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Program Summary: Jan. 23, 2015

Yesterday's seizure of the Donestk airport by the secessionist rebels was a reluctant victory, but will this enforce another tentative cease fire? The Economist magazine reports 24 Jan. 2015: "Defending the airport was the Ukrainian army’s only triumph. Its fall may produce a despair similar to that seen after last August’s crushing defeat at Ilovaisk. And if the rebels can capture nearby towns, the airport may be used to to resupply them. Ukraine has beefed up its army: another 50,000 citizens will be mobilised this year. Yet the army is far from ready to recapture lost territory, says Oleksiy Melnyk, an analyst at the Razumkov Centre in Kiev. The Kremlin may now use military pressure to seek a more favourable peace deal." An earlier story in the Guardian has Ukraine again seeking financial aid from EU and IMF sources, i.e., the central bankers. "Ukraine has asked the IMF for a new extended fund facility, or EFF. It would replace its existing $17bn standby facility, which is at least $15bn short of what Kiev needs. Ukraine’s government bonds have slumped in value in recent weeks, on anticipation that it will default.”  Read, see, listen on "The Role of Russia and NATO in Ukraine's Civil War" courtesy The Real News.