That concludes our live-blogging of the Ukraine crisis for Thursday, June 14, 2018. Check back here tomorrow for more of our continuing coverage.
More U.S. Marines In Norway Could Cause 'Growing Tensions,' Russia Warns
By RFE/RL
Russia has vowed to retaliate against a plan by Norway to more than double the number of U.S. Marines stationed in the country.
The Russian Embassy in Oslo issued the warning on June 14, two days after Norway announced it will ask the United States, its NATO ally, to send 700 Marines starting next year.
The move came amid increasing wariness among nations bordering Russia following Moscow's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea Peninsula in 2014.
The Russian Embassy said that Norway’s plan, if realized, would make Norway “less predictable and could cause growing tensions, triggering an arms race, and destabilizing the situation in northern Europe."
"We see it as clearly unfriendly, and it will not remain free of consequence," it said in a statement.
Some 330 U.S. Marines currently are scheduled to leave Norway at the end of this year after an initial contingent arrived in January 2017 to train for fighting in winter conditions. They were the first foreign troops to be stationed in Norway, a member of NATO, since World War II.
Norwegian Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Soereide told reporters on June 12 that the additional U.S. troops would be based closer to the border with Russia in the Inner Troms region in the Norwegian Arctic, about 420 kilometers from Russia, rather than in central Norway.
Soereide also said that the decision to increase the U.S. presence has broad support in parliament and does not constitute the establishment of a permanent U.S. base in Norway.
The initial decision to welcome the Marines irked Russia, with Moscow warning that it would worsen bilateral relations with Oslo.
NATO's massive exercise Trident Juncture 18 is due to take place in and around Norway in October-November.
All 29 NATO allies, as well as Finland and Sweden, will participate in the drills, which will involve some 40,000 troops, 70 ships, and 130 aircraft.
With reporting by Reuters and Interfax
Ukrainians Protest As FIFA World Cup In Russia Kicks Off
A small demonstration was held in Kyiv calling for the boycott of what one protester called the "blood-soaked" FIFA World Cup in Russia. Protesters cited Russian aggression in Ukraine and its detention of Ukrainian director Oleh Sentsov, serving a 20-year prison sentence in Russia on terror charges widely condemned as politically motivated.
European Commission Seeks Budget Hike For 'Neighborhood' Countries
By Rikard Jozwiak
BRUSSELS -- The European Commission is proposing a 30 percent increase in its 2021-27 external-action budget, with a focus set on helping countries in its southern and eastern “neighborhoods” to raise standards in their efforts to join the European Union.
The commission on June 14 said the planned increase to 123 billion euros for the period is intended to show EU leadership "in times of uncertainties all over the world."
The commission called the external-action budget its main tool to support “partner countries in their political and economic transformations.”
The proposed budget level, up from 94.5 billion euros in the 2014-20 outlay, would set aside 22 billion for its neighborhood policy, up from 16.5 billion previously.
It said 14.5 billion euros would be earmarked to aid countries looking to gain EU membership, mainly in the Western Balkans, which includes Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia.
“The increased and reformed budget will allow us to continue working with those countries that are engaged to join the EU, as well as maintaining our special relationship with our eastern and southern neighbors," said Johannes Hahn, commissioner for European neighborhood policy and enlargement negotiations.
"This will support our strategic goal to achieve a space of stability, security, and prosperity close to the EU's borders," he added.
As an unwritten rule, two-thirds of the neighborhood budget tends to go to the Western Balkans or southern neighborhood, with the rest going to the eastern region, which consists of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine.
Ukrainian Artist's Viral Posters 'Red Card' World Cup Host Russia
A Ukrainian artist's provocative poster campaign against Russia hosting the World Cup has spread like wildfire across the Ukrainian Internet, while Kyiv's official call to boycott the soccer championship falls flat.
Read Christopher Miller's feature here.