The head of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff says he's worried about rising nationalist sentiment in Russia (from RFE/RL's news desk):
The U.S. military's top officer has said Russia's involvement in Ukraine is fanning nationalist sentiments that could spread across the region with unpredictable consequences.
General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said President Vladimir Putin was pursuing an "aggressive" agenda.
Speaking at a security conference in Aspen, Colorado, Dempsey said that instead of de-escalating, Putin has "actually taken a decision to escalate."
"If I have a fear about this, it's that Putin may actually light a fire that he loses control of," he added.
Dempsey was speaking hours after U.S. officials accused Russia of firing artillery across the border at Ukrainian troops, and of intending to arm the separatists with heavier and more powerful multiple rocket launchers.
(AFP, Reuters)
Canada expands sanctions against Russian companies http://t.co/mqqfgByD1r
— Kyiv Post (@KyivPost) July 25, 2014
5th plane with bodies of #MH17 in Kharkiv getting ready to depart to Netherlands pic.twitter.com/pBmYzhuNLw
— Javier Pascual (@javierpascual) July 25, 2014
#Ukraine's Cabinet names Vice PM Volodymyr #Groisman acting PM.Parliament has yet to approve #Yatsenyuk's resignation pic.twitter.com/UT2ulYAILR
— Myroslava Petsa (@myroslavapetsa) July 25, 2014
Ukrainian female pilot imprisoned by Russia becoming a symbol of high morale. Image from Kyiv. via @pavelsheremet pic.twitter.com/aAG3UyTQNc
— Ryskeldi Satke (@RyskeldiSatke) July 25, 2014
Disenchanted with Putin, some Russians vote with their feet http://t.co/9YZgUbPNMZ by @AdeCar
— Alessandra Prentice (@alessaprentice) July 25, 2014
Today is the start date of the trial of Nadiya Savchenko, the Ukrainian pilot who is controversially facing charges of complicity in the June 17 killing of two Russian journalists, Igor Kornelyuk and Anton Voloshin, in a mortar attack on a separatist checkpoint outside Luhansk.
In case you haven't been following the case closely, we're re-upping this fascinating portrait of Savchenko by RFE/RL's Daisy Sindelar.
Savchenko is already a familiar face in Ukraine, where she has served as one of the country's first female career soldiers.
At 16, Vira Savchenko says, her older sister was already determined to become a pilot. She joined the Ukrainian Army, working as a radio operator with the country's railway forces before training as a paratrooper.
"Of course any girls in the army who are involved in more than office duties and paperwork have to be able to withstand the same physical pressure that the guys do, the same military drills," Vira Savchenko says. "They have to be able to perform all the same physical tasks. She was able to do all these things at a high level."
Nadiya Savchenko went on to serve as the only female soldier among Ukraine's peacekeeping troops in Iraq. Upon returning, she successfully petitioned the Defense Ministry for the right to attend the prestigious Air Force University in Kharkiv, which until then had been open only to men.
The distinction earned her the attention of Ukrainian television and theUnited Nations Development Program, which used her example to help successfully lobby for 2010 legislation establishing principles of gender equality in the Ukrainian military.
Read the entire article here
Ahh, the rich symbolism. Russia to use convicts to build Kerch bridge: http://t.co/iEJqA1cXL0
— Robert Coalson (@CoalsonR) July 25, 2014
Here's another update from our news desk:
U.S. President Barack Obama has joined with Australian and Dutch leaders to demand full access to the crash site of the Malaysia Airlines jet in separatist-controlled eastern Ukraine.
Speaking in telephone calls with Australia Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte, the leaders agreed to work for a full investigation into the shooting down of Flight MH17 last week.
A White House statement said that Obama and Abbott agreed that a "prompt, full, unimpeded and transparent international investigation is an imperative."
The statement said, "They expressed their resolve to push for full, immediate and secure access for international investigators to the crash site."
In a separate call with Rutte, Obama offered his condolences to the Dutch victims of the disaster.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 was shot down with 298 people on board a week ago over rebel-held territory in eastern Ukraine.
(AFP, AP)
#Russia's consulate in the Hague ignores national mourning,doesn't put flag at half mast.#MH17 http://t.co/gYiuYN6VU5 pic.twitter.com/vOop9l4nR5
— Myroslava Petsa (@myroslavapetsa) July 24, 2014