Latest from OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine, based on information received as of 19:30hrs, 14 March 2016
In Donetsk region, the SMM continued to observe numerous ceasefire violations. It observed no ceasefire violations in Luhansk region. The Mission continued to monitor the withdrawal of weapons. It was restricted in its freedom of movement, including at one heavy weapons holding area and at a border crossing point in an area not controlled by the...
Pundits Ponder Putin’s Shock Syrian Exit
Russia says its campaign killed 2,000 rebel fighters; critics say thousands of civilians also died. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
Russian Teens Taught ‘Telegony’
Schoolchildren shown video blaming US for corrupting girls, urging boys to marry virgins to avoid being cuckolded. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
Glass half full? Obama’s judicious foreign policy record
Now well into the final year of his presidency, President Barack Obama recently gave a surprisingly frank and poignant review of his foreign policy record in an interview with Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic. There were a number of notable takeaways from their discussion, such as Obama’s critique of European allies and their lack of...
Against the backdrop of hostilities, talking about the election in Donbas is too early
In his column for the website Novoe Vremia, Co-director of Foreign Relations and International Security Programmes of the Razumkov Centre Mykhailo Pashkov described the outcome of another meeting of the Normandy Four, and also assessed the prospects of the peaceful settlement of the armed conflict in Donbas. The eleventh meeting of the Normandy...
II International Conference “Security Sector Governance: The Role of Democratic Institutions & International Best Practices”
The Razumkov Centre is pleased to announce a security conference, organised in cooperation with DCAF and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands. II International Conference “Security Sector Governance: The Role of Democratic Institutions & International Best Practices” will cover the following issues: Presentation of the new...
Russia Recruits Combat Dolphins
The Soviets trained dolphins to plant bombs on enemy vessels; the Kremlin wants to revive training center in Crimea. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
The Future of the Minsk Agreements
The Minsk agreements are currently the principal instrument for achieving a lasting settlement in the occupied regions of eastern Ukraine. Moscow and Kyiv, however, are showing little enthusiasm for implementing the associated package of measures. Unless this changes by the summer, the European Union would be ill-advised to lift or relax its...
Nordic-Baltic Security, Germany and NATO
The countries around the Baltic Sea are among Europe’s frontline states affected by the conflict between Russia and western Europe. The Baltics and Nordics share a common concern about a revisionist, aggressive, and rearming Russia: Since the onset of the crisis in and around Ukraine in 2014, these countries have felt increasingly exposed...
OSCE Special Monitoring Mission’s Principal Deputy Chief Monitor to brief media tomorrow via videolink from Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine
KYIV, 10 March 2016 – Alexander Hug, the Principal Deputy Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), will hold a special news briefing tomorrow via video link from Kramatorsk city. Hug will talk about the recent Mission’s activities and the general security situation throughout Ukraine. Journalists are invited to...
