The hysteria continues to grow: “This past election, our country was attacked. We were attacked by Russia,” said Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.). “I actually think that their engagement was an act of war, an act of hybrid warfare, and I think that’s why the American people should be concerned about it,” said Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.). “I think this attack that we’ve experienced is a form of war…” said Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.).
Does Russia Have a Future?
The break-up of the Soviet Union smashes the mold of conceptualization of empire. It is the only case I can think of where the nation supposedly running the show was among the first to abandon ship and opt for sovereignty….
Don’t Fight Their Lies With Lies of Your Own (Masha Gessen)
This past Monday, Adam Schiff, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, opened a hearing on Russian interference in the election with a speech that seamlessly mixed verified information with rumor and exaggeration
UKRAINE SITUATION: UNHCR OPERATIONAL UPDATE, 22 May – 8 June 2015
As of 3 June there were 1,325,200 IDPs [Internally Displaced People] registered by the Ministry of Social Policy, representing an increase of 41,500 since 21 May. This increase in the number of registrations reflects the deteriorating situation in the conflict area.
Whereas previously there were reports of limited numbers of people returning their homes in non-government controlled areas to maintain property or take care of relatives who remained behind, lately there have been no such reports.
Boris Johnson postpones Moscow visit to attend Nato meeting (FT)
Boris Johnson has postponed a conciliatory trip to Moscow in order to attend a rearranged meeting with Nato foreign ministers on Friday.
BREAKING: U.S. Poised to Put Heavy Weaponry in East Europe – NY TIMES
In a significant move to deter possible Russian aggression in Europe, the Pentagon is poised to store battle tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and other heavy weapons for as many as 5,000 American troops in several Baltic and Eastern European countries, American and allied officials say.
The proposal, if approved, would represent the first time since the end of the Cold War that the United States has stationed heavy military equipment in the newer NATO member nations in Eastern Europe that had once been part of the Soviet sphere of influence
Arrests and Accountability (Paul Robinson)
As might be expected, the arrest of about 900 protestors in Moscow on Sunday is being used to paint the Russian authorities as particularly authoritarian. This accusation is missing the point. Mass arrests of protestors aren’t a uniquely Russian phenomenon
Latest from OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine as of 11 June 2015
The level of violence in and around Donetsk airport (“Donetsk People’s Republic” (“DPR”)-controlled, 12km north-west of Donetsk) remained high. From the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC) observation point at the Donetsk central railway station (“DPR”-controlled, 8km north-west of Donetsk city centre), over a five hour period, the SMM heard over 250 bursts of small arms and light weapons fire, heavy machinegun, automatic grenade launchers and anti-aircraft guns as well as 134 explosions, both incoming and outgoing at one to eight kilometres north, north-west, north-east and west of its location.
CNN’s Special Report On Putin Uses Media Echo Chamber To Attack Trump (Paul Saunders)
Ultimately, the program’s treatment of Clinton and Trump (and Bush, for that matter), makes it difficult to escape the conclusion that Zakaria himself is the source of the superficiality and bias in “The Most Powerful Man in the World.”
Ukraine’s Neo-Nazis Won’t Get U.S. Money
The House of Representatives has unanimously approved an amendment to the U.S. military budget, proposed by Conyers and Florida Republican Ted Yoho, banning support and training for “the Ukrainian neo-Nazi paramilitary militia ‘Azov Battalion.'” Azov was set up in May 2014 to fight pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine
US-Russian Cyber Wars and the Future of International Security (Gordon Hahn)
It increasingly appears that we have an unraveling of the hasty view put forward by the waning Washington consensus in media, academia and pre-Trump government circles regarding the exceptionalism of Russian cyber warfare…
Federalism in Ukraine: How It Would Best Work
Though written in April 2014, this analysis by Pietro Shakarian remains relevant:
Several commentators and analysts have recently proposed the idea of a federal Ukrainian state as a means of balancing power between the more Ukrainophone West and Russophone Southeast. Such an idea could potentially work, but only if implemented on an oblast-by-oblast level, not on a broad regional level. The reason for this is that each individual oblast within Ukraine has its own unique nuances and circumstances which must be seriously considered.
Democrats Should Focus More on Jobs, Less on Russia (Robert Borosage)
The dangers of making the investigation the focus of Democratic opposition to Trump are apparent. Democrats are railing about the Russians and the last election, while Trump is talking jobs, law and order, protecting our borders, and health care. We know which of these speak to the challenges Americans face.
Federative Democracy Poroshenko-Saakashvili Style
Now the West is engaged in its great ‘war of values with Russia’ and defending ‘Ukrainian democracy.’ But in Ukraine governors are appointed by the president and there are no senators or an upper house – another common feature of federalism. This past week saw Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko appointed a new governor for Ukraine’s southern region of Odessa.
How Lenin and Wilson Changed the World (Anton Fedyashin)
Whether the emerging global system becomes multipolar or a-polar remains unclear, but universalist and messianic ideology is on the wane. The Western-led world order is in crisis, but no messianic ideology has yet offered an alternative
‘SEPARATE REGIONS WITH SPECIAL STATUS’
The Ukrainian government does not appear to be interested in negotiating. Despite the fact that Minsk-2 specifically states that the required constitutional reforms should include ‘special status’ for Donetsk and Lugansk, the government is insisting that they will consist only of a general decentralization of powers to all Ukrainian regions and will not involve any such ‘special status’ for Donbass. Ukraine’s Western allies should press it to reconsider.
Russian police detain opposition leader, hundreds of protesters (Reuters)
Opinion polls suggest the liberal opposition, which Navalny represents, have little chance of fielding a candidate capable of unseating Putin, who enjoys high ratings.
U.S. House Passes 3 Amendments By Rep. Conyers To Defense Spending Bill To Protect Civilians From Dangers Of Arming and Training Foreign Forces
WASHINGTON— Late yesterday evening, the U.S. House of Representatives considered H.R. 2685, the “Department of Defense Appropriations Act of 2015.” During consideration of the legislation, Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) and Congressman Ted Yoho (R-Fla.) offered bipartisan amendments to block the training of the Ukrainian neo-Nazi paramilitary militia “Azov Battalion,” and to prevent the transfer of shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles—otherwise known as Man-Portable Air-Defense Systems (MANPADS)—to Iraq or Ukraine.
Democrats Trade Places on War and McCarthyism (Robert Parry)
The anti-Russia hysteria gripping the Democratic Party marks a “trading places” moment as the Democrats embrace the New Cold War and the New McCarthyism, flipping the script on Republicans, writes Robert Parry.
Are Ukraine and the U.S. allies or not?
At this critical moment for the future of Ukrainian, European and U.S. interests in the region, the U.S.-Ukraine strategic partnership lacks both strategy and partnership. This much is clear after meetings with Ukraine’s political leaders, journalists, academics, civil-society activists and volunteers active in the conflict zone during our recent trip across the beleaguered nation. Ukraine’s appeals for U.S. support have only grown louder and more desperate as renewed fighting flared around Donetsk in the past week.