The main topics where Ukraine is mentioned:<\/p>\n
– Turning the war in the eastern Ukraine into a frozen conflict.<\/p>\n
– Finding common ground between US and Russia over division of Ukraine. The perspectives of creating \u201cantiObama\u201d coalition over Ukrainian question.<\/p>\n
– Putin\u2019s plan is the criminalization of Ukraine<\/p>\n
Everywhere Ukraine is like an object. Even in the text about \u201cUkraine\u2019s criminalization\u201d references to Ukraine\u2019s experts and politicians are absent.<\/p>\n
PREPARATIONS FOR INVASION IN UKRAINE<\/p>\n
NSDC says about moving a huge amount of military equipment into Ukraine from Russia \u2013 tanks, howitzers, truckloads. Nato said it was looking into the reports. Earlier Poroshenko said Ukraine is preparing for the \u201cpessimistic scenario\u201d in the eastern Ukraine.<\/p>\n
Reuters, Telegraph, ABCNews, The Guardian, BBC, Sky News:<\/p>\n
www.reuters.com <\/a><\/p>\n www.telegraph.co.uk <\/a><\/p>\n abcnews.go.com <\/a><\/p>\n www.theguardian.com <\/a><\/p>\n www.bbc.com <\/a><\/p>\n news.sky.com <\/a><\/p>\n The edition writes about \u201cthe frozen conflict\u201d dilemma in Eastern Ukraine and in Crimea, which, despite some differences, are close to \u201cthe frozen conflicts\u201d between Russian and Georgia over South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Moreover, Ukraine could learn from Georgia\u2019s experience.<\/p>\n The National Interest:<\/p>\n First, reforms should remain Ukraine\u2019s priority. To entice people in the occupied areas, Ukraine must become more prosperous. Without progress, support for Ukraine will decline.<\/p>\n Second, Ukraine should avoid hyping the nationalist and revanchist card. After the 2003 Rose Revolution when Mikheil Saakashvili became president, he played to excess the nationalist card, alienating many of Georgia\u2019s supporters in the West.<\/p>\n Third, the government should avoid tough measures against separatists or Russia \u2013 hard policy could put in questions a reform course. Moreover, Kiev should not expect much military help from the West. Western leaders seem to believe that arming Georgia and Ukraine would provoke, rather than help deter, Russian aggression. And even more important is to remember that frozen conflicts can melt, The National Interest writes.<\/p>\n nationalinterest.org <\/a><\/p>\n An expert on transnational crime and security issues Mark Galeotti explains how the invasion of Ukraine will shake up the global crime scene. After Crimea\u2019s annexation both cops and gangsters in Moscow saw this as a great business opportunity. However, as one Interpol analyst told me, “What’s happening in Ukraine now matters to criminals from Bogot\u00e1 to Beijing.<\/p>\n Vice: <\/p>\n \u201cForget tit-for-tat embargoes,\u201d Galeotti writes. According to him, one of the most effective responses to Western sanctions at the Kremlin’s disposal may be to encourage the criminalization of Ukraine, and do nothing to help Europe and North America cope with the fallout.<\/p>\n www.vice.com <\/a><\/p>\n Collecting taxes is arguably the most important step towards creating a functional government, since Kiev has stopped paying social benefits. Most local businesses are registered in both the Ukrainian and DPR tax systems, which \u201cdoesn\u2019t allow enterprises to work effectively.<\/p>\n Guardian:<\/p>\n www.theguardian.com <\/a><\/p>\n ARSON ATTACK ON CINEMA ZHOVTEN<\/p>\n At one of the main Ukraine\u2019s film festivals homophobic activists have prevented a film performance. What does that say about the legacy of protests on Maidan? This shows a growth of the far right and homophobic interests in Ukraine.<\/p>\n Die Zeit:<\/p>\n www.zeit.de <\/a><\/p>\n SANCTIONS AGAINST RUSSIA <\/p>\n The President of Estonia against weakening anti-Russian sanctions. According to him, Poroshenko has \u201ca right to protect his own country\u201d. \u201cI do not think we are in the position to condemn the country which was the victim of the invasion,\u201d he underlined.