Gazprom and the Turkish government signed a protocol, on May 26, on building another section of the Turk Stream pipeline that will deliver Russian natural gas to Turkey and Europe (Gazprom.com, May 26). Moreover, the Russian gas giant and the Turkish pipeline company BOTAŞ agreed to establish a joint venture to... MORE

In the last two weeks of May, Moscow has quietly shifted five naval vessels from the Caspian Flotilla to the Sea of Azov, a move the Russian authorities have cast as a step needed to defend against a Ukrainian attack on occupied Crimea. But both... MORE

The defense correspondent and fierce Kremlin critic Arkady Babchenko (41) was reported shot dead, on the evening of May 29, by an unidentified killer on the doorstep of his apartment in Kyiv. The news provoked an outpouring of grief and sympathy from many journalists, friends,... MORE

Last month (April 2018), Ukrainian Deputy Infrastructure Minister Yury Lavrenyuk appealed to the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine to prohibit Russian vessels from entering Ukraine’s domestic waterways because of the high terrorist threat level they allegedly pose (Mtu.gov.ua, April 23). The Russian reaction... MORE

Dry and sunny summer weather in the southern wooded and steppe reaches of the Russian-Ukrainian border means trouble and potential military escalation as the land dries up after the spring thaw. Vehicles may again move freely through dirt roads and fields, while aircraft pilots are... MORE

On May 18, Moscow released a navigation alert (NAVAREA 0423/18—reprinted by the Ukrainian government as coastal warning PRIP 173) for a section of the Sea of Azov, cautioning that Russian naval training exercises would make the area dangerous for maritime passage from 0500 to 1700... MORE

The Ukrainian government will resume its privatization campaign in October, the acting head of the local privatization body, the State Property Fund, Vitaly Trubarov, announced on May 10. Speaking after a meeting of the cabinet of Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman, which discussed privatization, Trubarov said... MORE

Vladimir Putin started his fourth term as Russia’s president by promising ambitious new social programs (Kremlin.ru, May 7). He may be able to deliver on these promises because the price of petroleum, one of the mainstays of Russia’s state budget, has risen steadily. A barrel... MORE

The next major battle between Russian aggressors and Ukrainian defenders may take place not in Donbas but on the waters of the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait, a development that could prove even more dangerous to regional stability than earlier Russian acts of... MORE

In response to Moscow’s threat to bottle up Ukrainian shipping within the shared Azov Sea, the Ukrainian government is currently considering a plan to block Russia’s use of the Danube River. Ukraine’s infrastructure ministry has proposed closing to all Russian shipping the canal in the... MORE