MORNING NEWS ROUNDUP
From RFE/RL's News Desk:
EU REJECTS REBEL VOTE IN EASTERN UKRAINE
In a statement, European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini says elections held by pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine are an "obstacle to peace," and the EU will not recognize them.
Early local elections in accordance with Ukrainian law, as foreseen in the Minsk agreement, were "the legal and legitimate means of renewing the democratic mandate of the local authorities in these parts of Ukraine. I call on all sides to work towards such elections," she said.
The Minsk truce deal, which has been signed by rebel leaders, Ukrainian and Russian officials, envisions local elections being held across the whole of the east, but under Ukrainian law.
Meanwhile, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced Moscow will recognize the results, saying in a statement the poll will help reestablish "normal life in the region."
(Based on reporting by AFP, Reuters, and TASS)
PRO-RUSSIAN SEPARATISTS HOLD 'ELECTIONS' IN EASTERN UKRAINE
By RFE/RL
Pro-Russian separatists defied international criticism by holding elections in areas under their control in eastern Ukraine.
Residents in separatist-controlled areas voted for leaders and so-called "people's councils" for their "people's republics."
Russia's Interfax news agency, citing an exit poll, said in the "Donetsk People's Republic" incumbent leader Alexander Zakharchenko was expected to win with 81 percent.
Results from neighboring Luhansk, however, were expected later because some polling stations remained open.
The leader of the "Luhansk People's Republic," Igor Plotnitsky, is widely expected to win.
The early results came as Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko called on Russia to denounce the November 2 elections.
In an online statement, Poroshenko described the controversial elections as a "farce, (conducted) under the barrels of tanks and machine guns."
He added: "I count on Russia not to recognize the so-called elections because they are a clear violation of the September 5 Minsk protocol, which was also signed by Russia's representative."
Ukraine’s Security Service, the SBU, said on November 2 that the vote violates Ukraine’s constitution and resembles an illegal “power grab.”
It also announced that it has opened a “criminal probe” against the organizers of the vote.
Earlier on November 2, Ukrainian military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said Russia has launched an “intensive deployment of military equipment and personnel” from Russia territory into parts of eastern Ukraine that are controlled by pro-Russian separatists.
AFP reporters near Donetsk say they saw a military column of about 20 trucks, some carrying anti-aircraft guns, heading toward the government-held airport -- although it was not clear whether they were new forces.
Several other Western media outlets also reported witnessing heavy movement of troops near Donetsk.
Among them, reporters for the news sites buzzfeed.com and mashable.com tweeted that they had seen a large military column.
Buzzfeed's Max Seddon wrote: "31 unmarked Kamazes (military trucks) just drove past towards Donetsk. Anti-aircraft weapons, ammunition boxes, radar systems, a bus of gunmen."
In Donetsk, correspondents report seeing gunmen inside several polling stations as voters were casting ballots.
The Ukrainian government, the United States, the European Union, other western countries, and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon have said the elections are illegitimate and will not be recognized.
Moscow says Russia will recognize the results.
Four people are running for the post of head of the so-called Luhansk People's Republic, including Plotnitsky.
Three "social movements" are competing for seats in the so-called people's council.
Separately, three people -- including Zakharchenko -- are running for the top post of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic, and two movements are competing for seats in the people's council.
Zakharchenko has called the upcoming election "a crucial moment when our state will become legitimate."
"There is no point in pretending otherwise, I will say honestly that everything that happened before -- the Supreme Council was just some people [taking over]," he told a meeting with students from Donetsk National Technical University on October 31.
Zakharchenko admitted that the first people who seized Ukrainian state buildings and police stations were "activists, fiery revolutionaries, but they were in fact [only] self-appointed."
He claimed the November 2 vote would legitimize the people who are elected.
Pro-Russian separatist organizers of the vote said on November 1 that 3 million ballots were printed and that voting by Internet started a few days earlier.
The fighting in eastern Ukraine has caused hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes, many of them currently living in Russia.
The elections are not regulated by Ukrainian law or overseen by the Ukrainian Central Election Commission.
