Posts Tagged ‘Ukraine’
Posted on February 18, 2010 - by Venik
Mistral for Russia
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France’s decision to sell four Mistral-class helicopter carriers to Russia was met with heavy criticism in the US, Georgia and the Baltic States. Interestingly enough, Russia’s decision to buy the four vessels for more than $2 billion was met with a lot of criticism within Russia as well. This is really the first time in [...]
Posted on July 29, 2009 - by Venik
Celtic stand in the way as Dynamo search for an answer to Russia’s European conundrum
The weight of history – both on and off the pitch – stands between Dynamo Moscow and Champions League success It was at Highbury in December 2003 that an eastern European side last made it through to the second phase of the Champions League. Lokomotiv Moscow didn’t exactly do it in a blaze of glory, [...]
Posted on June 15, 2009 - by Venik
Bikini protest in Ukraine
A group of students in Kiev don bikinis and wash their laundry in a city fountain to protest against the summer shut down of hot water supplies. Original article Share on bebo Blog this! Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Recommend on Facebook Share on Linkedin Share via MySpace share via Reddit Share with Stumblers [...]
Posted on October 3, 2008 - by Venik
Pirates, Tanks and Conspiracy Theories
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An Israeli-owned cargo ship, sailing under Belize flag with Russian and Ukrainian crew, carrying to Kenya Soviet-made main battle tanks for the army of Sudan is being boarded by Somalian pirates; the ship is surrounded by US Navy cruiser and destroyer, as well as by two Royal Navy frigates, as the Russian Navy dispatches its [...]
Posted on September 4, 2008 - by Venik
Ukraine’s Political Turmoil
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The constitutional crisis in Ukraine is a direct result of the threats made by the US and the EU against Russia’s WTO membership bid. In case Ukraine’s political life is not at the top of your list of interests, here is a very brief summary of events from the past week of Ukraine’s turbulent political [...]
Posted on August 17, 2008 - by Venik
Russia’s War Booty
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Strength and composition of the Georgian army are a big mystery. I checked over a dozen of authoritative sources and no two report the same numbers. Jane’s published a detailed list of major weapons acquisitions by Georgia since 2000. However, in the past few days the Russian military captured weapons not previously known to be [...]
Posted on August 17, 2008 - by Venik
Holbrooke Paid by Saakashvili?
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Richard Holbrooke, the former US Ambassador to the UN and currently the vice chairman of Perseus LLC, is now in Tbilisi accusing the cowardly Russian soldiers of stealing pants off the dead bodies of Georgia’s courageous warriors. Holbrooke is claiming that Russia is about to invade Ukraine and is getting ready to take over the [...]
Posted on August 15, 2008 - by Venik
Georgia’s Attack on South Ossetia: Washington’s Role
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Elusive NATO Membership At the NATO Summit in Bucharest in April 2008 Georgia was denied Membership Action Plan. Aside from Russia’s vehement opposition, the key issues outlined in the NATO Individual Partnership Action Plan, accepted by Georgia in October 2004, remain unresolved. These issues are: Georgia’s antiquated military equipment, insufficient training and deployability of its [...]
Posted on August 14, 2008 - by Venik
Russians in Georgia: Goals and Consequences
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The Christian Science Monitor – of all newspapers – published perhaps the most relevant and concise description of what Moscow has achieved so far with its blitzkrieg response to Georgia’s sneak-attack on South Ossetia. “If the Russians stop hostilities now, they will have redrawn the whole strategic situation in the Caucasus, to the detriment of [...]
Posted on August 8, 2008 - by Venik
Timeline of Georgia-Russia Conflict
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Reuters just published a “TIMELINE – Georgia and Russia’s worsening relations” (August 8, 2008; http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSN08472548). As the poor and tiny Georgia, under the guidance of its fearless US-educated leader, is desperately trying to start a war with Russia, I find it is important to amend the Reuters’ accurate but incomplete timeline with some of the [...]
Posted on July 14, 2008 - by Venik
Practice What You Preach
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For years there has been a continuous stream of criticism about Russia using its energy companies to advance the state’s political goals. Every time Gazprom tried to get Ukraine to pay a fair price for the gas, the US and the EU exploded with allegations of “energy blackmail”. How is it blackmail when all Russia [...]
Posted on March 29, 2008 - by Venik
Russia and the US heading toward a confrontation
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It seems that Russia and the US are moving toward some major headbutting in April. First, there’s the issue of Kosovo and the announcement by the US that it intends to provide weapons to the breakaway province. Russia opposes the move, saying that this would be a violation of the UN SC Resolution 1244 (which [...]