Kiev calls for UN peacekeepers in east Ukraine and protesters ask Vladimir Putin for help after surrender deadline passes. Pro-Russian separatists occupying the regional government building in Ukraine's eastern city of Donetsk have vowed to take control of strategic infrastructure across the province they have declared an independent "people's republic". [...]
A majority party MP is suggesting amendments to the Russian law on mass media, making it obligatory for civil servants and all politicians to reply to journalists' queries under threat of fines. Ilya Kostunov of United Russia submitted a draft detailing his proposal to the State Duma on Monday. He suggests new norms for the Russian Administrative Code, [...]
French far-right leader Marine le Pen has spoken out in support of Russia and expressed her dismay at Paris's refusal to allow MPs to meet State Duma speaker Sergey Naryshkin, simply because of his inclusion in the US sanctions list. Speaking at a meeting with Naryshkin in Moscow, the leader of the National Front party, [...]
The EU has blood on its hands after meddling in the Ukrainian crisis, once again revealing its imperial ambitions, Nigel Farage, leader of the euroskeptic UK Independence Party, said in a TV debate with Britain's deputy PM, Nick Clegg. [...]
Europe should switch from promises to real action to help Ukraine out of the economic chaos, says Russia's President Putin. “What’s the problem for the near future? It’s that Russia can’t bear the brunt [of helping Ukraine] in a one-way fashion,” Vladimir Putin told the Security Council meeting on Friday. [...]
President Vladimir Putin says it was "strange" to learn of the US reaction on a Russian letter to the leaders of EU's top gas-consuming nations, as it was in no way designed for Washington's eyes. US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki has accused Russia of reneging on an agreement that offered reduced gas prices to Kiev and using “energy as a tool of coercion against Ukraine. [...]
The current international poverty line of $1.25 per day used by the World Bank is "too low" and "artificial," say researchers from Bristol University, adding that the total number of poor people worldwide would increase by 30 percent in future. The World Bank’s “estimates are flawed” as the organization hasn’t used “different poverty measures” [...]
The EU is taking seriously President Vladimir Putin's letter to 18 European countries, in which he warned that Ukraine's debt crisis could affect gas transit from Russia, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said. "There are many reasons to seriously take into account this message... and for Europe to deliver a joint European response,” Itar-Tass reported Merkel as saying. [...]
It is ridiculous of Ukraine to accuse Russia of using the gas weapon because the Russians are simply charging normal market prices, Srdja Trifkovic, Foreign Affairs editor at 'Chronicles' magazine, told RT. Ukraine's economy is in a shambles and its people are suffering. Is it morally justified to turn the taps off? [...]
Vladimir Putin addressed a letter to the leaders of several European countries, to which Russian natural gas is supplied via Ukraine's territory. Ukraine’s economy in the past several months has been plummeting. Its industrial and construction sectors have also been declining sharply. Its budget deficit is mounting. [...]
The satellite images released by NATO that allegedly show a current build-up of Russian troops near Ukrainian border were taken in August 2013 amid military drills, a source in the General Staff of the Russian Army has said. [...]
Just after a deadline set by Kiev for protesters in eastern Ukraine to vacate seized buildings expired, Parliament-appointed PM Arseny Yatsenyuk pledged to push through a law allowing regional referendums in the country. [...]
The United States Air Force commander in charge of the NATO alliance's military presence in Europe said on Wednesday this week that US troops may soon be deployed to the region as tensions continue to worsen near the border between Ukraine and Russia. In an interview with the Associated Press, US Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove said that forthcoming plans intended to ensure stability in Europe [...]
Ukraine's coup-imposed president Aleksandr Turchinov has ordered the protester-held local govt HQ in Donetsk to be taken under "state protection" as armed personnel and armored vehicles have been reported moving into the eastern region of Ukraine. According to a decree signed by Turchinov, the local administration building in Donetsk and surrounding territory is an “important government [...]
The Kiev government is having trouble holding power even in western Ukraine, where it should have firm control. Meanwhile it's bringing in mercenaries to retake eastern areas, anti-war activist Daniel Patrick Welch told RT. RT: With those latest events in Lvov, could it be that the interim government is losing support there? [...]
Russia says it will not reconsider its principles and foreign policy after the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) passed a resolution that puts all the blame for the Ukrainian crisis on Moscow. The newly-adopted resolution “does not mean that Russia will rush to reconsider its foreign policy and principles,” MP Aleksey Pushkov, the head of the Russian delegation to PACE, to [...]
The United States National Security Agency was well aware that Edward Snowden was troubled by the spy officeâs activities, the intelligence contractor-turned-leaker tells Vanity Fair, and that evidence exists to confirm that claim. Ahead of a 20,000-word article on the former NSA analyst expected to be published later this week, [...]
In an interview, German Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière, 60, warns that American spying has become "boundless" and expresses sorrow that approval ratings for the United States have plummeted in Germany. The following is an excerpt from a longer interview conducted with German Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière. [...]
According to a new report, more than $2 trillion worth of profit generated by some of the biggest United States-baseds corporation is being held overseas where it's not subject to US income tax law. The report — published earlier this month by the Audit Analytics online intelligence service — has even this week managed to capture the attention of the head of the US Senate’s Finance Committee [...]
Being the head of state in Germany should bring undoubted benefits and influence. However, it wasn't enough for Angela Merkel, whose request to see her secret service file, compiled by the US National Security Agency, was denied. The request by Germany’s Interior Ministry to the NSA was made six months ago, after the American security organization had compiled over 300 reports on the chancellor, [...]
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has slammed the West for "aggravating internal differences" in Ukraine. His ministry says Kiev should stop "blaming Moscow for all of your problems." Writing in the UK’s Guardian newspaper, the Russian official said that Western powers “have been trying to compel Ukraine to make a painful choice between east and west, further aggravating inter [...]
Many Germans feel a special bond to Russia. This makes the Ukraine crisis particularly dangerous for Berlin because it raises important questions about the very nature of German identity. Are we as deeply rooted in the West as most believe? [...]
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