It also will not be observed by international monitors from bodies such as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), but separatist officials claims they have between 30 and 70 observers from several foreign countries and places like the breakaway Georgian republic of Abkhazia.
The Ukrainian government and broader international community say the poll violates the September Minsk agreement between representatives of Ukraine, Russia, the OSCE, and the separatist regions.
Moscow, however, has said the process is in compliance with the Minsk agreement and has pledged in advance to accept its results.
In comments published on October 28, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow would "of course recognize the results" of the separatists' elections.
Moscow has made no formal recognition yet of the "people's republics" the separatists have proclaimed in parts of Donetsk and Luhansk and denies involvement in the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
That is despite what Kyiv, NATO, several Western powers, and numerous eyewitness reports by international correspondents say is clear evidence that Russia has sent in troops and weapons to help the separatists fight Ukrainian forces.
The SBU issued a warning late October 31 of the risk of "provocations" during the separatist vote.
"The process of voting itself and of taking part in these elections is dangerous," SBU official Markiyan Lubkivsky said.
He added that "serious provocations are being prepared that can then be blamed on the Ukrainian authorities."
The elections come at a time when Ukraine's tenuous cease-fire with the separatist fighters is under constant strain.
Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council reported on November 1 that six soldiers had been killed and another 10 wounded in fighting since October 31.
The latest UN figures show 4,035 people have been killed in about seven months of war -- more than 300 of them in the last 11 days.
(With reporting by AP, AFP, Reuters, and dpa)
KYIV SAYS RUSSIAN TROOPS DEPLOYED IN EASTERN UKRAINE DURING VOTE
By RFE/RL
Ukrainian military spokesman Andriy Lysenko says Russia has launched an “intensive deployment of military equipment and personnel” from Russia territory into parts of eastern Ukraine that are controlled by pro-Russian separatists.
Lysenko’s announcement came as residents of separatist-controlled areas were voting in controversial elections on November 2.
AFP reporters near Donetsk say they saw a military column of about 20 trucks, some carrying anti-aircraft guns, heading toward the government-held airport -- although it was not clear whether they were new forces.
Several other Western media outlets also reported witnessing heavy movement of troops near Donetsk.
Among them, reporters for the news sites buzzfeed.com and mashable.com tweeted that they had seen a large military column.
Buzzfeed's Max Seddon wrote: "31 unmarked Kamazes (military trucks) just drove past towards Donetsk. Anti-aircraft weapons, ammunition boxes, radar systems, a bus of gunmen."
In Donetsk, correspondents report seeing gunmen inside several polling stations as voters were casting ballots.
Ukraine’s Security Service said on November 2 that the vote violates Ukraine’s constitution and resembles an illegal “power grab.”
It also announced that it has opened a “criminal probe” against the organizers of the vote.
Self-declared officials in parts of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions that are under separatist control say the vote will elect leaders and so-called "people's councils" for their "people's republics."
The Ukrainian government, the United States, the European Union, other western countries, and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon have said the elections are illegitimate and will not be recognized.
Moscow says Russia will recognize the results.
Four people are running for the post of head of the so-called Luhansk People's Republic, including current leader Igor Plotnitsky.
Three "social movements" are competing for seats in the so-called people's council.
Separately, three people -- including current leader Aleksandr Zakharchenko -- are running for the top post of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic, and two movements are competing for seats in the people's council.
Zakharchenko has called the upcoming election "a crucial moment when our state will become legitimate."
"There is no point in pretending otherwise, I will say honestly that everything that happened before -- the Supreme Council was just some people [taking over]," he told a meeting with students from Donetsk National Technical University on October 31.
Zakharchenko admitted that the first people who seized Ukrainian state buildings and police stations were "activists, fiery revolutionaries, but they were in fact [only] self-appointed."
He claimed the November 2 vote would legitimize the people who are elected.
Pro-Russian separatist organizers of the vote said on November 1 that 3 million ballots were printed and that voting by Internet started a few days earlier.
The fighting in eastern Ukraine has caused hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes, many of them currently living in Russia.
The elections are not regulated by Ukrainian law or overseen by the Ukrainian Central Election Commission.
