“And you who were already conquered in your greatest victories

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Barack Obama, Crimea, Deutschland, European Union, France, Germany, History, human rights, International Law, NATO, Russia, sanctions, self-defense, State Department, State Department Legal Adviser, U.N. Charter, U.S. Military, Ukraine, United States, use of force, Vladimir Putin September 13, 2014

Putin’s response to new sanctions: (1) New invasion of Donbas with white truck convoy, entering without authorization or inspection; and (2) Renewed fighting (artillery and rockets) in Donetsk

Putin Escalates Crisis in Response to New Sanctions Russian President Vladimir Putin has reacted true to form, in response to the entry into force of…

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Deutschland, European Union, France, Germany, human rights, International Law, Justice Department, NATO, Russia, sanctions, self-defense, State Department, State Department Legal Adviser, U.N. Charter, U.S Foreign Relations, Ukraine, United States, use of force, Vladimir Putin September 12, 2014

Full text of new EU sanctions against Russia (September 8, 2014)

Developing See “New EU sanctions hit Russia,” EU Business, 12 September 2014 (11:10 CET). The full text of the new EU sanctions against Russia because…

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Crimea, Deutschland, European Union, France, Germany, human rights, International Law, NATO, Russia, sanctions, State Department, U.N. Charter, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, use of force September 10, 2014

TWO VASTLY DIFFERENT OUTCOMES — Conditions for lifting the new EU sanctions (once in force): (1) Ceasefire holds; or (2) All steps in Minsk Protocol on ceasefire and peace process completed

Much has been at stake in the battle within the EU over whether the new sanctions against Russia (agreed on September 5) should now enter…

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Barack Obama, Crimea, Deutschland, European Union, France, Germany, International Law, NATO, Russia, sanctions, self-defense, U.N. Charter, U.S. Military, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, use of force, Vladimir Putin September 9, 2014

Putin wins again? UE sanctions decision of September 5 appears to fall apart; Future of Minsk Protocol peace process in doubt

  See Editorial, “Making Mr. Putin feel the heat of sanctions,” Washington Post, September 9, 2014 (8:07 p.m. ET). The Achievement Represented by the Signing…

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Barack Obama, Crimea, Deutschland, European Union, France, Germany, International Law, NATO, Russia, sanctions, syria, U.N. Charter, U.S. Military, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, use of force, Vladimir Putin September 9, 2014

Inside Putin’s Brain—Part III: The Principle of “I make believe, you make believe”, the EU’s New Sanctions, and the Minsk Protocol — with Putin’s (imagined) annotations on full text (in English)

In warfare, as in diplomacy, it is important to try to put yourself in the shoes of your adversary, to try to understand what is…

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Barack Obama, Crimea, Deutschland, European Union, France, Germany, International Law, Justice Department, Russia, sanctions, self-defense, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, use of force, Vladimir Putin September 8, 2014

Finland blocks entry into force of EU sanctions, gravely threatening prospects for peace in Ukraine

UPDATE (September 10, 2014) “Trotz Beschluss gegen Russland: EU drückt sich vor Sanktionen; Die Europäische Union zögert die angekündigten Strafmaßnahmen gegen Russland im Ukraine-Konflikt weiter…

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Barack Obama, Crimea, Deutschland, European Union, France, Germany, International Law, Justice Department, NATO, Russia, sanctions, self-defense, State Department, State Department Legal Adviser, U.N. Charter, Ukraine, United States, use of force, Vladimir Putin September 8, 2014

Pacifists and appeasers in EU delay entry into force of new sanctions, undermining hard actions which produced Minsk ceasefire and peace process agreement

Latest News and Opinion See (1) “Sanktionen in der Ukraine-Krise: EU lässt Moskau noch einige Tage,” Der Spiegel, 8. September 2014 (2153 Uhr). Sie sind…

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Barack Obama, Deutschland, European Union, Germany, International Law, NATO, Russia, sanctions, self-defense, State Department, U.N. Charter, U.S. Military, Ukraine, United States, use of force, Vladimir Putin September 5, 2014

Terms of Minsk ceasefire agreement described; NATO decisions and new U.S. and EU sactions—if not sidelined at last moment—suggest toughening stance toward Putin

Developing Neil MacFarquhar of the New York times has provided an excellent summary of the terms of the ceasefire agreement reached in Minsk today, in…

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Barack Obama, Crimea, Deutschland, European Union, France, Germany, International Law, Qatar, Russia, sanctions, Saudi Arabia, self-defense, State Department, syria, U.N. Charter, United Kingdom, United States, use of force, Vladimir Putin September 5, 2014

Barack Obama’s phantasmagoric world, where the choice of words defines reality

phantasmagoria /ˌfæntæzməˈɡɔːrɪə/, phantasmagory /fænˈtæzməɡərɪ/ n 1. a shifting medley of real or imagined figures, as in a dream 2. a sequence of pictures made to…

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Barack Obama, Crimea, Deutschland, European Union, Germany, human rights, International Law, Russia, sanctions, self-defense, State Department, syria, U.N. Charter, U.N. Security Council, Ukraine, United States, use of force, Vladimir Putin September 3, 2014

Inside Putin’s Brain: Musings on the Ukraine and what is going on inside his head — Part II

For analysis of Putin’s 7-point ceasefire proposal, EU sanctions decisions, and NATO decisions to be taken in the next few days, see “Putin seeks to…

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Barack Obama, Crimea, Deutschland, European Union, foreign news coverage, France, Germany, History, human rights, International Law, NATO, Russia, sanctions, self-defense, State Department, State Department Legal Adviser, U.N. Charter, U.S. Military, Ukraine, United States, use of force, Vladimir Putin September 3, 2014

Putin seeks to divide EU to avoid sanctions with Ukraine “cease-fire” proposal; Russian words should be ignored, harsh EU sanctions and hard NATO decisions adopted

Each act of apeasement dishonors those who fought for, and in many cases died for, the freedoms which we now enjoy. For late news and…

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Deutschland, European Union, France, Germany, International Law, NATO, Russia, sanctions, self-defense, U.N. Charter, U.N. Security Council, Ukraine, United States, use of force, Vladimir Putin August 30, 2014

Putin’s War: the Russian invasion by regular troops and the West’s response—critical decisions loom (Updated August 30, 2014)

Updated August 30, 2014 Originally published on August 28, 2014 A new round of third-stage (Stage 3) sanctions must be really biting, with immediate effect….