UCCA welcomes sanctions on Russia
The Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA), the largest grassroots representation of Americans of Ukrainian descent, welcomed the news that the Trump administration has imposed additional financial sanctions against Russia, both for its meddling in the 2016 U.S. elections, as well as for a crippling cyberattack leveled against Ukraine and other countries. On March 15, sanctions against hackers and spy agencies were placed on five entities and 19 individuals whose cyberattacks have been characterized by U.S. government officials as the “most destructive and costly” in history. Although the administration missed the congressionally mandated deadline by some 90 days, the UCCA on March 16 welcomed the development of newly imposed sanctions against Russia, having repeatedly called on this administration to implement sanctions against Russia through the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), passed by near unanimous vote in Congress last summer. The UCCA said it will continue to advocate for stronger – and sectoral – sanctions against the Russian Federation until it withdraws all of its covert and overt forces and equipment from Ukraine and de-occupies the sovereign territory of Ukraine, including Crimea. (UCCA)
FIFA panicking over boycott calls
FIFA, the international governing body of soccer, is deeply concerned over the growing calls to boycott the 2018 World Cup that is scheduled to be held in Russia on June 14-July 15. The organization formally remains silent, but in private conversations, some of its leaders acknowledge that the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury, England, has heightened tensions over the possible boycott. Spain’s Diario AS noted: “FIFA is very worried. Moreover, they are panicking.” The daily sports newspaper added that FIFA President Gianni Infantino “is not oblivious to what’s been happening, although he doesn’t show it.” Furthermore, Diario AS reported, “Nothing indicates that the tensions will subside. On the contrary, they aim to escalate, which puts the World Cup 2018 at risk,” reads the report. There is even a risk of a total boycott of the World Cup, as several countries have threatened to withdraw. British Prime Minister Teresa May confirmed that she would cancel all bilateral meetings with Russia’s top officials, as well as visits by members of the U.K. government and the royal family to the World Cup. The Foreign Office has also issued an alert to British fans planning to travel to Russia for the World Cup about possible anti-British sentiments and harassment threat during the tournament. British media reported that high-ranking officials from Japan and Australia could join the U.K. in boycotting the World Cup if Russia’s involvement in the Skripal poisoning is proved. (UNIAN)
Russia launches military exercises
Russian armed forces have launched large-scale military exercises in southern parts of the country and in occupied Crimea and the breakaway Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The exercises began on March 19, the day after Russia held its presidential election, which incumbent President Vladimir Putin won in a landslide. News agencies said around 8,000 troops were taking part in the drills, along with multiple rocket launchers, artillery systems and other weaponry. Since seizing the Black Sea peninsula in March 2014, Russia has moved to bolster its military presence in Crimea and has held multiple joint exercises with the Southern Military District. Russian forces also maintain a presence in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, two breakaway Georgian regions that Moscow recognized as independent countries after a five-day war against Tbilisi in 2008. (RFE/RL, with reporting by Interfax)
NATO says it will defend all allies
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says the West is not looking to start a new Cold War or an arms race with Russia, but he reiterated that the military alliance will defend “all allies against any threat.” As he presented NATO’s annual report on March 15, He noted: “We do not want a new Cold War,” adding, “And we do not want to be dragged into a new arms race. …It is expensive, it is risky, it is in nobody’s interest. But let there be no doubt. NATO will defend all allies against any threat.” Mr. Stoltenberg’s comments come as tensions between the West and Russia surge to new heights in the face of allegations that Moscow was behind a nerve-agent attack against a former Russian intelligence officer and his daughter in the British city of Salisbury. Britain says the chemical used in the attempted murder was identified as part of a group of nerve agents developed by the Soviet military known as Novichok. The leaders of France, Germany, the United States and Britain on March 15 issued a statement saying that Russian responsibility is the “only plausible explanation” for the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia. The statement called the attack an assault on British sovereignty and “a breach of international law.” The NATO chief said alliance officials had been briefed by British national security leaders and “we have no reason to doubt the findings and the assessment made by the United Kingdom.” Mr. Stoltenberg said that Britain could count on “NATO’s solidarity,” although he added that the country has not sought to activate NATO’s mutual-defense clause, Article 5, which requires all members to come to the aid of any other member under attack. “All allies agree that the attack was a clear breach of international norms and agreements. This is unacceptable. It has no place in a civilized world,” he said. He added that the North Atlantic Council addressed “this horrific incident” and that the allies called on Russia to answer Britain’s questions. Mr. Stoltenberg said the Salisbury attack has taken place against the backdrop of a “reckless pattern” of Russian behavior, citing “the illegal annexation of Crimea and military support to separatists in eastern Ukraine” and the Russian “military presence in Moldova and Georgia against these countries’ will.” He also referred to “meddling” in Montenegro and elsewhere in the Western Balkans and attempts to “subvert democratic elections and institutions.” The NATO chief also noted Moscow’s general military build-up “from the north of Europe to the Middle East.” (RFE/RL, with reporting by RFE/RL’s Rikard Jozwiak in Brussels)