It also will not be observed by international monitors from bodies such as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), but separatist officials claims they have between 30 and 70 observers from several foreign countries and places like the breakaway Georgian republic of Abkhazia.
The Ukrainian government and broader international community have vowed not to recognize the poll, which they say violates the September Minsk agreement between representatives of Ukraine, Russia, the OSCE, and the separatist regions.
Moscow, however, has said the process is in compliance with the Minsk agreement and has pledged in advance to accept its results.
In comments published on October 28, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow would "of course recognize the results" of the separatists' elections.
Moscow has made no formal recognition yet of the "people's republics" the separatists have proclaimed in parts of Donetsk and Luhansk and denies involvement in the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
That is despite what Kyiv, NATO, several Western powers, and numerous eyewitness reports by international correspondents say is clear evidence that Russia has sent in troops and weapons to help the separatists fight Ukrainian forces.
Ukraine's national security service, the SBU, issued a warning late October 31 of the risk of "provocations" during the separatist vote.
"The process of voting itself and of taking part in these elections is dangerous," SBU official Markiyan Lubkivsky said.
He added that "serious provocations are being prepared that can then be blamed on the Ukrainian authorities."
The elections come at a time when Ukraine's tenuous cease-fire with the separatist fighters is under constant strain.
Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council reported on November 1 that six soldiers had been killed and another 10 wounded in fighting since October 31.
The latest UN figures show 4,035 people have been killed in about seven months of war -- more than 300 of them in the last 11 days.
With reporting by AP, AFP, Reuters, and dpa
RUSSIAN SOCCER COACH REFUSED TO SIGN BLACK PLAYERS
The coach of a Russian Premier League team soccer team has said that he will not sign black players and joked that Ebola had spread to his club.
FC Rostov coach Igor Gamula told journalists after a game on October 31 that his club already has “enough dark-skinned players," saying: "We've got six of the things."
He was responding to a question about whether Rostov would sign Cameroon defender Benoit Angbwa.
Gamula also said five of his Russian players were ill with a high temperature and joked that Ebola was the cause.
Rostov midfielder Moussa Doumbia is from Mali, which has seen sporadic Ebola cases.
Rostov won the Russian Cup last season but is now struggling in 14th place within the 16-team Russian league.
Gamula took over as Rostov’s coach in September.
(Based on reporting by AP)
THE RUSSIAN MARCH SHOULD BE INTERESTING THIS YEAR
The annual Russian March, the seminal event on the nationalist calendar, is set to take place on November 4. And this year's event will be worth watching for a number of reasons. Check out the latest Power Vertical Podcast for a primer:
WILL THEY BAN THE iPHONE NEXT?
From RFE/RL's News Desk:
iPHONE TRIBUTE TO STEVE JOBS REMOVED IN RUSSIA AFTER APPLE CEO COMES OUT AS GAY
Russian media reports say a big mock iPhone meant as a monument to the late former Apple CEO Steve Jobs has been taken down in St. Petersburg after his successor, Tim Cook, came out publicly as gay.
The man-sized monument, with an interactive screen displaying information about Jobs, was reportedly put up on the grounds of an IT university in January 2013 on the initiative of a Russian company called Western European Financial Union.
Russian Radio station Biznes-FM cited the company's head, Maksim Dolgopolov, as saying he had it removed in part in order to comply with a law banning the spread of homosexual "propaganda" among minors.
After Cook came out as gay in an essay published on October 30, prominent St. Petersburg anti-gay activist Vitaly Milonov was quoted as saying Cook should be banned from Russia because he could bring AIDS, Ebola or gonorrhea into the country.
(Based on reporting by Biznes-FM and gazeta.ru)
And as one might expect, LifeNews has video.
INVASION REHEARSAL?
Yet again, Russia is conducting military exercises, in Rostov Oblast near the Ukrainian border. Ukraine Today has video:
Such exercises have been common in recent months. But cComing on the heels of the separatist "elections" in Donetsk and Luhansk, the maneuvers have sparked fears in Kyiv that Russia is gearing up to re-escalate the conflict in Donbas.
NEW POWER VERTICAL BLOG POST
I just posted a new Power Vertical blog, Putin Forever (which accounts for my light posting to the Feed).
