Ukraine News
The Daily Signal provides reporting and analysis on the conflict in Ukraine, American military assistance, and the geopolitical consequences for Europe and beyond.
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Raw Footage: Watch Ukrainian Soldiers, Separatists Battle for Valuable Prize
BERDYANS’KE, Ukraine—Pro-Russian separatists and the Ukrainian Azov Regiment have been battling over the town of Shyrokyne for weeks. The small town on the Sea of Azov is only about nine miles east of Mariupol, an industrial port city on the Sea of Azov, which is considered by some Ukrainian military officials to be the last…Nolan Peterson -
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US Sending Soldiers to Train Ukraine National Guard
MARIUPOL, Ukraine—As part of a joint Department of Defense-State Department effort to bolster Ukraine’s internal defense capabilities, the United States will be sending Army paratroopers to train Ukraine’s National Guard, a U.S. Army Europe spokesman confirmed to The Daily Signal Monday. U.S. Army Europe spokesman Donald Wrenn said paratroopers from the U.S. Army’s 173rd Airborne…Nolan Peterson -
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Ukraine Cracks Down on Oligarchs and Volunteer Fighting Battalions
KYIV, Ukraine—In the course of one day last week, Ukraine’s government made several ambitious moves to centralize political and military control over the revolution- and war-torn country. “The war is a very good curtain to hide the corruption,” says a reserve lieutenant in the Ukrainian army. On the morning of March 25, Ihor Kolomoisky, one…Nolan Peterson -
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House and Senate Pressure President Obama to Send Military Aid to Ukraine
Resolutions asking President Obama to send lethal aid to Ukraine so that the country can defend its borders from Russian aggression have passed in both the House and Senate. A resolution by Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., asking Obama to send military aid to Ukraine and condemning the “deliberate targeting of civilians” by “Russian-backed rebels” passed…Kate Scanlon -
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Ukraine Conflict Feeds Black Market of Military Weapons
KYIV, Ukraine—When Maxim Masur deployed to the front lines of the Ukraine conflict last June with the Aydar Battalion, his unit only had one assault rifle for every 10 men. “We had to take Kalashnikovs off of the dead enemy,” said Masur, 25, who served near the eastern Ukrainian town of Luhansk. “We had no…Nolan Peterson -
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Civilian Volunteer Battalion Prepares to Defend Ukraine’s Capital
KYIV, Ukraine—In an abandoned Soviet-era hospital on the outskirts of the city, a civilian volunteer battalion meets every weekend to prepare for a Russian invasion. The approximately 270 members of the 318th Kyiv Territorial Defense Battalion, which includes both men and women, range in age from 17 to 63, comprising students, lawyers, businessmen and former…Nolan Peterson -
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Why Ukraine Is a Mess and How It Got There
In Ukraine, the crisis is messy, the solutions elusive and the outlook bleak. That is the view of Eugene Rumer, a senior associate and director of the Russia and Eurasia program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Rumer spoke at The Heritage Foundation recently about his new book, “Conflict in Ukraine: The Unwinding of…Ben Smith -
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International Monitors: Ukraine Cease-Fire Holding but ‘On Thin Ice’
KYIV, Ukraine—As the Ukraine cease-fire goes into its second month, international monitors say the fragile truce is still holding despite daily fighting and growing distrust on both sides about pledges to pull heavy weapons from the front lines. Speaking to reporters here Thursday, Alexander Hug, deputy chief monitor of the Organization for Security and Cooperation…Nolan Peterson -
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Ukraine’s Grassroots Drone Program Takes Flight
KYIV, Ukraine—In the infield of a practice track outside this city’s Olympic Sports Complex, a motley group of college students and engineers from the Kyiv IT Academy gathered on a cold, cloudy day to showcase their latest achievement—a portable unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) system that can be unpacked from a suitcase and deployed in less…Nolan Peterson -
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Ukraine Showcases Captured Russian Military Hardware
Normally the square outside St. Michael’s Cathedral in central Kyiv is filled with sightseers taking photos of the famous golden-domed monastery while souvenir merchants hawk their goods. But this past week one of Kyiv’s most famous tourist spots was filled with evidence of the nearly year-old war in eastern Ukraine, including a Russian drone aircraft…Nolan Peterson -
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The Daily Signal Adds First Foreign Correspondent to Cover Ukraine Conflict
Nolan Peterson, a former special operations pilot and a combat veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, is joining The Daily Signal as the news organization’s first foreign correspondent. Peterson will be based in Ukraine to cover the conflict with Russia. Peterson joins a team committed to investigative and feature reporting and dedicated to covering the most…Rob Bluey -
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We Must Arm Ukraine. Here’s Why.
