EDITOR'S NOTE: A careful reader, Travis Johnson, rightly pointed out that while the "New York Times" piece highlights a situation that some members believed threatened to create "splits," it appears to be a stretch by @lginiger to describe actions by the Association for Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies -- insisting on a board vote before approving fellowships that would include Cohen's name -- or other actions taken as described in the "Times" article as "discipline." Further, Mr. Johnson also notes that as a professor emeritus of Russian studies and politics at New York University, tenure is not an issue. Thought we should clarify that. Thanks, Mr. Johnson.
In case you missed it, our story on the Ukrainian students who recorded an emotional video calling on their Russian counterparts not to believe what Russia's state-controlled media are saying about their country can be found here.
More from RFE/RL's News Desk:
The United States has voiced deep concern over the health of a Ukrainian pilot detained in Russia after her capture by pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine.
Nadia Savchenko has been on a hunger strike since December 13 and is "gravely ill due to her continued detention by Russia," said State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki.
Calling for Savchenko's immediate release, Psaki said the pilot had been captured in June in eastern Ukraine and "illegally transferred to Russia by the separatists."
The arrest of Savchenko, 33, in August has become a rallying cause in her homeland. She was elected to the national parliament in absentia in elections in October.
Her lawyer told AFP earlier this month that Savchenko had lost some 12 kilograms and was being held on charges of being involved in the killing of two Russian journalists in eastern Ukraine, charges she strongly denies.
Read more about the devastating effects of her hunger strike here.
From RFE/RL's News Desk:
Pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine claim they have nearly encircled government forces in a strategic town.
Eduard Basurin, a rebel military leader, said the highway linking the town of Debaltseve to other government-held areas had fallen into rebel hands.
Ukrainian military spokesman Andriy Lysenko confirmed Debaltseve was surrounded on two flanks and said it was coming under heavy fire from Grad multiple-rocket launchers.
Other Ukranian officials said separatist claims were exaggerated.
Debaltseve is one of several sites of fighting that has intensified in recent weeks in what the White House has described as a "Russian-backed offensive" by the rebels.
Kyiv and the West says rebel attacks violate a cease-fire deal signed in September in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, and decrease the chances of ending a conflict that has killed more than 5,000 people since April.
Basurin said the terms of the Minsk agreement are no longer in force.
Read more here.
This ends our live-blogging for January 28. Be sure to check back for our continuing coverage tomorrow.