AND RUBLE'S THE SLIDE CONTINUES...
IF IT WALKS LIKE A DUCK, TALKS LIKE A DUCK...
...and denies it's a duck -- then it must be Putin's duck.
Mikhail Shishkin's essay on why the Kremlin tells lies, and why the Russians pretend to believe them, is well worth a read.
Here's a teaser:
"We are back to the Soviet times of total lies. The government renewed the social contract with the nation under which we had lived for decades: we know that we lie and you lie, and we continue to lie to survive. Generations have grown up under this social contract. These lies cannot even be called a sin: the power of vitality and survival is concentrated in them. The government was afraid of its nation, which is why it lied. The nation participated in the lies, because it was afraid of the government. The lies are a means of survival for a society built on violence and fear."
Read it all here.
EVENING NEWS ROUNDUP
From RFE/RL's News Desk:
PUTIN TOPS FORBES POWER RANKINGS FOR SECOND STRAIGHT YEAR
Russian President Vladimir Putin has beaten U.S. counterpart Barack Obama in the "Forbes" magazine title of world's most-powerful leader for the second straight year.
Third place went to Chinese President Xi Jinping, fourth was Pope Francis, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel was No. 5.
The 2014 list of the 72 most powerful people was chosen to reflect one person for every 100 million people on Earth.
Among the 12 new people on the list are Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (No. 15) and the head of the Islamic State group, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (No. 54).
There are 26 Americans on the list and 19 from Asia -- six from China.
Only nine of the 72 people are women, but two of them were in the top 10 -- Merkel and U.S. Federal Reserve head Janet Yellen.
(Based on reporting by AP and AFP)
SON OF PUTIN'S CHIEF OF STAFF DIES AT 37
By RFE/RL
A son of Sergei Ivanov, the Kremlin chief of staff and a longtime ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has died at age 37.
Alexander Ivanov died "tragically" on November 3, state-controlled Vneshekonombank, where he was deputy chairman, said in a statement.
It did not say how or where he died.
The bank posted the statement on its website after Russian channel "Dozhd" (TV Rain) and "Forbes" magazine cited sources as saying Ivanov died in the United Arab Emirates.
Some reports said he drowned.
Ivanov was at the center of a scandal after the car he was driving hit and killed an elderly woman in Moscow.
Initial charges of reckless endangerment leading to a fatality were later dropped, and he was never held responsible.
Sergei Ivanov, a former KGB officer, is one of Putin's closest associates and has been Kremlin chief of staff since December 2011.
(With reporting by Forbes and tvrain.ru)
MERKEL REJECTS LIFTING SANCTIONS ON RUSSIA
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said there is no way the European Union would relax economic sanctions against Russia imposed over the Ukraine crisis.
Speaking to reporters in Berlin on November 5, Merkel said "there is no possibility of alleviating or lifting sanctions."
Merkel added that separatist leaders in eastern Ukraine recently inaugurated after controversial elections should be added to EU sanction lists.
The chancellor also urged respect for a cease-fire agreement signed in Minsk in early September and said the elections -- which were recognized by Moscow -- violated the accord.
The November 2 vote held in separatist-controlled parts of Ukraine's Luhansk and Donetsk regions was called "a farce" by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.
The elections were not recognized by most of the international community.
(Based on reporting by Reuters and AP)
REPORT: RUSSIA PLANS TO BOYCOTT NUCLEAR SUMMIT
A news report says Russia has informed the United States it will not attend the next in a series of international nuclear security summits that have been a prominent feature of President Barack Obama's foreign policy.
The Associated Press on November 3 reported that Russia was absent from an initial planning session in Washington for the 2016 Nuclear Security Summit.
On November 4, the AP cited two unnamed diplomats as saying the boycott applied to the 2016 summit itself as well.
The sources cited what they said was a diplomatic note from Russia to the United States and other nations planning to participate.
Russia attended all three previous summits, in 2010, 2012, and 2014.
But one of the diplomats said Moscow already had reservations while attending this year's meeting in March in The Hague.
He said the "changed political atmosphere" influenced the Kremlin's decision to stay away.
Ties are badly strained over Russia's annexation of Crimea in March and the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
A Kremlin spokesman declined to comment.
