Ukraine: pro-Russian uprisings in east
Protesters seized government buildings in Ukraine's east, declaring the Donbas region to be a "people's republic" and calling for a referendum on union with Russia.
Protesters seized government buildings in Ukraine's east, declaring the Donbas region to be a "people's republic" and calling for a referendum on union with Russia.
Above Russian protests, NATO is beefing up its Baltic Air Policing program with more fighter jets—at the request of regional leaders, who cite Russian provocation.
As the US deploys warships to the Black Sea for NATO exercises, Ukraine approved a NATO force to be stationed in the country. Russian troops meanwhile mass on Ukraine's borders.
An inquiry by the interim Ukrainian government implicated members of the special Berkut riot police in the deaths of 76 anti-government protesters in Kiev in February.
Russia is boosting military aid to the Bashar Assad regime in Syria, just as the US has finally broken off diplomatic relations with Damascus—signalling a deepening proxy war.
The Majilis of Crimean Tatars voted to seek "a national autonomous territory" on the peninsula, with leaders calling on their people to stay and fight for their rights.
The IMF imposes austerity on Ukraine as Russia jacks up gas prices. Meanwhile, the global industry exploits the crisis to fast-track exports of fracked gas as a "lever against Russia."
The UN General Assembly approved a resolution declaring the Crimean referendum to secede from Ukraine invalid, and calling on UN member states not to recognize it.
Russia's annexation of Crimea has sent nearly a thousand of the region's ethnic Tatars fleeing the peninsula for western Ukraine, faced with threats by local authorities.
Thousands of Ukrainian soldiers in Crimea are now facing off with Russian troops and paramilitary forces—with one reported dead as Crimea was formally annexed.
The Crimean parliament formally declared the region independent and asked to join the Russian Federation following a popular vote to secede from Ukraine.
Putin's propagandists have everything invested in exaggerating the fascist threat in Ukraine, while the "MSM" in the West have everything invested in denying it.