Yet another cease-fire agreement on Ukraine has been signed in Minsk. It went into effect Sunday amid low expectations of success. This is the second such agreement to come out of Minsk. The previous deal was signed in September, it collapsed almost immediately. There is precious little confidence that Minsk II will pan out any…Kim Holmes -
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How Can America Best Help Ukraine?
Should the U.S. send defensive weapons to the Ukrainian military? That question is currently consuming top policymakers in Washington, even as a renewed ceasefire agreement has been announced. Admittedly, this seems like a pressing issue, as Russian-backed separatists previously broke the September 2014 ceasefire agreement to seize additional territory in eastern Ukraine. Sending defensive weaponry…Matthew Rolfes -
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Ukrainians Are In for a Long Winter, and It’s Not Because of Russia
After a dramatic session that stretched into early Monday, Ukrainian lawmakers finally passed a budget bill amid concerns over its International Monetary Fund lending line and flat-lined economy. The bill takes modest but important steps to reduce energy subsidies and move toward a balanced budget. Advisors convinced the Ukrainian president that some short-term pain is…Ryan Olson -
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Russia Intimidating Religious Groups in Ukraine
Remember the KGB? According to Canada’s ambassador for religious freedom, Andrew Bennett, Russia is back to its old tricks of intimidation—specifically in Crimea and eastern Ukraine. Bennett says Russian security officials have been found sitting in the back of Kiev Patriarch Orthodox churches taking notes during liturgies with the goal of intimidating worshipers and the clergy. In…Genevieve Wood -
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Russia Propaganda Rises Again: Fake Maps Depict a Much Smaller Ukraine
Russian propaganda specialists, political technologists if you will, are flooding the Internet with redrawn maps of Ukraine, shrinking the country to half its actual size. On the new Russian maps, all that’s left of Ukraine is western Ukraine. Eastern Ukraine has been renamed Novorossiya (New Russia). The brain behind the Russian propaganda surge is former…Helle Dale -
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Only Russia Can Make Peace With Ukraine
Yesterday, hundreds of innocents from all over the world lost their lives in the skies over Ukraine. This horrible tragedy is a clear reminder of how very far from peace this part of the world remains. Only one capital can end the needless conflict. It’s not Washington. It’s Moscow. Before the downing of flight MH-17,…James Carafano -
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Russia Remains on Offense in Ukraine
The weak response by the U.S. and Europe to Russia’s illegal invasion and annexation of Crimea and continued machinations against the rest of Ukraine have invited continued aggression, which is coming to fruition. Today, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen revealed that Russia is building troops up again along the Ukrainian border: We now see…Daniel Kochis -
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Ukraine: Pro-Russian Forces Seizing Private Property
Thousands are fleeing the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine, ground zero in the ongoing armed conflict between the Ukrainian army and Russian and pro-Russian separatists. According to the United Nations, there are now 34,000 internally displaced persons in Ukraine, including many Crimean Tatars who already fled Russian-occupied Crimea. These refugees, forced to…Iryna Fedets -
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The Big Step Ukraine Must Take
The reforms demanded by the International Monetary Fund and European Union provide the best chance for Ukraine to overcome the legacy of socialism and corruption that have left its people impoverished and its economy the least free in Europe. Like any country populated with real people with diverse backgrounds, needs and skills, Ukraine’s political and…Terry Miller