President Poroshenko’s appearance at the NATO Summit in Wales over the weekend came at a critical moment for the Ukrainian state. With increasingly overt Russian backing, the separatists in the east of the country have made significant gains over the last two weeks, opening a new front along the Black
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Ukraine
Cutting the Salami with Putin
By Allan Topol on
Posted in International Strategy, Russia
For companies doing business in Russia and following with concern the possibility of further sanctions, next week will be critical. On August 26, senior EU officials will be gathering in Minsk, Belarus. It is likely that Russian President Putin will also be meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart, Poroshenko, for the…
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A Critical Point for Ukraine
By Jonathan Gimblett & Allan Topol on
Posted in International Strategy, Russia
The stand-off between Kiev and Moscow over Russia’s offer of humanitarian aid for civilians caught in the besieged cities of Donetsk and Luhansk is the latest episode in a slow-burning crisis that continues to threaten to erupt into a broader conflict. The Ukrainian government is understandably wary of allowing onto…
Will Anyone Act Against Putin?
By Allan Topol on
Posted in International Strategy, Russia
A myriad of investigators have descended upon Ukraine ostensibly to find out what happened to the downed Malaysian plane. But much is already plain: pro-Russian separatists, trained by Russia and utilizing Russian supplied antiaircraft weapons, mistakenly believed they were aiming at a Ukraine military aircraft.
Separatists had shot down a…
New Sanctions Targeting Russian Financial and Energy Sectors
By Kimberly Strosnider on
Posted in International Strategy, Russia
On July 16, 2014, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) imposed an additional wave of sanctions against Russian entities in the financial, energy, and defense sectors. OFAC established a new Sectoral Sanctions Identifications List (the “SSI List”), which identifies two Russian financial institutions and two Russian…
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G7 Leaders* Tackle Growth, Stability and Tax Bases; Warn Absent Russia
By Covington Team on
G7 leaders met last week for the first-time ever in Brussels, and for the first time since 1998 without Russia. They gave Russia a strong warning and then proceeded to make substantive headway without them on international tax, energy, trade and investment, security and development issues in ways that directly…
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Further Russia Sanctions
By Stuart E. Eizenstat on
For companies concerned about further Russia sanctions, May 25 is critical. That is the date of elections in Ukraine. If those elections do not take place or if they are disrupted in the eastern part of the country, it is likely the United States would impose much stronger sanctions.