On August 24, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko attended a naval parade in the Black Sea port city of Odesa (UNIAN, August 24). In his remarks that day, President Poroshenko argued that “technical re-equipment” as well as “true Ukrainian patriotic morale” were necessary for the Navy’s... MORE

The proclamation of the Islamic State on the territory under the control of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s armed groups in Syria and Iraq illuminates the degree of radicalization of young Muslims who live in Russia and European countries. Since the Islamic State was proclaimed (ng.ru, July... MORE

Russian President Vladimir Putin has Ukraine cornered on the battlefield and in diplomatic negotiations at this moment (see accompanying article). On September 3, Putin proposed a seven-point ceasefire plan to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, under the duress of Russian and proxy military advances in Ukraine’s... MORE

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and the Donetsk and Luhansk “people’s republics” have issued parallel announcements today (September 4) about their mutual willingness to sign a ceasefire agreement tomorrow (September 5), subject to certain conditions that seem to be at hand. Russian President Vladimir Putin seems... MORE

After a largely bloodless routing of Russia-backed separatist rebels in Ukraine’s southeastern industrial port city of Mariupol in June, a combined force of regular and volunteer Ukrainian military units has been steadily pressing an offensive to crush the rebellion and regain control over the entire... MORE

On August 26, the 3 + 1 + 1 summit devoted to the crisis in Ukraine took place in Minsk. Presidents of Ukraine, Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, as well as three European Commissioners attended the summit. While nobody expected a breakthrough regarding the war in... MORE

On August 24, the Russian-occupied Georgian region of Abkhazia held early presidential elections. Opposition leader Raul Khajimba, who helped to unseat the former “president,” Alexander Ankvab, following the May–June 2014 popular protests (see EDM, June 12), narrowly won with 50.57 percent of the total votes... MORE

On August 16, Rasul Gamzatov, the deputy mufti of North Ossetia and the imam of the Vladikavkaz mosque, was shot dead at the entrance of his apartment building. The murder, which took place shortly before midnight, was carried out by two unidentified young men who... MORE

The summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) that opens in the Welsh Celtic Manor resort tomorrow (September 4) will feature the Ukraine crisis as an agenda item of top priority and extreme urgency. Only a week ago, this crisis appeared manageable as Russian... MORE

On August 18, the Ekho Kavkaza news service published an interview with two Ossetian militants who are fighting on the Russian side in Ukraine. The militants preferred to be identified by their nicknames—Mamai and Volk (Wolf). They were interviewed at a café on the mountain... MORE