It took the shooting down of a Boeing jet carrying almost 300 people before the EU agreed on the first true economic sanctions against Russia. The Americans want further action, but it is impossible to know if punitive measures can sway Vladimir Putin. It was the images. Absurdly tattooed pro-Russian fighters, cigarettes dangling from their lips and Kalashnikovs tucked under their arms... Forward>>

To the surprise of many, but not to those who understand him, Vladimir Putin has upped his aggression against Ukraine in the wake of the shooting down of MH17 by his separatist allies. (For a definitive account of separatist guilt, see AP What Happened: The Day Flight 17 Was Downed.) The Russian military is now routinely shelling Ukrainian positions from across the border, hoping to elicit... Forward>>

The shooting down of a jet carrying 298 people on Thursday could mark the turning point in the conflict between Russia, Ukraine and the West. With evidence suggesting pro-Russian separatists fired the missile, pressure is mounting on Vladimir Putin. A travel guide titled "Bali and Lombok" could be seen lying in the middle of the field of smoking wreckage, a nightmarish landscape... Forward>>

Press and diplomatic observers appear to have reached a consensus that Vladimir Putin has brilliantly outmaneuvered Europe and the United States with his New Type of War – a mix of masked military aggression, proxy fighters, bluffing with troop maneuvers, intensive propaganda, and the use of human shields. This consensus is wrong. My scorecard for the half year of hostilities shows... Forward>>

Vladimir Putin delivered a blistering speech last week to foreign diplomats in Moscow, accusing the US of reviving tactics of the cold war and declaring he would use all available means to protect ethnic Russians abroad. “Our country will continue to defend vigorously the rights of Russians, our compatriots, around the world and will do so by any means necessary,” he said. But since the Ukrainian... Forward>>

When Moscow-backed troops appeared in Crimea earlier this year, the media dubbed them the "Little Green Men." Now NATO members should ask themselves how they will respond if the soldiers begin appearing in Estonia and Latvia too. The Ukraine crisis has seen an interesting phenomenon: the appearance in Crimea and eastern Ukraine of seemingly professional soldiers in... Forward>>

Russia's President Vladimir Putin "has no chance to retain the Crimea", said Lech Wałęsa, former President of Poland, leader of "Solidarity" party in an interview by Czech public channel ČT24 according to Censor.net with reference to Svoboda Radio. Putin can carry on acting in accordance with his own imagination - building boundaries or deploying tanks - but the world is different today... Forward>>

The German, French, Ukrainian and Russian foreign ministers met in Berlin to try to calm the crisis. The foreign ministers of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France say they have agreed on steps aimed at ending hostilities in eastern Ukraine. Germany's Walter Steinmeier said they agreed in talks in Berlin on a "package of measures" that paves the way for a bilateral ceasefire. Fighting in eastern... Forward>>

Let me try to discuss the implications for the European security architecture of the Ukrainian problem in the relationship of Russia and the West. What we are seeing in Ukraine, in my judgment, is not a pique but a symptom of a more basic problem: namely, the gradual but steady emergence in Russia over the last 6 or 7 years of a quasi-mystical chauvinism. Putin has taken the lead... Forward>>

Yesterday, Vladimir Putin announced that he was asking Russia’s upper house of parliament to revoke the government’s right to send troops into Ukraine—a right parliament had granted him on March 1. In a letter to Chairman of the Federation Council Valentina Matvienko, Putin declared that the decision was taken “in the aims of normalizing the circumstances and settling the situation... Forward>>

Putin hates Europe with all its peacemakers... Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka made a statement on the pages of Prague newspaper "Pravo" in an article last Saturday, where he opposed a new round of sanctions on Russia and perceiving Moscow as a new foe of the European Union and NATO. This article is typical not only of the head of the Government of the Czech Republic... Forward>>

COLLEVILLE-SUR-MER, France, June 6 (Reuters) - World leaders and veterans gathered by the beaches of Normandy under clear blue skies on Friday to mark the 70th anniversary of World War Two's D-Day landings, with host France hoping the event will help bring a thaw in the Ukraine crisis. Wreaths, parades, parachute-landings and fireworks will be staged in honour of history's largest amphibious... Forward>>