<\/p>\n Tagesspiegel:<\/p>\n According to him, Poroshenko has \u201ca right to protect his own country\u201d. \u201cI do not think we are in the position to condemn the country which was the victim of invasion,\u201d he underlined.<\/p>\n www.tagesspiegel.de <\/a><\/p>\n Lithuanian foreign minister: the big mistake would be to soften sanctions on Russia.<\/p>\n Delfi.lt:<\/p>\n Softening sanctions against Russia after \u201celections\u201d in eastern Ukraine, which are not considered by the West, would be a big mistake, Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Linas Linkevi\u010dius said.<\/p>\n ru.delfi.lt <\/a><\/p>\n As a whole, EU is afraid of sanctions. It is tuned to a close partnership with Russia.<\/p>\n Die Zeit:<\/p>\n What is the goal of the sanctions? They are tools of political communication with consequences far beyond the symbolic once. First, they are functioning as a rating. They signalize investors and creditors that the country is ruled by untrusted people. Second, they mean the West is condemning Russia for its attempt to change the borders using their army and separatists.<\/p>\n Sanctions leave open the possibility of negotiations and even facilitate them, if they are used in a correct dosage. And if their initiators show they take them seriously. As a whole, EU is afraid of sanctions. It is tuned to a close partnership with Russia. It is not a disadvantage. On the contrary, it makes it more attractive and will increase its impact if the breach of relations happens. But as long as EU experiences problems with self-determination, there should be no hope others will do it better.<\/p>\n www.zeit.de <\/a><\/p>\n New turmoil is waiting for Ukraine \u2013 Czech analyst.<\/p>\n Parlamentnilisty.cz:<\/p>\n Ukraine is moving toward social Maidan. Political analyst and professor Oscar Krejci wrote about the threat of conflict escalation in all spheres for ParlamentniListy.cz portal. No one can predict how winter will look like in Ukraine. Political analyst prognoses a significant escalation of social problems. \u201cUkraine is moving toward the third Maidan, which won\u2019t become Euromaidan. It would be a social Maidan. Nobody knows how Kyiv and insurgents will agree on special rules for the eastern region and how local government will look like,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n www.parlamentnilisty.cz <\/a><\/p>\n MILITARY HELP FOR UKRAINE: THE ROLE OF US SENATE<\/p>\n Former member of US Senate Gordon Humphrey: \u201cSince the White House has shown that it won\u2019t take the lead in thwarting Russian President Vladimir Putin\u2019s plan to permanently divide Ukraine , Congress should assert its role as a co-equal branch of government. The change in the Senate leadership in the next Congress will make that easier. But senators, even the most powerful, cannot prevail on an issue like this one when acting independently. Only a large, well-staffed, bipartisan team can get the job done. What\u2019s needed is a bipartisan Senate task force on Ukraine.<\/p>\n The Washington Post:<\/p>\n Gordon Humphrey, a Republican from New Hampshire, was a member of the U.S. Senate from 1979 to 1990 and co-chaired the Congressional Task Force on Afghanistan.<\/p>\n www.washingtonpost.com <\/a><\/p>\n US and Russia find common ground on Ukraine. Sergei Lavrov and John Kerry agree at talks in Beijing to exchange information about situation on Russia-Ukraine border. “The choices Russia makes will decide what happens with respect to sanctions in the long run here,” Kerry said, adding he hoped a ceasefire agreement in Ukraine would remain viable.<\/p>\n Al Jazeera:<\/p>\n www.aljazeera.com <\/a><\/p>\n As pro-Russian rebels hold elections, the conflict in Ukraine looks increasingly like a frozen one.<\/p>\n The Economist:<\/p>\n NATO claims some 300 Russian troops remain inside eastern Ukraine training soldiers and co-ordinating supplies. Rebel leaders promise to recapture territory lost this summer. Several of the contested areas are crucial for the republics\u2019 long-term survival, including the port city of Mariupol and a power station north of Luhansk. The question is not whether they will make a move, but when.<\/p>\n