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Also see: Russia; Petro Poroshenko; Volodymyr Zelensky; Ukraine-Bidens; Impeachment;
Jump to: 2016; 2017; 2018; 2019; 2020;
-- 2014 --
May 1: A few days before Easter, the Russian news site Lenta ran a fascinating slideshow with pictures of pro-Russian militiamen and their supporters in eastern Ukraine.
Two things immediately strike the viewer.
The first is the professional nature of the bearing and equipment of the so-called "self-defence" militias that have seized government buildings in the self-proclaimed "People's Republic of Donetsk". As NATO has itself concluded, these disciplined and clearly physically fit men equipped with the same automatic weapons, fatigues, helmets and knee pads, must be Russian forces.
We're clearly witnessing an undeclared Russian invasion of Ukraine's Donbass region, whose factories once played an integral part in the Soviet Union's arms industry and still supply the Russian armed forces with vital components. The broad Soviet-era avenues and ubiquitous monuments to Lenin in its cities - Kharkov, Donetsk, Lugansk - display the strength of Soviet nostalgia in the region.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-05-01/dal-santo-russias-holy-soviet-empire-in-eastern-ukraine/5422946
-- 2016 --
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July 31:
Trump says Putin has made incursions in Ukraine because of President Obama.
August 15: Secret Ledger in Ukraine Lists Cash for Donald Trump’s Campaign Chief
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/15/us/politics/paul-manafort-ukraine-donald-trump.html
December 23: Trump to supply Ukrainian military with weapons
US president reverses Obama-era policy in move Russia warns threatens the peace process
https://www.ft.com/content/b872e268-e7ea-11e7-bd17-521324c81e23
-- 2017 --
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January 11: Ukrainian efforts to sabotage Trump backfire
Kiev officials are scrambling to make amends with the president-elect after quietly working to boost Clinton.
Donald Trump wasn’t the only presidential candidate whose campaign was boosted by officials of a former Soviet bloc country.
Ukrainian government officials tried to help Hillary Clinton and undermine Trump by publicly questioning his fitness for office. They also disseminated documents implicating a top Trump aide in corruption and suggested they were investigating the matter, only to back away after the election. And they helped Clinton’s allies research damaging information on Trump and his advisers, a Politico investigation found.
A Ukrainian-American operative who was consulting for the Democratic National Committee met with top officials in the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington in an effort to expose ties between Trump, top campaign aide Paul Manafort and Russia, according to people with direct knowledge of the situation.
https://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/ukraine-sabotage-trump-backfire-233446
December 19: Why did Donald Trump’s national security adviser want to meet with a Ukrainian billionaire?
Ukrainian steel magnate Victor Pinchuk’s foundation had previously paid John Bolton six figures for speaking engagements.
An aide to National Security Adviser John Bolton sought to
schedule a meeting for him with a Ukrainian billionaire Victor Pinchuk during Bolton’s official trip to Ukraine last August, according to new disclosure filings reviewed by the Center for Public Integrity.
The August meeting ultimately did not take place, and it’s unclear why Bolton’s aide sought it.
But Bolton and Pinchuk have financial ties dating to before Bolton joined the Trump administration: Pinchuk’s foundation had paid Bolton a combined $115,000 for his participation in two panel discussions — one during September 2017 and the other in February 2018, according to Bolton’s federal personal financial disclosure. Both panel discussions took place before President Donald Trump in April appointed Bolton as his national security adviser.
https://publicintegrity.org/federal-politics/why-did-donald-trumps-national-security-adviser-want-to-meet-with-a-ukrainian-billionaire/
December 26: Trump defies Putin with arms to Ukraine
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/ct-edit-ukraine-20171226-story.html
-- 2018 --
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May 23: Ukraine’s Successful Courtship of Trump
Trump was convinced to sell lethal weapons to Ukraine thanks in part to a savvy charm offensive from Kiev—but the deal may be more bark than bite.
