When Trump tweeted last week that Russians must be “laughing up their sleeves” at the United States, he wasn’t wrong, exactly — though the target of Russian laughter might not be quite what the U.S. president thinks
Would Congress killing Iran deal play into Putin’s hands?
As Republicans in Congress discuss rejecting what they consider a bad deal between the world’s major powers and Iran on that country’s nuclear program, European foreign policy experts are speculating that the Russians are licking their lips, hoping for that outcome.
Gorbachev Warns of Growing Danger (Rick Sterling)
A group of Americans visiting Russia heard dire warnings from ex-Soviet President Gorbachev that the tensions between the U.S. and Russia are creating a dangerous situation for the world, reports Rick Sterling, who is on the trip.
Ukraine faces ‘hidden crisis’ as internal displacement soars
Ukraine is facing a “hidden emergency” because of the government’s failure to plan for nearly 1.4 million people uprooted by the war in the east, which has left many struggling to find shelter, charities say. They accused the government of breaking its promise to provide housing for people displaced by the conflict and urged it to ramp up efforts to help them.
These Two Former Intelligence Chiefs Differ Sharply on Russia and Trump (Paul Saunders)
In extended interviews, two former U.S. intelligence chiefs have provided dramatically different assessments of Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election and its aftermath.
US Should Resist Calls to Provide Ukraine with More Weapons
“Although the discussion is about ‘defensive’ lethal weapons,” writes Dr. Andrew Monaghan of the UK think tank Chatham House, ” there is no guarantee that the weapons will be used only for defensive purposes if push comes to shove. If the Minsk agreement holds, then Kyiv will not need the weapons. But if it collapses, they may be pressed into service as Kyiv seeks to fulfil its stated aim to regain control over Donetsk and Lugansk (and even Crimea), starting a bigger conflict with Russia.”
Russia’s Pride in WWII Victims and Heroes (Gilbert Doctorow)
As Americans are told to be very scared of a new (and old) enemy – Russia – a more complex reality exists on the ground there, a proud and determined people, as Gilbert Doctorow witnessed at an Immortal Regiment march.
Special Report: Ukraine struggles to control maverick battalions
From a basement billiard club in central Kiev, Dmytro Korchynsky commands a volunteer battalion helping Ukraine’s government fight rebels in the east. A burly man with a long, Cossack-style moustache, Korchynsky has several hundred armed men at his disposal. The exact number, he said, is “classified.”
In the eyes of many Ukrainians, he and other volunteer fighters are heroes for helping the weak regular army resist pro-Russian separatists. In the view of the government, however, some of the volunteers have become a problem, even a law unto themselves.
Gorbachev: It Was Worse Than This, and We Fixed It (David Swanson)
On Friday in Moscow I and a group from the United States met with former president of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev.
Ukraine Spirals Into the Abyss: Pensioner Suicides and Open Talk of Default
Natalie Jaresko has the face of a sad magician whose voodoo spells stopped working long time ago’. The Ukraine”s Minister for Finance, Ms. Jaresko nowadays is a common figure on Ukrainian TV. Before becoming the Minister for Finance of Ukraine, this dual Ukrainian-American citizen worked for the US State Department. In the 1990s, she was the first Chief of the Economic Section of the US Embassy in Ukraine, then made her millions as the CEO of a number of investment companies working in Ukraine.
How The Russia Spin Got So Much Torque (Normon Solomon)
The “Moscow Project,” is a spin effort that surfaced as a project of the Center for American Progress Action Fund. It’s led by Neera Tanden, a self-described “loyal solider” for Clinton who also runs the Center for American Progress.
Special Ops Chief: Russia aims to divide NATO, poses ‘existential’ threat to US
The latest bit of undiplomatic language emanating out of Washington comes courtesy of the head of the U.S. Special Operations Command, General Joseph Vote, who told the Aspen Security Forum this weekend that Russia’s action along its borders constitute an “existential threat” to the United States.
Election Hacking: A False Russian Flag in France? (George Beebe)
Misdirection is a fairly simple task for sophisticated cyber operators, who can spoof identifies, mask their locations, borrow or steal malware developed by others, writes George Beebe, a former chief of Russia analysis at the CIA and special advisor to Vice President Cheney on Russia and the former Soviet Union.
U.S., Russia: The Case for Bilateral Talks
Since the Ukrainian crisis started nearly 18 months ago, two negotiation formats in particular stand out among numerous talks and meetings. The first is the Minsk talks between representatives from the Ukrainian government, the pro-Russia separatists and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, which address the conflict on a tactical level. The other is the Normandy talks between representatives from Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France, which consider the conflict on a broader, political level. Notably absent from both talks…is the United States.
The Power of a Strong State Department (Stephen Walt)
The State Department would no doubt benefit from certain reforms. But putting America’s diplomats on a starvation diet is not the way to do it.
Eighteen Months on: Post-Maidan Ukraine
David Speedie, the director of the program on U.S. Global Engagement at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, talks to Dr. Nicolai Petro, professor of political science at the University of Rhode Island, and a specialist in Russia and its neighboring states. Petro has previously served in the Office of Soviet Union Affairs in the U.S. Department of State and at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow and has held fellowships at the Council on Foreign Relations, the Foreign Policy Research Institute and the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. Read it here.
COMEY FIRING WILL NOT STOP FBI’S TRUMP-RUSSIA INVESTIGATION, ACTING DIRECTOR SAYS (The Intercept)
Contrary to reporting in the New York Times and Washington Post that Comey’s firing had followed a request from him for more resources to work on the Russia investigation, McCabe said that the FBI had what it needed, and that its work would continue unimpeded.
Russia Won’t Renew Gas Contract With Ukraine
The bitter divorce between Ukraine and Russia continues. Russian prime minister Dmitry Medvedev reportedly said Saturday that Kyiv can forget signing any natural gas delivery deals with state-owned Gazprom solely on its terms.
Ukrainian general calls for destruction of Jews (Jewish Chronicle)
In the latest of a series of highly public antisemitic statements by prominent figures in Ukraine, a retired Ukrainian general affiliated with the country’s intelligence services this week called for the destruction of his country’s Jewish community.
Reconsidering Russia Podcast: An Interview with Halyna Mokrushyna
Scholar and Reconsidering Russia blogger Pietro Shakarian interviews Dr. Halyna Mokrushyna on the state of democracy in Ukraine today. Dr. Mokrushyna holds a PhD in linguistics and an MA in communication. She is also currently enrolled in the PhD program in sociology at the University of Ottawa and is a part-time professor. Her doctoral research deals with the memory of Stalinism and the Stalinist purges in Ukraine.