U.S. and euro zone data will help investors take the pulse of the global economy this week, but the crisis in Ukraine threatens to spoil any improvement. Steady prices and good retail sales are expected to show the U.S. economy in a more flattering light this week, in encouraging news for the Federal Reserve as it pares back the stimulus that has buoyed financial markets for the last few... Forward>>

It’s hard to believe now, given his recent attacks on Internet freedoms, but, in December 1999, three days before he became acting president of , Vladimir Putin made a solemn pledge to honor and protect Internet freedom of speech and commerce, recognizing the importance of this new industry for Russia’s modernization and general development. He summoned all the heads of Russia’s... Forward>>

Tension over sanctions: European leaders at a round table meeting during an EU summit in Brussels on Thursday, March 20, 2014. While the EU currently shows a united front on possible economic penalties against for its interference in Ukraine, that could change once more serious sanctions are on the table. Germany is struggling to maintain the facade. European Union politicians... Forward>>

Gazprom still untouched but economic measures target those seen as close to President Vladimir Putin. Sanctions imposed against Russia over its actions in Ukraine have targeted some individuals who are considered to be close to Russian President Vladamir Putin. The economic sanctions that Western nations and Japan have brought against Russia over Ukraine have targeted people... Forward>>

Some like to idealize Vladimir Putin as the ideological successor to the left-wing Soviet leaders, but that's sheer nonsense. His speeches offer clear evidence that his points of reference originate in fascism. In order to understand Vladimir Putin, you have to listen to him. You have to read what he wants. More importantly, though, you have to see what it is that he is seeking to prevent. Often, a politician's... Forward>>

In Collapse of an Empire, Yegor Gaidar, the Russian economist and 1990s shock therapist, wrote that “the identification of state grandeur with being an empire makes the adaptation to the loss of status of superpower a difficult task for the national consciousness of the former metropolis.” Gaidar likened the loss of the Soviet empire to Germany’s defeat in WWI and warned, like Weimar Germany... Forward>>

Russia warned not to make 'historic mistake' as Ukraine mounts counter-offensive by vowing to treat the separatists as 'terrorists'. Nato warned Russia on Tuesday against making an "historic mistake" by provoking a flaring secession crisis in eastern Ukraine that Moscow itself conceded could degenerate into a civil war. Ukraine's embattled interim leaders have been waging an uphill battle... Forward>>

Russians prefer alternative reality. In the days since Vladimir Putin annexed Crimea, the Russian people are once again feeling good about their . A robust 63 percent of them say they consider Russia a “,” according to a survey released this week by the Levada Center, a respected Russian polling firm. The survey also found that Putin’s approval rating is now at 80 percent... Forward>>

Dmitry Firtash, a Ukrainian oligarch with close ties to Russia, has been indicted in a Chicago courtroom for money laundering, racketeering and bribing Indian officials, in a move some believe is linked to Russia’s annexation of Crimea. The indictment seeks the forfeiture of essentially all of the global assets of a man who is considered a key player in the Russian-Ukrainian gas trade. He is a former... Forward>>

Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen says there can be "no business as usual" with Russia. Nato foreign ministers have agreed to suspend all practical and military co-operation with Russia. Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region was the gravest threat to European security for a generation. There could be no "business... Forward>>

The EU and US have come down hard on Russia for its annexation of the Crimean Peninsula. But from the perspective of the Kremlin, it is the West that has painted Putin into a corner. And the Russian will do what it takes to free himself. Last September, Vladimir Putin invited Russia experts from around the world to a conference, held halfway between Moscow... Forward>>

As the most potent symbol of Russia's lost glory, Crimea will never be returned to Ukraine. The west must accept this. We know where this is likely to end. We will accept Russia's sovereignty over Crimea. Sanctions will be quietly dismantled, Moscow will reassure Kiev with a deal on neutrality. Nato will agree no further eastward expansion. The G7 will again become G8; and Crimea will join... Forward>>

rejects claims Russia is a principal foe, saying actions in Ukraine an expression of vulnerability rather than strength. Barack Obama has described Russia as no more than a "regional power" whose actions in Ukraine are an expression of weakness rather than strength, as he restated the threat from the G7 western allies and Japan that they would inflict much broader... Forward>>