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/05/ukraines-successful-courtship-of-trump/559526/
November 26: Trump on Ukraine-Russia conflict: 'We don't like what's happening either way'
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/418296-trump-hopefully-ukraine-russia-tensions-will-be-straightened-out
November 26: Canada condemns 'Russian aggression' toward Ukraine amid Black Sea standoff. Trump threatens NATO.
https://theweek.com/speedreads/809267/canada-condemns-russian-aggression-toward-ukraine-amid-black-sea-standoff-trump-threatens-nato
November 27: Trump refuses to condemn Russian aggression against Ukraine
https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/26/politics/russia-ukraine-trump-silence/index.html
November 27: In interview, Ukrainian president asks Trump to deliver pointed message to Putin
Petro Poroshenko warned Russia would "pay a huge price" if they invaded Ukraine
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/interview-ukrainian-president-asks-trump-deliver-pointed-message-putin-n940716
November 28: Putin tests Trump mettle with military attack on Ukraine ships
https://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/trudy_rubin/trump-putin-g20-ukraine-russia-20181128.html
November 28: Trump briefed on Ukraine as he ponders putting off Putin meeting
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-crisis-russia-trump/trump-briefed-on-ukraine-as-he-ponders-putting-off-putin-meeting-idUSKCN1NX25E
November 29: Trump's mockery of Obama for his response to Crimea backfires with a new Ukraine crisis
https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-mocking-obama-over-crimea-backfires-russia-ukraine-crisis-2018-11
November 29: President Donald Trump tweeted Thursday, on his way to the G-20 summit in Argentina, that he was canceling his planned meeting there with Russian President Vladimir Putin over Russia's standoff with Ukraine.
In tweets sent from aboard Air Force One, Trump said he was doing so because Russia had not returned the Ukrainian boats and sailors it seized after accusing them of illegally entering Russian waters near Crimea.
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-cancels-meeting-putin-ukraine/story?id=59495912
-- 2019 --
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January 10: Mueller investigating Ukrainian presence at Trump inaugural
Investigators are reportedly looking into evidence that at least some of the Ukrainians held agendas that aligned with Russian interests, including some who sought to ease sanctions on Moscow and pitch a peace plan between Russia and the Ukraine.
The news outlet reported that federal prosecutors have interviewed witnesses about how the Ukrainians gained access to inaugural events and what they discussed during meetings while in the U.S.
At least a dozen Ukrainians attended the inauguration, including several who were at the official Liberty Ball, The Times reported. The officials also stopped by the Trump International Hotel and brushed with congressional Republicans and Trump allies, the news outlet said.
February 14: Russia has 'grand designs' on European domination, Mike Pompeo says
Because of Russia's ongoing involvement in Ukraine, the US and others take seriously the possibility that Moscow may try to open a new front along Europe's eastern flank, Mr Pompeo said.
He said that threat underscored the indispensable nature of NATO, a cornerstone of US foreign policy for the past 70 years.
But the organisation has been subject to harsh criticism by President Donald Trump, who has cast some signatories as freeloaders unwilling to foot the bill for their own defence.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-14/mike-pompeo-says-russia-has-grand-designs-of-european-domination/10810066
April 22: Ukrainian comedian Volodymyr Zelensky has scored a landslide victory in the country's presidential election.
With nearly all ballots counted in the run-off vote, Mr Zelensky had taken more than 73% with incumbent Petro Poroshenko trailing far behind on 24%.
"I will never let you down," Mr Zelensky told celebrating supporters.
Russia says it wants him to show "sound judgement", "honesty" and "pragmatism" so that relations can improve. Russia backs separatists in eastern Ukraine.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-48007487
May 16: Before he was elected president of Ukraine last month, Volodymyr Zelensky played a president in a comedy show on television. The owner of that television station, Ihor Kolomoisky, returned on Thursday from self-imposed exile, raising fears that he may now ask the real president to return some favors.
Under the departing president, Petro O. Poroshenko, the Ukrainian government had nationalized a bank co-owned by Mr. Kolomoisky and accused him of siphoning off millions of dollars in fraudulent loans.
The Ukrainian government took over the bank, PrivatBank, in the course of a $5.6 billion bailout at a time when lending by the International Monetary Fund, the European Union and the United States was propping up the government.
While the bailout was seen as necessary, the extraordinary cost of what the Ukrainian central bank called Mr. Kolomoisky’s mismanagement became Exhibit A for Western governments in the risk of financially supporting Ukraine despite widespread corruption.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/16/world/europe/ukraine-zelensky-kolomoisky.html
-- 2020 --
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