Need to Know

April 07, 2022

The Game of Neutrality

RussiaUkraineWorld

As his soldiers fight Russian forces, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently pledged that his country would become permanently neutral – that is, aligned neither with NATO nor Russia – in exchange for security guarantees designed to prevent more fighting in the future. What does that mean exactly? On...

Read full story →

Ukraine Briefly

April 07, 2022

Ukraine, Briefly

RussiaUkraine

China called for an investigation into the killings in the Ukrainian town of Bucha, describing the images of civilian deaths as “deeply disturbing,” according to the Associated Press. But Beijing refused to name perpetrators despite Ukrainian officials blaming invading Russian troops for the massacre. ...

Read full story →

Ukraine Briefly

April 06, 2022

Ukraine, Briefly

RussiaUkraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on the United Nations Security Council Tuesday to penalize Russia for its invasion of Ukraine and limit Russia's influence on the important UN body, Politico reported. He chided the organization for its inability to hold Russia responsible, adding that...

Read full story →

Ukraine Briefly

April 05, 2022

Ukraine, Briefly

BrieflyUkraine

Calls for war-crime investigations and harsher sanctions on Russia grew Monday as Ukrainian and Western officials responded to discoveries of mass graves and streets littered with the bodies of dead civilians following the Russian retreat from suburbs around Kyiv, the Los Angeles Times reported....

Read full story →

Ukraine Briefly

April 04, 2022

Ukraine, Briefly

RussiaUkraine

Lithuania cut itself off entirely from gas imports from Russia, apparently becoming the first of the European Union's 27 nations using Russian gas to break its energy dependence on Moscow, the Associated Press reported. Meanwhile, the Biden administration issued a fresh wave of export...

Read full story →

Ukraine Briefly

April 01, 2022

Ukraine, Briefly

RussiaUkraine

Russia intends to continue selling gas to European clients even as it asked that they pay in rubles, according to President Vladimir Putin, allaying concerns that the switch may cause interruptions in fuel from the continent's largest supplier, Bloomberg reported. The Kremlin issued a...

Read full story →

Ukraine Briefly

March 31, 2022

Ukraine, Briefly

RussiaUkraine

Russia dismissed reports of progress in peace negotiations with Ukraine, saying the results of a round of talks in Istanbul were nothing “too promising," according to Radio Free Europe. Poland plans to phase out all Russian oil imports by the end of the year,...

Read full story →

Ukraine Briefly

March 30, 2022

Ukraine, Briefly

RussiaUkraine

The European Union is willing to establish special trade routes between Poland and Ukraine to ensure that food and live animals may be transported as smoothly as possible in both directions, Politico wrote. The proposed green corridors are aimed at securing and facilitating agri-food...

Read full story →

Ukraine Briefly

March 29, 2022

Ukraine, Briefly

RussiaUkraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed willingness to adopt a neutral status for Ukraine as part of a peace agreement with Russia, BBC reported. Following an interview with independent Russian journalists, Zelenskyy said that any such agreement would have to be submitted to a referendum...

Read full story →

Need to Know

March 28, 2022

Just Business

RussiaUkraine

Executives at France-based energy giant TotalEnergies recently announced that they would stop all Russian oil purchases this year in protest against President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Russian oil accounted for 17 percent of the $190 billion company’s production, reported CBS News and the Associated...

Read full story →

Ukraine Briefly

March 28, 2022

Ukraine, Briefly

RussiaUkraine

Reports of mass kidnappings and forced deportations of Ukrainians to Russia have been emerging in recent days, as Moscow’s invasion enters its second month, NBC News reported. The Ukrainian foreign ministry said Thursday that Russian soldiers had "forcibly deported" 6,000 people from the besieged...

Read full story →

Ukraine Briefly

March 25, 2022

Ukraine, Briefly

RussiaUkraine

US President Joe Biden and NATO allies met on Thursday to discuss responses to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, as the alliance seeks measures to discourage Moscow from intensifying its attacks, the Hill reported. President Biden also voiced support for expelling Russia from the Group...

Read full story →

Need to Know

March 24, 2022

Four Weeks

Ukraine

The pregnant woman and her infant who died after a Russian airstrike on a hospital in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol might be the most moving, tragic, needless individual story in the war in Ukraine that started one month ago today. Associated Press photographer Evgeniy Maloletka...

Read full story →

Ukraine Briefly

March 24, 2022

Ukraine, Briefly

RussiaUkraine

Between 7,000 to 15,000 Russian soldiers have died during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to NATO estimates, as the conflict enters its fourth week, the Associated Press said. Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned that Russia would only use nuclear weapons if its very...

Read full story →

Need to Know

March 23, 2022

Egg on Face

EuropeRussiaUkraine

Populist Italian politician Matteo Salvini had egg on his face recently after a press conference in the Polish town of Przemysl, a destination for many refugees from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Recalling that Salvini had praised Russian President Vladimir Putin as a great statesman, right-wing...

Read full story →

Ukraine Briefly

March 23, 2022

Ukraine, Briefly

RussiaUkraine

Russian forces began shelling besieged Mariupol from seven warships docked in the Black Sea, a new development in the continued attacks on the city that’s seen some of the worst bombardment since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, the Washington Post wrote. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian...

Read full story →

Ukraine Briefly

March 22, 2022

Ukraine, Briefly

RussiaUkraine

Ukraine rejected an ultimatum to surrender its besieged port city of Mariupol to Russian forces, CNBC reported, as fighting raged on its streets. Thousands of civilians remain trapped in the city, which is running dangerously low on vital supplies like food, water and medicines....

Read full story →

Ukraine Briefly

March 21, 2022

Ukraine, Briefly

RussiaUkraine

Russia claims to have fired its newest Kinzhal hypersonic missiles in Ukraine for the first time in an attack on a weapons storage facility in the country's west. According to the defense ministry, the aeroballistic missiles destroyed a large subterranean storehouse holding missiles and...

Read full story →

Need to Know

March 18, 2022

When Dreams Become Nightmares

RussiaUkraine

When Russia recognized the independence of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine shortly before it invaded the country in late February, some locals were thrilled. They thought eight years of war would finally come to an end. "The recognition of the republics was treated with...

Read full story →

Ukraine Briefly

March 18, 2022

Ukraine, Briefly

RussiaUkraine

Russia rejected an order by the United Nations' highest court to cease its attack on Ukraine, saying both sides had to agree to end the hostilities for the ruling to be implemented, Radio Free Europe reported. The International Court of Justice said in its...

Read full story →