovski: Russia’s young people are Putin’s biggest fans
“Tanks are stationed on our borders,” Rybin said. “We have good troops defending our borders, defending our Russia. If we elect a different president, can we expect this from him, or not?”
Latest from OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine
Four civilians were killed in “DPR”-controlled Olenivka, south-west of Donetsk city, when the area came under shelling. The SMM recorded significant numbers of ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, including multiple launch rocket system fire.
George Beebe: Here Is What Trump Should Do about the Poisoning of a Former Russian Spy
If Putin is guilty more of misrule than misdeeds in the Skripal affair, however, confronting him would risk doing more harm than good. The dangers of a World War I-type escalatory spiral would loom large, particularly if powerful interests in Moscow or other capitals want a showdown.
Look Who Funds Ukraine’s ‘Anti-Putin’ Internet TV (Kenneth Rapoza)
The best way to raise funds for a media project in Ukraine? Go full-bore anti-Russia to easily woo North American and European governments to give you money.
Peter Hitchens: The ‘patriotic’ thought police came for Corbyn. You are next.
I have been to many countries where free speech is dangerous. But I have always assumed that there was no real risk here.
9,333 Killed Since Ukraine Conflict Began, U.N. Says (NY Times)
Nearly 10,000 people have been killed and more than 20,000 wounded since the Ukraine conflict began in April 2014, a top United Nations official said Thursday.