Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

MOLDOVA  EU Parliament OKs Moldova Pact  The European Parliament has ratified Moldova's political and trade agreement with the European Union. More   UKRAINE  German Minister Visits Kyiv, Moscow  German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier flew from Kyiv to Moscow and met with his Russian counterpart during the evening of November 18. More   NATO Sees Ukraine Buildup, Urges Russia Pullback  NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says there has been a "serious military buildup" both in conflict-torn eastern Ukraine and on the Russian side of the border, and he has urged Moscow to pull back its forces. More   Live Blog: Ukraine In Crisis  More   In Ukraine, Grief, Pride, And Anger As Families Remember Euromaidan Dead  As Ukraine prepares to mark one year since the Euromaidan revolt broke out in Kyiv, the anniversary is stirring up painful memories for families of those killed during the protests. More   From Student Protests To War Zones  At 21, Simon Panek led student protests against the communists in Prague. After the revolution, Panek set up People In Need, providing aid and supporting human rights from the Balkans to Ukraine and beyond. Just as Czechs benefited from outside support during communism, now they provide it. More   Poroshenko: Ukraine 'Ready For Total War'  Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said his country is "prepared for total war," as fighting between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists continues around the rebel-held city of Donetsk. More   MH17 Wreckage Recovery Begins  Dutch authorities said recovery workers in rebel-controlled eastern Ukraine began to collect debris from the crash site of Malaysia Airlines flight on November 16, four months after the plane was brought down. More   Criticized Over Ukraine's Crisis, Putin Leaves G20 Summit Early  President Barack Obama plans to meet with European leaders on November 16 to discuss Russia’s military intervention in eastern Ukraine, where officials say the security situation is worsening. More   Interview: Ukrainian 'Cyborg' Describes Nine Days Defending Donetsk Airport RFE/RL's Ukraine Service caught up with Serhiy Halyan, one of the Ukrainian troops -- admiringly dubbed "cyborgs" for their staunch defense of the international airport on the war-torn outskirts of Donetsk -- who survived a surreal nine days at the airport and whose father is a Russian army colonel. More   Russian 'Aggression' Center Stage At G20  Russia’s role in Ukraine’s crisis was taking center stage at the start of the G20 summit in Brisbane, Australia as leaders gathered on November 15 for the two-day event. More   Under Fire In Ukraine, OSCE Questions Its Worth  Since March, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe has maintained a special monitoring mission in Ukraine. In July, it added a second mission along the Russian side of the border. But with Ukrainian anger rising over the OSCE's role, the Vienna-based agency appears to be doing some soul-searching. More   Russia Denies Ukraine Presence  Ukraine's military and pro-Russian separatists have reported new casualties amid growing fears of an escalation of the conflict that has shattered ties between Moscow and the West, while Russia firmly denies it has any soldiers in eastern Ukraine. More   OSCE Defends Ukraine Mission  The OSCE defended the presence of Russian staff on its Ukraine monitoring mission on November 12. A spokesman said OSCE staff were loyal to the organization rather than their individual countries. Ukraine and Western governments have accused Russia of backing separatists, which Russia denies. More   Full Transcript: Interview With New EU Enlargement Chief Hahn  In an exclusive interview with RFE/RL, the EU's new neighborhood and enlargement negotiation commissioner, Johannes Hahn, speaks about his view on the latest developments in Ukraine, the future of the Eastern Partnership and his approach to Belarus and Azerbaijan. In his first extended appearance for international media he also set out his strategy for Western Balkan countries such as Serbia, Bosnia, and Macedonia. More   OSCE: Escalation Risk Rising In Ukraine  The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) says the risk of an escalation in violence in conflict-wracked eastern Ukraine is "rising." More   News Analysis: What's Behind The Resurgence Of Fighting In Eastern Ukraine?  With new convoys of heavy military equipment arriving in separatist-held eastern Ukraine from Russia and a significant uptick in fighting, the Minsk conflict-resolution process in Ukraine seems stymied. Has the conflict entered a new, more dangerous phase? More   Russian Gangs Of New York  "Things have gotten more boring," says Alexandre Grant, the man who has chronicled the rise and fall of Russian-speaking gangsters in New York City for more than two decades. More