RFE/RL in the Media
# Slate cites RFE/RL in coverage of video messages by Russian and Ukrainian students
# CNN, Reuters, International Business Times and Euronews broadcast RFE/RL's Current Time video from the Ukraine battlefield
Ukraine
# Kerry tells lawmakers he privately supports arming Ukraine
# Separatists say they've encircled Ukrainian troops in Debaltseve
# Is Mariupol the next big battle of the Ukraine war?
# "Why Arming Kiev Is a Really, Really Bad Idea" - Stephen Walt, Foreign Policy
Russia
# EU puts off sanctions and Obama holds off on weapons -- at least until Minsk talks
# More than 80 percent of Russians view the U.S. negatively
# NYT profiles Russian Central Bank head
# "The Long View With Russia" - Anne Applebaum, Washington Post
# "High Treason, a New Russian Low" - Masha Gessen, New York Times
Iraq/Syria
# At least 22 killed in suicide attacks in Baghdad
# Jordan's jails are a major IS recruiting ground
# IS member explains why he left group
# Traub: The U.S. can "do very little" to alter Middle East course right now
Iran
# The satirist who mocks Iran's ayatollahs
# Obama: Time for Iran to decide
# "Proceed With Caution on Iran Diplomacy" - David Ignatius, Washington Post
Afghanistan/Pakistan
# IS commander said to be killed in Afghanistan
# China taking on outsize roll in Afghanistan
# A Saudi prince's controversial hunting trip in Pakistan
Central Asia
# Historical sites recall Kazakhstan's Buddhist past
# Tajikistan's "last prophet" faces jail
# UN rapporteur slams Kazakhstan on rights