News

Latest news, headlines and top stories you need to know RIGHT NOW about Russia, the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.

State Department Silent Regarding U.S. Citizen Detained In Ukraine

According to a press release from the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), American columnist and YouTuber Gonzalo Lira was arrested at the beginning of May in Ukraine because he allegedly “publicly justified” the Russian invasion of the country. While the press release notes that Lira “has the citizenship of one of the countries of Latin America,” it completely neglects to mention that Lira is also a U.S. citizen, having been born in California.

Read more

Poland And Norway Join List Of NATO Countries In Support Of Training Ukrainian Pilots For Fighter Jets

Poland and Norway have joined the ever-expanding faction of NATO countries that are willing to begin training Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets. The countries’ willingness comes after President Joe Biden gave his approval at last week’s G7 summit in Japan for Europeans to send Western fighters to Ukraine. The policy change occurred after months of debate inside the administration.

Read more

Ukrainian Militants Used American Vehicles In Cross-Border Attack Inside Russia

On Monday, the U.S. State Department took immediate steps to distance Washington from a cross-border attack in Russia’s Belgorod region by Ukrainian-aligned individuals that occurred over the weekend. “We have made very clear to the Ukrainians that we don’t enable or encourage attacks outside Ukrainian’s borders,” the State Department commented before adding that it is “up to Ukraine to decide how they want to conduct their military operations.”

Read more