Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- February 3, 2017

Alan Cullison, WSJ: Renewed Fighting in Eastern Ukraine Presents Challenge for Trump’s Plans With Russia

U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley’s condemnation of Russian aggression in Ukraine contrasts with President Trump’s overtures towards Vladimir Putin for warmer relations

KIEV, Ukraine—A reprise in deadly fighting between Moscow-backed separatists and government troops in eastern Ukraine may provide the first major test for President Donald Trump’s plans to warm relations with Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

Artillery fire from separatist strongholds has killed at least 13 Ukrainian soldiers since last weekend in some of the most intense fighting since the outbreak of hostilities in 2014, a Ukrainian military spokesman said Friday.

More than 70 soldiers have been wounded and thousands of civilians have been displaced around the industrial city of Avdiyivka, where some 17,000 people, including 2,500 children, have been left without heat, water or electricity.

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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- February 3, 2017

The United States abandons Ukraine -- Maxim Eristavi, Washington Post

Ukraine's Donbass Drifts into 'Alternative Peace' -- Oliver Carroll, Moscow Times

Will Ukraine Build a Wall to Keep Out the Russians? -- Anna Nemtsova, Daily Beast

Watch Libya for the First Sign of

Trump-Putin Collaboration -- Leonid Bershidsky, Bloomberg

Trump's belligerence towards Iran plays into the hands of Tehran's hardliners -- Saeed Kamali Dehghan, The Guardian

A Way Forward for Trump’s Mixed Nuclear Message -- James Doyle, National Interest

This Is What Unilateralism Looks Like -- Max Boot, Commentary

A Sustainable Security Strategy for Afghanistan -- Nicholas R. Morrow, The Cipher Brief

How is China feeding its population of 1.4 billion? -- CSIS

Will the Next Arab Revolt Be in Algeria? -- Benjamin Weinthal, NRO

As Venezuela crumbles, the regime digs in -- The Economist

Trump, Europe, And The Quest to Save NATO -- Colin Dueck, War on the Rocks

Farage: The European Union Is "Terrified" Of Donald Trump -- Tim Haines, RCW

Clock ticking in Romanian corruption showdown -- Vlad Odobescu and Michael Bird, Politico

Tectonic Shift in the German Election: Meet the Man Who Will Challenge Merkel -- Spiegel Online

Who's still afraid of the secret police? East Germans shy away from Stasi files -- Elizabeth Schumacher, DW

Why Haspel Makes Sense as the Deputy CIA Director -- Michael Morell, The Cipher Brief