Eurasia

US pledges to put Russia on defensive at UN Security Council

The U.S. worked Sunday to ramp up diplomatic and financial pressure on Russia over Ukraine, promising to put Moscow on the defensive at the U.N. Security Council as lawmakers on Capitol Hill said they were nearing agreement on “the mother of all sanctions.” The American ambassador to the United Nations …

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Top Russian and US officials likely to meet next week amid escalating threat to Ukraine

As Russia continues to mass forces on its border with Ukraine, top Russian and U.S. diplomats are likely to meet this week in an effort to defuse the crisis. Republicans and Democrats appeared increasingly united in their efforts to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin to pull back his forces, with …

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Pentagon says Putin still adding Russian troops around Ukraine

Russia further boosted troop levels on the Ukrainian border this weekend, adding to President Vladimir Putin’s options should he decide on a military incursion, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said. “He can execute some of those options imminently,” Kirby said on “Fox News Sunday.” “Imminent means it could happen really, honestly, …

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Why It’s Time to Take the Russian-Led Military Alliance Seriously

The intervention by the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in Kazakhstan marks a change for multinational security both regionally and around the world. The Russian-led military alliance, the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), created headlines in January 2022 after 2,500 of its troops entered Kazakhstan to assist in restoring order …

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Contradicting US, Ukrainian President Zelensky denies Russian attack imminent

For weeks, Washington and its NATO allies have stoked a global war crisis with Russia, claiming that NATO must prepare to defend Ukraine from Russian invasion. Yesterday, in a stunning rebuke to NATO, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky denied that a Russian invasion was imminent and asked NATO to dial down …

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Ukraine Crisis Demands Diplomacy and De-escalation, Not More Weaponry

Global crises abound—escalating war in Yemen, potential famine in Afghanistan, rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula, and uncertain prospects for a U.S. return to the Iran anti-nuclear deal. All of these challenges require skillful diplomacy, and that urgently applies to the situation in Ukraine. As PresidentJoe Biden has ordered 8,500 …

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Russia’s risky options beyond full Ukraine attack

Russian President Vladimir Putin appears to be preparing to launch an invasion of Ukraine, with more than 100,000 troops positioned around the country. Certainly, the U.S. believes that’s the case and President Joe Biden has warned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that an attack could come in February. But Russia denies …

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Pro-Moscow separatists once marched in this Ukraine border city. Now it’s standing against Russia.

The helicopter cut through the gray sky, following the path of the razor-wire fence below it. Lt. Col. Uiry Trubachov, of Ukraine’s Border Guard Service, squinted up at the chopper. “Those are Russians,” he said. Before Russia’s invasion and annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014, the border barriers didn’t …

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Ukrainian rebel region residents can join Russian military

A Russian lawmaker is encouraging residents of rebel-controlled areas of Ukraine to join the Russian army, a sign that Moscow is continuing to try to integrate those territories as much as possible amid Western fears that Russia is planning to invade Ukraine. Viktor Vodolatsky said Saturday that residents of the …

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US and allies debate the intelligence on how quickly Putin will order an invasion of Ukraine – or whether he will at all

As Russia masses tens of thousands of troops on its border with Ukraine, along with tanks, artillery and missiles capable of striking the capital, officials in Washington, Kyiv and across Europe are debating the likelihood and timing of an invasion. In one camp, officials in Washington, London and within Ukraine’s …

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