ukraine

Negotiations over the Ukraine's EU Association Agreement were finalised last month, but Yulia Tymoshenko's continued imprisonment prevented the EU from signing off on a deal. Borys Tarasyuk wonders whether the Europeans may have overestimated their leverage in the matter, and whether their approach will turn out to be counterproductive.

On the eve of an EU-Ukraine summit on December 19, Ukraine’s relations with Brussels are deteriorating. EU officials have warned that the detention of opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko is damaging Kiev’s hopes of signing an Association Agreement by the end of the year. Meanwhile, Ukraine is considering relinquishing a 50%-share of its pipelines to Russia for cheaper gas. David Marples looks at the possible political direction Ukraine is headed for in 2012.

Ahead of the Ukraine-EU summit, Europeans are attempting to understand Ukraine (and, more accurately, its current leadership) from a rational point of view. This is where they are going wrong, says Roman Kabachiy

The case against Yulia Tymoshenko, former Prime Minister of Ukraine, created a stir in Europe and further afield. The conviction and prison sentence were greeted with outrage. Her appeal against the verdict is about to come to court, but will any judges be brave enough to stand up for her rights? Natalia Sedletska thinks it unlikely.

A controversial new book by a Ukrainian historian attempts to reclassify cruel Polish-Ukrainian conflicts of the 1940s as part of WWII, rather than local issues. He has encountered considerable opposition on both sides, writes Roman Kabachiy

Despite the severity of Tuesday’s verdict, all the signs are that Yulia Tymoshenko will soon be released. But what of her political future? That all depends on Victor Yanukovych, says Valery Kalnysh

Ukraine’s post-Soviet governments traditionally follow the logic of safety razors: “tighten as far as you can, and then release a few notches”. Yulia Tymoshenko’s unexpectedly long sentence was shocking, but in all probability she will be soon be at liberty again. The real question is what she does then, writes Dmitry Vydrin

Ukrainian identity has historically been defined in opposition to Russia, but an anti-Russian agenda is unable to bind together a state with a large ethnic Russian population. With the Yanukovych administration now taking a neo-Stalinist approach to history and education, airbrushing out nationalist heritage, David Marples asks: where does Ukraine go from here?

Subsidised articles and broadcasts spin the official line and the erosion of media freedom is gathering speed in Ukraine. President Yanukovych may ‘order his ministers to look into’ the situation, but they’re all hand in glove, laments Iryna Kolodiychyk

With peaceful but forceful civic mobilization in 2004, Ukrainians managed to reverse a rigged presidential election. Later, disappointed in politicians who failed to deliver on promises of political and economic change, many Ukrainians distanced themselves from politics, thereby helping Victor Yanukovych become president in 2010. Civil society moved its residual activism from political to social problems, which could strengthen civil society as it prepares to counter democratic backsliding.

Foreign analysis of contemporary Ukrainian politics has alleged a black-white conversion from freedom to autocracy. The reality is much more nuanced than that, says Ukrainian MP Alexander Feldman

The vivid image of democracy - in colour orange - made many Europeans emotionally attached to the idea of Ukrainian EU membership. That is likely to change, writes Andreas Umland. The country is today facing a dangerous anti-democratic challenge — from the new President’s authoritarian turn on the one hand and from a new right-radical movement on the other.

Ten years ago Ukrainian investigative journalist Georgiy Gongadze was murdered. Various officials were named as suspects, one of whom died subsequently in unexplained circumstances. The Yanukovych regime’s clampdown on freedom of speech may mean no satisfactory conclusion will ever be reached, explains Alexa Chopivsky

The recent arrest of Ukrainian museum director Ruslan Zabily provoked an outcry. Did he actually leak state secrets or is the Yanukovych regime just trying to undo all Orange achievements, including the revival of Ukrainian historical memory?

Slavic reconciliation with "little brother Ukraine" has sent Russia starry-eyed, writes Andrei Kolesnikov. While Putin-Medvedev think they have regained an empire, the reality is that Ukrainian leaders have simply learned to do pragmatism.

What was the upshot of the recent Kiev meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian presidents? Will the bridge between the two countries be built? Maria Starozhitskaya argues that, in spite of the agreements signed, rapprochement will be slowed down – and the bridge is not such a good idea anyway.

President Yanukovich sees it as his mission to protect the country from NATO. That’s why he extended that lease allowing Russia’s fleet to stay in Crimea. For as long as the fleet stays in Ukraine, the country cannot join NATO

During Viktor Yushchenko’s five years in power, Ukraine did not start facing up to its totalitarian history. Since President Yanukovich came to power, that task has become almost impossible.

President Yanukovich’s unexpected extension of the lease on Russia’s fleet in Crimea has Ukraine in an uproar. No one knows the full extent of that agreement. It was clearly not just about cheap Russian gas

Henry Marsh, an English neurosurgeon, tells the story of his twenty-year friendship with Igor Kurilets, a young Ukrainian who resolved to drag Soviet neurosurgery into the 21st century