Here's a news item concerning Poland -- peripheral but still pertinent:
Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 25 called for "constructive ties" with Poland as he congratulated conservative Andrzej Duda on his surprise presidential victory.
Duda won the May 24 vote by 52 percent to 48 percent, according to an exit poll, scoring a stunning turnaround to oust incumbent centrist leader Bronislaw Komorowski.
Duda's Law and Justice party is close to the Catholic Church, socially conservative, and considered less business-friendly than the governing Civic Platform party.
Putin expressed hope in a Kremlin statement that "the building of constructive ties between Russia and Poland, based on the principles of good neighborly relations and a mutual respect for each other's interests, would help strengthen security and stability in Europe."
Poland has been one of the fiercest critics of Russia over its alleged meddling in Ukraine.
The European Union -- of which Poland is a member -- and the United States have slapped sanctions on Russia over the Ukraine crisis, with Moscow hitting back with embargoes on Western agricultural produce.
(Reuters, Interfax)
Here is an RFE/RL video of a big "vyshyvanka" event in Kyiv yesterday, where Ukrainians turned out in force to pay homage to the traditional embroidered shirts that form part of their national identity.
Good morning. We'll start the live blog today with an excerpt from The Independent's dispatch by Oliver Carroll on the assassination of separatist leader Aleksey Mozgovoi:
Authorities of the "Luhansk People’s Republic" have been quick to push a theory that subversive groups loyal to Kiev were responsible for the assassination. This has also become the official position of the acting commander of Mr Mozgovoi’s "Ghost" battalion, Yuri Shevchenko. "I believe that in the context of war, it is criminal to put forward other versions," he told The Independent.
In the seemingly lawless rebel-held eastern regions of Ukraine, many factions of rebel groups have emerged in recent months. A "Ukrainian nationalist" group identifying itself as “Shadow” claimed responsibility for the attack. It has, however, made similar and generally unreliable claims in the past. Few in Mr Mozgovoi's battalion seem convinced by the official story of Ukrainian subversive groups. Kirill Androsov, a deputy commander with responsibility for humanitarian aid, said he would "never" believe such a story. "His killers were internal," Mr Androsov said elliptically, refusing to elaborate.
Another soldier on the highway, going by the nom-de-guerre of "Tiny", said he did not believe Ukrainians had the capacity to launch such an elaborate attack deep inside rebel-controlled territory.
The Luhansk official press service issued a statement saying that the assassination of Mr Mozgovoi had been designed to "undermine the union between Alchevsk and Luhansk."
It is well known that Mr Mozgovoi had difficult relations with the Russian-annointed leaders in the region. Separatist leaders in Luhansk, for their part, have made little secret that they considered Mr Mozgovoi to be an exasperating partner. After the removal of other outspoken leaders, Mr Mozgovoi had also become the most visible. In January, Alexander Bednov, commander of “Batman” battalion, a unit with strong Russian links, was killed in Luhansk under suspicious circumstances. Later, another field commander, Cossack leader Nikolai Kositsyn, was sent back to his native Russia.
Read the entire article here