More than 90% of Russians didn't take part in any political or civic activity over the last 2 years, new study finds http://t.co/Uw4u1MTSxW
— Alec Luhn (@ASLuhn) September 11, 2014
Pro-Russian militia in Ukraine as highland warriors - some tongue-in-cheek montages supporting Scottish independence. pic.twitter.com/xSxwLp1ml9
— Tom Parfitt (@parfitt_tom) September 11, 2014
It seems that Moscow is upping the ante in terms of its combat readiness (from RFE/RL's news desk):
President Vladimir Putin has ordered military forces in Russia's Far East to carry out a major exercise to test their combat readiness.
Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told a meeting of the armed forces' leadership that troops in Russia's Eastern Military District were put on full combat alert today.
The Eastern Military District encompasses territories bordering China and Mongolia and, at Sea, Japan.
The drills began in the first day of a summit in Tajikistan of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a security-oriented grouping comprising China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Analysts have seen geopolitical signals in some of the combat-readiness drills Putin has ordered over the past year, including one held in central Russia in June as the conflict in Ukraine was raging.
( ITAR-TASS, Reuters, AP)
The pro-Kremlin blogosphere has been making much of this speech by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in Mariupol, with many claiming he was drunk. What do you think?
Видео кадры выступления пьяного Порошенко в Мариуполе опубликованы на YouTube http://t.co/2swPCqkBfv
— Konstantin McRykov (@rykov) September 11, 2014
Winter is coming... (from RFE/RL's news desk)
Germany has joined Poland in reporting reductions in deliveries of Russian natural gas amid heightened tensions between Moscow and the European Union over the Ukraine crisis.
German energy company E.ON said it registered small reductions in deliveries of natural gas, after Poland said that Russian natural gas supplies had dropped almost a quarter this week.
Gazprom is denying any cuts.
Ukraine has accused Russia of reducing gas supplies to Europe in order to disrupt "reverse flow" supplies from European countries to Ukraine.
Kyiv depends on the "reverse flows" for its gas, as Gazprom has already halted supplies meant for consumers in Ukraine in a politically charged pricing dispute.
A senior member of Russia's lower parliament house, Vladimir Gutenyov, today urged Gazprom to consider reducing or halting gas supplies to European countries which allow "reverse flows" to Ukraine.
(Reuters, AP, ITAR-TASS)
#Strelkov staging comeback? Journalist says he'll return to east Ukraine after month-long holiday, but won't announce http://t.co/l4vksu5nWl
— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) September 11, 2014
I stressed to UN Secretary General the need to start the political process of releasing hostages,including Nadiya Savchenko and Oleh Sentsov
— Петро Порошенко (@poroshenko) September 10, 2014
Result of Regrouping! MT @lauraphylmills Ukraine war zone today. If true, huge gains f rebels NE o Mariupol pic.twitter.com/Ev09SenuKK
— Nikolaus von Twickel (@niktwick) September 11, 2014
Lysenko says that the map doesn't show rebel positions- just how far their shells theoretically reach into Ukraine. Ok now I'm more confused
— Laura Mills (@lauraphylmills) September 11, 2014