In March, it will be eight years since the day Crimea returned to the Russian Federation. This ended its 60-year history as part of Ukraine, which began, not on February 19, 1954, but a little earlier. What does Ukraine have to do with it? The Crimean Peninsula became part of …
Read More »China blasts ‘smokescreen of war’
Washington should help de-escalate tensions on the Russian-Ukrainian border and drop persistent threats of punitive measures against Moscow, Beijing’s top diplomat has said amid a growing standoff between East and West. Speaking in a briefing on Friday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin weighed in on US predictions that Russia’s …
Read More »Ukraine makes request to West
If the West really wants to help Kiev in its standoff with Moscow, it should refrain from guessing when or if Russia’s armed forces could begin pouring over the border to wage war against the country, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said. Speaking on Saturday at the Munich Security Conference, …
Read More »Ukrainian minister, MPs, and journalists come under fire in Donbass – Kiev
Ukrainian Interior Minister Denis Monastyrsky, along with a group of lawmakers and 25 foreign journalists, has come under fire in Donbass, his advisor said on Saturday. The alleged incident took place near the village of Novoluganskoe in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic. “The Minister of Internal Affairs Denis Monastyrsky, a …
Read More »Two artillery shells hit Russian territory, Moscow claims
Two explosions reported on the Russian side of the border with Ukraine were the result of incoming artillery shells, officials have claimed, amid an escalating military stand-off across the border in the Donbass. In a statement issued on Saturday, the FSB security service in the southern Rostov Region said that …
Read More »Russia accuses German chancellor of ‘making fun of genocide’
Moscow has hit back at the German Chancellor, accusing him of making fun of issues around a potential genocide. The Foreign Ministry in Moscow was responding to remarks made by Olaf Scholz at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, where he appeared to dismiss claims that thousands of Ukrainian civilians …
Read More »Does NATO really pose a threat to Russia?
Russia has laid down its red lines, insisting that NATO expansion towards its borders poses an unacceptable challenge to its policy of so-called “indivisible security.” As the US-led military bloc insists it exists solely to defend its members, Moscow’s requests for mutual security assurances have revealed the two sides no …
Read More »‘Omens are grim’ for Ukraine, UK PM warns
Moscow could be just moments away from ordering a full-blown invasion of Ukraine, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has alleged, amid reports of heavy shelling and explosions near the contact line in the Donbass. Speaking at a press conference alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the Munich Security Conference on …
Read More »NATO reveals what Russia will get if it wants ‘less’ of US-led military bloc
If Russia takes steps to try to force NATO out of Eastern Europe, the US led-military bloc’s presence in the region will only increase, its top official has warned amid a growing standoff between Moscow and the West. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference in Germany on Saturday, Secretary General …
Read More »Russia returning Europe to ‘dark past’ – EU
The worsening standoff between Russia and the West threatens to upend European security and ultimately could end up isolating Moscow in a way not seen since the days of the Soviet Union, the European Union has cautioned as an escalating crisis unfolds on the border with Ukraine. Speaking at the Munich …
Read More »