(Based on reporting by AP and Interfax)
RUSSIA TEST FIRES INTERCONTINENTAL ROCKET FROM SUBMARINE
Russia has test-fired a Sineva intercontinental ballistic missile from a submarine in the Barents Sea as part of tests on the reliability of the navy's strategic forces.
The Russian Defense Ministry said the liquid-fuelled missile, capable of carrying nuclear warheads, was fired by the submarine "Tula" and targetted a testing range in the Kamchatka region on the Pacific Ocean.
The Sineva, which has a range of about 12,000 kilometers, became operable in 2007 as part of Moscow's efforts to shore up Russia's nuclear deterrent.
This test firing was the second ICBM launch from a Russian nuclear submarine in the past week.
President Vladimir Putin has underlined the importance of the nuclear deterrent during Moscow's standoff with the West over the Ukraine crisis.
(Based on reporting by Reuters and TASS)
UKRAINE CUTS FINANCES TO SEPARATIST-HELD REGIONS
Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk says Kyiv will cut off funding to the parts of eastern Ukraine held by pro-Russian separatists until "terrorists" leave.
But Yatsenyuk said at a cabinet meeting on November 5 that gas and electricity supplies to separatist-held areas in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions would continue to help "ordinary people" during the winter.
He said some $2.6 billion in government funds would be withheld from the separatist-controlled areas.
Yatsenyuk said separatist leaders who have defied the Ukrainian government by holding elections on November 2 should take care of themselves financially and that Kyiv would not fund "imposters and conmen."
He said financial aid -- including social payments -- would resume when Kyiv regains control of rebel-held territories.
Yatsenyuk also called on Moscow to stop supporting the separatists.
(Based on reporting by AP, Reuters, and Interfax)
RUSSIAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST BARRED FROM ENTERING UKRAINE
By RFE/RL
A Russian human rights activist has not been prevented from entering Ukraine.
The Moscow-based Memorial Human Rights Center said on November 5 that Ukrainian border guards did not allow Vitaly Ponomaryov to pass through passport control at the airport in the western city of Lviv on November 4.
Ponomaryov arrived in Lviv on November 4 to attend November 6 court hearings on the cases of two Russian citizens, who applied for asylum in Ukraine.
Border guards told Ponomaryov that his name was added to the list of Russian citizens barred from entering Ukraine. No more information was given.
BELARUS TO DEPORT RUSSIAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST
By RFE/RL's Belarus Service
The head of a Minsk-based group that advocates basic freedoms is facing deportation to Russia.
A court in Belarus said on November 5 that Yelena Tonkachyova, head of the Lawtrend Legal Transformation Center, must be deported by December 5 and banned from entering Belarus for three years.
Tonkachyova, a Russian citizen who has been living in Belarus since 1985, was informed on October 30 that her residence permit had been annulled.
Authorities said the decision was based on her violation of a traffic regulation.
Lawtrend promotes freedom of expression, freedom of association, and the right of access to information, justice, and a fair trial.
It has been operating in Minsk since 1996.
Tonkachyova has said she has no place to stay in Russia as all her relatives are Belarusian citizens.
TUNNEL CONNECTING RUSSIA AND SOUTH OSSETIA REOPENS
A strategic 3.7-kilometer tunnel connecting Russia with Georgia's breakaway region of South Ossetia has reopened after reconstruction.
South Ossetia's de facto President Leonid Tibilov said on November 5 that the reconstruction of the Roksky Tunnel "will strengthen South Ossetia's relations with its strategic partner, Russia."
He called the tunnel built in 1984 "a road of life."
Russian Transport Ministry has said the reconstruction, which started in 2010, had cost Moscow more than $400 million.
The tunnel is the only way linking South Ossetia with Russia's North Ossetia as all other segments of Georgian-Russian border have been closed since a five-day war between Georgia and Russia in August 2008.
Russia has recognized South Ossetia and Georgia's other breakaway region, Abkhazia, as independent states and kept military forces in both regions.
(Based on reporting by RIA-Novosti and TASS)
GEORGIA'S POLITICAL CRISIS -- AND THE HAND OF MOSCOW?
