The Rundown

# ThinkProgress cites Vladimir Abarinov's report on forced prison labor in Russia

# Independent cites Joanna Paraszczuk's report on disgruntled would-be suicide bombers

# How a possible Russian fib made it into Newsweek

# Russia digging ditches to halt inflow of arms and men from Ukraine

# Two Russian officials call on women to work fewer hours to handle domestic issues

# Russia begins huge surprise air force drill on same day as NATO starts Arctic training

# Dnipro soccer club brings something to celebrate to eastern Ukraine

# Video: One beautiful family in Pisky, where the conflict never stopped

# Heavy rocket launchers spotted moving towards Ukraine's border

# McFaul takes subtle dig at Kerry over Crimea (Twitter)

# "Reading Lukashenka’s Belarus Without Illusions" - Wojciech Kononczuk and Rafal Sadowski, Carnegie

# Thousands of Kosovars mourn Albanian militants killed in Macedonia

# Balkan leaders wary of Macedonia crisis fallout

# Iraqi Shi'ite militias say they are in charge of the fight to take back Anbar

# Russia, Iran talks on S-300 missiles end in "success"

# To destroy IS start with "desired end state and work backwards"

# "Fall of Ramadi Betrays Obama Administration's 'Credibility Gap'" - Spencer Ackerman, Guardian

# Insurgents launch late night attack on Kabul guesthouse

# Afghanistan still riled up over spy deal with Pakistan

# "From U.S. Ally, to Prison, to Redemption in Afghanistan" - Shashank Bengali, LA Times

# "Why Pakistan is Friends With Everyone and Noone" - Paula Newberg, Reuters

# Lawmakers who traveled to Azerbaijan urged action benefiting state oil company that funded trip

# Remittances to Tajikistan likely to plunge 40 percent

# The YouTube whisperer and her 87 million views

# French employees may not get 10 weeks of vacation anymore (Financial Times)

# 60 percent of 13 to 34-year-old smartphone users in the U.S. are on Snapchat

# Mobile isn't killing the desktop

# Moscow Times reports on the RFE/RL Russian Service deleted interview with man who accused Putin of graft

# Reuters cites Rikard Jozwiak's interview with Donald Tusk

# Daily Mail covers Joanna Paraszczuk's report about militant complaining about unfairness in assigning of suicide bombing duties

# Russia booed at Eurovision, but comes close to winning song contest anyway

# EU and U.S. condemn Russian "undersirables" law signed by Putin; expected to boost media self-censorship

# While Russia grapples with HIV epidemic, Moscow’s addicts share their filthy needles

# Medvedev says Russia will adopt tough position if Ukraine defaults

# Amnesty says torture of prisoners on both sides of the conflict is rife

# Separatist commander assassinated in eastern Ukraine; his final days

# "Kyiv Can Save Donbas by Ditching Crimea" - Vladimir Frolov, Moscow Times

# The colonel in charge of countering Russian propaganda in Lithuania

Middle East

# As Taliban advances, Afghanistan reluctantly recruits militias

# Notes on a month spent embedded in Afghanistan

# NYT on the books that have come out of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars

# Pakistan backs Ghani as the Taliban splinters (meanwhile, Karzai meets Modi in India)

# Montenegro and Macedonia votes disqualified from Eurovision

# How Vladimir Putin created America's new hot [Georgian] wine