Rada approves new chief of NBU
Ukraine’s Parliament has approved Yakiv Smoliy as the new chief of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU). After lawmakers approved his nomination on March 15, Mr. Smoliy vowed to continue reforms. “Our goal remains the same. First, to preserve financial stability. Second, to support economic development and integration of Ukraine’s financial system into the European one,” Mr. Smoliy told lawmakers. President Petro Poroshenko nominated Mr. Smoliy to run the bank in January, ending months of uncertainty over the highly politicized position. Mr. Poroshenko’s delay in putting forward a candidate following the resignation of former governor Valeria Hontareva last May caused concern among Ukraine’s backers, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Ms. Hontareva’s efforts to clean up Ukraine’s financial sector irked wealthy oligarchs who critics say have treated the country’s banks like their private coffers. Ms. Hontareva also came under fire from some ordinary Ukrainians who blamed her for losses they suffered after she was appointed to follow the IMF advice to partially abandon state support for the hryvnia. (RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service, with reporting by Reuters)
Protesters demand Poroshenko’s resignation
Supporters of opposition politician Mikheil Saakashvili demonstrated in Kyiv on March 18 to demand the resignation of President Petro Poroshenko. Hundreds of people gathered in the Ukrainian capital in Independence Square, the epicenter of the Euro-Maidan protests that drove a Moscow-friendly president from power four years ago. Activists dismantled parts of an exhibit dedicated to Russia’s illegal seizure of Crimea, which protesters claim authorities recently erected in order to block their antigovernment rallies. Security was tightened, with several buses with police parked nearby. No incidents between police and protesters were reported, though the Ukrainian Internal Affairs Ministry said that two people had been detained in connection with the dismantling of the installation. “In order not to escalate the situation, the police did not interfere, but recorded the actions of those who did it,” the ministry’s press service said in a statement posted on Facebook. Later on March 18, several dozen protesters picketed outside Mr. Poroshenko’s residence in the village of Kozin, near Kyiv. Activists said that some of the protesters were blocked by law enforcement officers. (RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service, with reporting by UNIAN)
Russian voters blocked from casting ballots
Russian voters in Ukraine were blocked from casting their ballots in Russia’s presidential election on March 18, as Ukrainian authorities stepped up security outside diplomatic facilities and nationalists staged anti-Moscow protests. Two days prior to the election, in which President Vladimir Putin was heading for a landslide win, Ukrainian authorities announced that only Russian diplomats in Ukraine would be allowed to cast ballots at Russian diplomatic missions. The move came in retaliation for Russia’s annexation of Crimea, which on March 18 voted in a presidential election for the first time since it was taken over in 2014. Ukrainian police on March 18 guarded the Russian Embassy in Kyiv and consular offices in Odesa, Lviv and Kharkiv, while groups protested the election at Russian diplomatic compounds. Members of Ukrainian nationalist groups gathered on a street near the Russian Embassy in Kyiv, having previously pledged to prevent Russians from voting in the election on Ukrainian territory. In Kharkiv, Russian nationals came to their Consulate in that eastern Ukrainian city but said they were not able to vote. Russia accused Ukraine of violating international norms. “It is an open interference into the purely domestic affairs of the Russian Federation, which can entail escalation of tension in the already strained bilateral relations,” the Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a statement quoted by TASS on March 18. Ukraine’s National Police said that there were no major disruptions of public order in the country on March 18. Millions of ethnic Russians live in Ukraine, but it is unclear how many are registered to vote in Russia. France has voiced opposition to the Russian presidential voting in Crimea. “Challenging borders by force is contrary to international law, including commitments made by the Russian Federation,” the French Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a statement on March 18. “Four years after the illegal annexation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and [the city of] Sevastopol, France remains firmly attached to the full restoration of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within internationally recognized borders,” the French statement said. (RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service, with reporting by TASS, AP, AFP and Gazeta.ru)