Georgia's political crisis must be making the Kremlin pretty happy. With the firing of Irakli Alasania as defense minister, Tbilisi is losing one of the strongest voices for a pro-Western course. Alasania had brought Georgia closer to the elusive goal of NATO membership than anybody imagined possible -- and the Kremlin must be delighted to see him go.
I sat down to discuss the political crisis in Tbilisi with David Kakabadze, director of RFE/RL's Georgian Service. WATCH IT HERE:
MORNING NEWS UPDATE
From RFE/RL's News Desk:
U.S. URGES RUSSIA TO 'STOP FUELING THE FIRE' IN UKRAINE
By RFE/RL
The United States has called on Russia to "stop fueling the fire" in eastern Ukraine with new weapons and other support for pro-Russian separatists there.
U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Washington condemned "Russia's increased militarization of the Donbas region through the provision of tanks and other heavy equipment to separatists."
Her comments in Washington on November 10 come days after the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said its monitors had witnessed an apparent buildup of heavy weapons and tanks in parts of the Donetsk region controlled by the separatists.
Psaki accused Russia and the separatists of "blatant violations" of a cease-fire signed in Minsk on September 5, and warned the costs to Moscow will rise if it "continues its destabilizing and dangerous actions."
Psaki said Moscow must do more if it truly wants peace in eastern Ukraine.
"If Russia is truly committed to Minsk and peace in Ukraine, it will stop fueling the fire with new weapons and support for separatists and withdraw all Russian military personnel and equipment from Ukraine; and it will call on its proxies to stop cease-fire violations, release hostages, and close the international [Russian-Ukrainian] border," Psaki said.
The United States and European Union have imposed economic sanctions on Moscow since Russia seized Ukraine's Crimea peninsula in March and began backing pro-Russian rebels who rose up in the two eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.
U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin had several brief encounters during a November 10-11 Asia-Pacific summit in Beijing, but it was unclear whether they discussed the situation in Ukraine in any detail.
Some of their encounters appeared chilly.
The past week has seen the truce deteriorate, after the rebels staged elections and inaugurated leaders, steps Kyiv and the West say violate the Minsk cease-fire agreement.
The OSCE confirmed on November 8 that a column of troops and tanks without insignia had been spotted in rebel-held territory.
Moscow denies sending troops or arms into Ukraine.
But Psaki noted the Kremlin has declared the circumstances of deaths of Russian soldiers allegedly killed in Ukraine a state secret.
"We know that the families of those killed in action may never have the comfort of knowing from their own government what truly happened to their sons now that their fate has been declared a state secret," Psaki said.
In a blog posting earlier on November 10, a newspaper publisher and local lawmaker in the Russian city of Pskov said Russian military prosecutors had refused to provide details on the circumstances of the deaths of 12 servicemen who died away from their posts earlier this year.
Lev Shlosberg has gathered evidence suggesting Russian soldiers have died in eastern Ukraine.
He was badly beaten by unidentified assailants after his newspaper published an investigation into the funerals of two paratroopers in August.
(With reporting by Reuters, AP, Interfax, and TASS)
PUTIN, OBAMA EXCHANGE WORDS AT APEC SUMMIT
U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin have exchanged words several times during an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Beijing.
Some of their brief encounters seemed chilly, and it was unclear whether they discussed the conflict in Ukraine or other issues in any detail.
At one point, Obama barely responded when Putin clapped him on the shoulder.
The two were later seen conversing as they entered a hall for the summit "family photo."
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on November 11 that Putin and Obama "spoke briefly several times today."
The November 10-11 summit came amid concerns of an escalation in the conflict between government forces and pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.
On November 10, the U.S. State Department accused Russia of providing "tanks and other heavy equipment" to separatists and urged Moscow to "stop fueling the fire."
(Based on reporting by AP, Reuters, TASS, and Interfax)
RUSSIA GETS GRIM ECONOMIC FORECAST FOR REST OF PUTIN'S TERM
Russia's central bank has forecast three years of stagnation, cutting economic growth estimates for 2014-16 to almost zero.
