Russia

Estonia Wants, Expects More NATO Troops on its Territory

By David Mardiste, Reuters

Estonia expects to see more NATO troops on its territory in reaction to what it fears will be Russian attempts to destabilize the former Soviet republic, the country’s defense minister said on Tuesday.

France Sending Four Rafale Fighter Jets to Poland

By Michel Rose, Reuters

France will send four Rafale fighter jets to Poland next week as part of a show of NATO commitment to Central Europe and the Baltic states

A ‘Dirty War’ in Donetsk

By Irena Chalupa

An Execution-Style Killing Deepens the Brutality in Ukraine’s Conflict Until last week Volodymyr Rybak, 42, was a municipal councilor in Horlivka, a coal-mining city 20 miles northeast of Donetsk. Rybak opposed the takeover of his city’s government by the gunmen who have proclaimed a separatist Donetsk People’s Republic in southeastern Ukraine. On April 17 he […]

Countering Russian Propaganda: A Strategy Session with Danylo Lubkivsky

On Thursday, April 24 the Council was pleased to host an off-the-record working lunch conversation with Danylo Lubkivsky, Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine.

Central Europe Frets About NATO’s Ability to Curb Russia

By Steven Erlanger, New York Times

Today’s NATO, hollowed out by years of European military cuts and deployed mostly to help fight far-off battles in places like Afghanistan and Libya, is no longer as prepared to counter a newly assertive Kremlin, its own leaders acknowledge.

US Calls For Senior Russian Official to Help OSCE Negotiate Disarmament of Separatists in Ukraine

By Victoria Nuland, Department of State

[W]e have not seen the kind of major de-escalation that we’re looking for, nor have we seen serious Russian efforts to help the OSCE, or to speak out against the separatists since Geneva.

Russian Ex-Prime Minister: Widen Sanctions on Putin’s Elite Allies

Kasyanov Urges West to Urgently Sanction Hundreds of Russian Legislators, Ministers The United States and European governments should expand their prohibitions on travel and financial transactions by domestic political allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin, his former prime minister, Mikhail Kasyanov said today. The West should sanction all members of the Russian parliament who voted […]