INVASION.
Russia invaded Ukraine, the aim is to carve out a land link to Crimea.
The New York Times:
Evidence that Russia was seeking to change the course of the conflict was abundant this week in the small southeast border town of Novoazovsk, where Ukrainian forces beat a nervous retreat on Tuesday, under attack from what fleeing soldiers described as columns of tanks, artillery and combat troops coming across the border, the article writes. “Some of the Ukrainian soldiers appeared unwilling to fight. The commander of their unit, part of the Ninth Brigade from Vinnytsia, in western Ukraine, barked at the men to turn around, to no effect. The United States has photographs that show the Russian artillery moved into Ukraine, American officials say. One photo dated last Thursday, shown to a New York Times reporter, shows Russian military units moving self-propelled artillery into Ukraine. Another photo, dated Saturday, shows the artillery in firing positions in Ukraine. On the highway in Novoazovsk on Tuesday, August 26, Sgt. Ihor Sharapov, a soldier with the Ukrainian border patrol unit, said he had seen tanks drive across the border, although they were marked with flags of the Donetsk People’s Republic. “I tell you they are Russians, but this is what proof I have,” said Sgt. Aleksei Panko, holding up his thumb and index finger to form a zero. – This is what happened: They crossed the border, took up positions and started shooting”. The Ukrainian Vinnytsia brigade met the cross-border advance over the six miles of countryside separating Novoazovsk from the Russian border, but later retreated to the western edge of town along the Rostov-Mariupol highway. “This is now a war with Russia,” Sergeant Panko said.
www.nytimes.com
Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko today, August 28, has accused Russia of invasion.
The Wall Street Journal:
The author Allan Callison writes that Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko on Thursday accused Russia of invasion. There is no hope for a diplomatic solution to the crisis. The West needs to act urgently.
online.wsj.com
Death toll rises , the desperation in the army is growing , despite Putin’s formal admission of a peace plan, the Ukraine and the world must accept that the Donbass will not return under the control of Kiev. Russia will care of it. .
Süddeutsche Zeitung
Donbass will not return under the control of Kiev. What Poroshenko and the government need to do? They should prepare citizens they will lose the part of Donbas which is under control of pro-Russian forces because of two reasons. Firstly, many people’s live could be lost to return this area and actions also will worsen the conflict with Moscow. Secondly, because real negotiations with terrorists are in the process, but they won’t fit Poroshenko’s peaceful plan. The plan supposes creating new work places in the region, changing Constitution. This all good and right, but although separatists need to give Kiev the right to make decisions about Donbas. It is unlikely they agree with it.
www.sueddeutsche.de
The former Putin’s adviser Ilarionov: Russia could be stopped only by military forces. Putin does not plan to stop supplying separatists with weapons and sanctions won’t, at any reason, influence him.
Der Standard
derstandard.at
Despite the meeting between Poroshenko and Putin in Minsk neither side is ready for a cease-fire.
New York Times
www.nytimes.com
A political solution to the ongoing crisis in Ukraine will not be reached in the near term.
Stratfor: however, the edition thinks, Ukraine and Russia are likely to reach a temporary energy deal in the coming weeks to avert a natural gas shortage in Ukraine and a larger energy crisis in Europe. Despite the current crisis in eastern Ukraine and Kiev’s difficult relationship with the Kremlin, Ukraine will likely agree to a temporary natural gas deal with Gazprom soon.
www.stratfor.com
The inevitable result of that escalation has been a growing Russian casualty count
Time:
time.com
Russia’s new tactics of war shouldn’t fool anyone.
The Washington Post:
Mark Galeotti of New York University suggests that, in a world of alliances and powers that have greater military, political and economic clout than Russia, Mr. Putin needed an asymmetrical response. To keep Ukraine from signing up with the European Union, he used tactics that focused “on the enemy’s weaknesses and avoid direct and overt confrontations,” as Mr. Galeotti put it. “A new kind of war requires a new kind of response. The hybrid aggressor must be exposed on all fronts, not just in combat on the ground,” the edition thinks.
www.washingtonpost.com
NATO SUMMIT IN WALES.
Nato will soon be able to deploy its forces in Sweden and Finland under agreements signed by the governments of the two countries, as the alliance seeks to bolster its military response to Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.
The Financial Times:
www.ft.com
The West does not want to defeat Moscow on a geopolitical chessboard. As during the cold war with the Soviet Union, NATO simply wants to contain Russian aggression.
Christian Science Monitor
www.csmonitor.com
ENERGY RISKS FROM THE WAR IN UKRAINE.
By imposing additional sanctions that target the Russian energy industry, would send a strong signal from the U.S. and other NATO countries that Russia should discontinue its territorial expansion.
The Washington Times:
www.washingtontimes.com
WHO WILL GAIN THE MAIN POSTS IN EU?
On Saturday members of the EU need to choose the president of the European Council and EU’s foreign policy chief. The newspaper shares its thoughts about candidates, underlining that the major task for new EU leaders is to find the solution in Ukraine’s crisis.
The Times:
“Tusk for President” – this is the title of The Times. The edition thinks, the new EU president should be “belligerent enough” to outface the future head of European Commission Juncker and his passion for federative bloc, and Tusk is the ideal candidate. The major task for new EU leaders is to find the solution in Ukraine’s crisis. “A peaceful agreement which permits Putin to keep hold of Crimea and to split Ukraine would be a disgraceful blow to the EU’s reputation,” the newspaper underlines.
www.thetimes.co.uk
The growing consensus is that Federica Mogherini, Italy’s foreign minister, is to be the next high representative on foreign affairs..
Financial Times:
However, the newspaper thinks: “At a time of significant international tension, the EU could have opted for an established big hitter for the post such as Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt or his Dutch counterpart Frans Timmermans. By contrast, Ms Mogherini was little known before she became Italy’s foreign minister six months ago. If chosen, it would be for the same reasons that Britain’s Catherine Ashton got the job five years ago. It would be the result of an elaborate bargain among member states in which every box is ticked – except the one marked “experience”.
www.ft.com