The bank's predictions suggested that Western sanctions and lower oil prices are clouding Russia's prospects in the final years of President Vladimir Putin's third term.
The base scenario set out in an annual monetary policy strategy document issued on November 10 forecast economic growth of 0.3 percent this year, zero in 2015, and 0.1 percent in 2016.
The bank's forecast anticipated that Western sanctions imposed over Russia's actions in Ukraine would last at least until the end of 2017.
It was based on the assumption that the oil price will rise to $95 per barrel next year but then decline again.
It predicted better growth rates if the sanctions are lifted earlier or if oil prices are higher than expected.
(Based on reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFP)
RUSSIAN CENTRAL BANK LETS RUBLE FLOAT
Russia's central bank has announced it would not intervene to prop up the ruble which has lost nearly 40 percent of its value this year under the pressure of Western sanctions.
The Bank of Russia announced in a November 10 statement it was immediately removing the range it had fixed for the ruble up until now.
The bank had been burning through its $400 billion in reserves to cushion the drop of the ruble, spending a reported $30 billion in October alone to support up the national currency.
The bank statement said the decision to allow the ruble to float freely "did not amount to a total renunciation of any interventions in the currency market, which would be possible in case a threat to financial stability appears."
The ruble had dropped to 48 to the dollar on November 7 but the Russian central bank's November 10 announcement lifted the ruble to 45 to the dollar.
Earlier in day, President Vladimir Putin expressed confidence that the plummeting ruble will stabilize, saying its volatility is not tied to the country's economy.
Speaking in Beijing ahead of an Asia-Pacific summit, Putin blamed currency speculation for what he called the "serious fluctuation" of the ruble.
Despite Putin's confident remarks, Russia's central bank has forecast three years of stagnation, cutting economic growth estimates for 2014-16 to almost zero.
The bank's predictions suggested that Western sanctions and lower oil prices are clouding Russia's prospects in the final years of President Vladimir Putin's third term.
The base scenario set out in an annual monetary policy strategy document issued on November 10 forecast economic growth of 0.3 percent this year, zero in 2015, and 0.1 percent in 2016.
The bank's forecast anticipated that Western sanctions imposed over Russia's actions in Ukraine would last at least until the end of 2017.
It was based on the assumption that the oil price will rise to $95 per barrel next year but then decline again.
It predicted better growth rates if the sanctions are lifted earlier or oil prices are higher than expected.
(Based on reporting by Reuters, AFP and AP)
ACTIVIST SAYS RUSSIA DEFLECTS INQUIRY INTO SOLDIERS' 'SECRET' DEATHS
A Russian lawmaker who suspects Russian paratroopers were killed in Ukraine says prosecutors have refused provide information about where the soldiers died, citing laws on “state secrets.”
Lev Shlosberg, a Pskov newspaper publisher and local lawmaker, wrote in a November 10 blog post that Russian military prosecutors declined to provide details in response to his petition listing 12 servicemen who died away from their posts between July and September.
Shlosberg, who published a scan of the purported October 28 response, had asked where the soldiers died and whether their deployment violated the constitution.
Shlosberg has gathered evidence suggesting Russian soldiers have died in eastern Ukraine. Moscow denies sending troops to support pro-Russian separatists in the conflict.
Shlosberg was badly beaten by unidentified assailants after his newspaper published an investigation into the funerals of two paratroopers in August.
PRO-KREMLIN LEADER RETURNS TO DONETSK AFTER MEDICAL TREATMENT IN RUSSIA
The former so-called "people's governor" of the separatist held Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine has returned to the volatile region after receiving medical treatment in Russia.
Pavel Gubarev's aide said on November 10 that he had been discharged from a hospital in Russia's Rostov-on-Don where he was taken after surviving of what was reported as an assassination attempt, and is currently in Donetsk.
Last month, Russian media reports said that unknown assailants fired on a vehicle Gubarev was traveling in along the Rostov-On-Don-Donetsk highway on October 13.
Gubarev’s vehicle went off the road and struck a tree. He was hospitalized, at the time, in a very serious condition.
Prior to the incident, Gubarev had posted a message on his Facebook page saying he intended to make a major announcement soon.
(Based on reporting by TASS and Interfax)