On May 16 two Russians were captured on Ukrainian held territory (see here for a summary). Aleksandr Aleksandrov and Evgeniy Erofeyev (or Yevgeny Yerofeyev). The Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta published interviews with them on May 22 (Novaya Gazeta, May 22). The following is a complete translation of these interviews. Interviewer was Pavel Kanygin.
Short and selective summary of the incident of the two Russians captured on May 16 on Ukrainian controlled territory. As usual there is no lack of diversity in respect of interpretations.
On 15 March, Chinese PM Li Keqiang made some remarks on China’s position on the issue of Ukraine and Crimea. In short: China respects Ukraine’s sovereignity and territorial integrity but takes no position on the status of Crimea.
Stratfor recently simulated scenarios of military offensives of the Russian Federation (RF) in Ukraine. Results, numbers and notes.
Debaltseve connects the railways between Donetsk-Luhansk and to the east. Controlling Debaltseve would allow Russian backed militias faster transportation (troops, equipment, coal), therefore it is the key for territorial and economic consolidation of DNR/LNR.
Actors are driven to take higher risks in a environment that becomes more dangerous while the consequences of their actions are not clear.
On Nov 9 Reuters published an article quoting senior EU officials involved in gas negotiations. The bottom line: It’s worse than expected.