Russia has staged a massive Red Square parade of troops, tanks and a military flyover to celebrate the victory of the former Soviet Union against Nazi Germany.
Tag: Russia
Ukraine accuses Russia of engineering Odessa riots that killed over 40
(Reuters) – Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk accused Russia on Sunday of engineering clashes in Odessa that led to the deaths of more than 40 pro-Russian activists in a blazing building and pushed the country closer to civil war. Yatseniuk, speaking in Odessa, attacked police forces in the Black Sea port city, suggesting they were more interested in the fruits of corruption than maintaining order. Had they done their job, he said, “these terrorist organizations […]
Moscow May Day parade lauds Putin as more Ukraine buildings seized
(Reuters) – Russia staged a huge May Day parade on Moscow’s Red Square for the first time since the Soviet era on Thursday, with workers holding banners proclaiming support for President Vladimir Putin after the seizure of territory from neighboringUkraine. Thousands of trade unionists marched with Russian flags and flags of Putin’s ruling United Russia party onto the giant square beneath the Kremlin walls, past the red granite mausoleum of Soviet state founder Vladimir Lenin. Many banners displayed traditional […]
Ukraine blames Moscow for ‘human shield’ detentions in east
(Reuters) – Pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine offered on Saturday to release eight captive international observers in a prisoner exchange, as Western governments prepared new sanctions against Moscow. The pro-Western government in Kiev blamed Russia for what it called the kidnapping on Friday of the monitors from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). The separatists said they suspected the observers of spying;Ukraine said they were being used as human shields. Since Ukrainians toppled their pro-Russian […]
War of words between US and Russia in Ukraine
A war of words erupted between the United States and Russia over Ukraine. Here are the latest developments.
Ukraine forces kill up to 5 rebels, Russia starts drill near border
(Reuters) – Ukrainian forces killed up to five pro-Moscow rebels on Thursday as they closed in on the separatists’ military stronghold in the east and Russia launched army drills near the border in response, raising fears its troops would go in. Under an international accord signed in Geneva last week, illegal armed groups in Ukraine, including the rebels occupying about a dozen public buildings in the largely Russian-speaking east, are supposed to disarm and go home. […]
Russia announces new exercises on Ukraine border
Russia’s defense minister has announced new exercises in regions bordering on Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier said Kyiv’s military operations in the east would “have consequences.” Russia’s announcement that maneuvers near the border had been resumed came after clashes in eastern Ukraine, with the interior ministry in Kyiv saying it had killed up to five militants. “We are compelled to react to such a situation,” Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was reported as saying by […]
Deadly gun attack in eastern Ukraine shakes fragile Geneva accord
(Reuters) – At least three people were killed in a gunfight in the early hours of Sunday near a Ukrainian city controlled by pro-Russian separatists, shaking an already fragile international accord that was designed to avert a wider conflict. The incident triggered a war of words between Moscow and Ukraine’s western-backed government with each questioning the other’s compliance with the agreement, brokered last week in Geneva, to end a crisis that has made Russia’s ties […]
US ramps up pressure on Russia as Ukraine separatists sit tight
The US has warned Russia of further sanctions unless it helps convince Ukrainian separatists to leave government buildings. They have so far ignored the terms of a deal to de-escalate the crisis and refused to budge. US national security advisor Susan Rice said Moscow must use its influence to persuade pro-Russian activists to implement the Geneva deal, which order those occupying administrative buildings to disarm and leave. Rice warned that the US was otherwise prepared […]
Putin calls Russian interference in Ukraine ‘nonsense,’ backs Geneva talks
President Vladimir Putin has called claims Russia is behind eastern Ukraine’s unrest “nonsense.” He has accused the government in Kyiv of raising tensions in the region, while expressing hope for crisis talks. During the beginning of a televised call with the nation on Thursday, Putin said Ukraine’s decision to send armed forces to the country’s restive east rather than establishing a dialogue was a “grave crime.” He also dismissed Western accusations that Russian special forces […]
Russia prepared to let tanks roll across borders: German minister
(Reuters) – German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel warned on Monday of an escalation of the crisis in Ukraine, saying “Russia was clearly prepared to allow tanks to roll across European borders”. Speaking at an event in Berlin alongside new French Prime Minister Manuel Valls to commemorate World War One, Gabriel urged Europe to remember the lessons of the two world wars and not take freedom and security for granted. The Ukraine crisis had shown that […]
Ukraine crackdown on pro-Moscow separatists gets off to slow start
(Reuters) – Russia declared Ukraine on the brink of civil war on Tuesday as Kiev said an “anti-terrorist operation” against pro-Moscow separatists was underway, though the crackdown got off to a slow start, if at all. Twenty-four hours after an Ukrainian ultimatum expired for the separatists to lay down their arms, witnesses reported no signs yet that Kiev forces were ready to storm state buildings in the Russian-speaking east that the rebels have occupied. Police […]
