Making Russia Pay?  It's Not So Simple  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama has warned Russia that “there will be costs” for a military intervention in Ukraine.  But the United States has few palatable options for imposing such costs, and recent history has shown that when it considers its interests at stake …

Readout of President Obama's Call with President Putin  —  President Obama spoke for 90 minutes this afternoon with President Putin of Russia about the situation in Ukraine.  President Obama expressed his deep concern over Russia's clear violation of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity …

Ukraine Finds Its Forces Are Ill Equipped to Take Crimea Back From Russia  —  KIEV — The new government of Ukraine called an emergency session of its national security council on Saturday in the face of the Russian military's seizure of Crimea, but the leaders are facing a grim reality …

Putin's Reckless Ukraine Gambit  —  Vladimir Putin's surprise decision to ask for a Russian-style War Powers resolution from his parliament dramatically ups the ante in the Ukraine crisis and positions Russia for full-scale military action.  It also signals Putin's commitment to use all necessary means …

Putin's War in Crimea Could Soon Spread to Eastern Ukraine  —  And nobody—not the U.S., not NATO—can stop him  —  Vladimir Putin has asked the Federation Council—the upper chamber of Russia's dummy parliament—to authorize the use of force not just in Crimea, but “on Ukraine's territory until …

House Ukraine Caucus Chair: “Some Group Had To Step In To Mediate”  —  “Whether it's Russian or Ukrainian, the amount of bloodshed these places have endured ... we simply can't go back to the slaughter,” Rep. Marcy Kaptur says.  —  An armed serviceman stands near Russian army vehicles outside …

Ukraine crisis tests Obama's foreign policy focus on diplomacy over military force  —  For much of his time in office, President Obama has been accused by a mix of conservative hawks and liberal interventionists of overseeing a dangerous retreat from the world at a time when American influence is needed most.