Пока украинские политики и международные организации отказываются открыто признать конфликт с Россией полноценной войной, на востоке страны продолжают гибнуть люди. English
Ukrainian politicians see their country’s Soviet heritage as a major obstacle on the way to a brave new world. It's a shame they’re using the same revolutionary methods as the communists to deal with it. RU
Финансовые поощрения – за лояльность, пытки и аресты – за критику. У журналистов, живущих и работающих на территории самопровозглашенных республик ДНР и ЛНР, практически нет шансов оставаться беспристрастными. English
In the renewed cold war over Ukraine, while Russia’s economy has been
weakened by European sanctions, the US is no longer the hegemon it once was—and
NATO is under strain.
The latest violence in eastern Ukraine would lead most observers to think an end to the military and political attrition is not in sight. They would be right.
It’s been a year of searing
images of horrifying mass civilian injury and death, from Gaza to eastern
Ukraine. The world must set standards to curb resort to weapons with wide-area
effects where many civilians are at risk.
The
government in Kyiv, aid organisations and the international community must work
together to address the humanitarian crisis created by the fighting in the
east.
The last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, burst the 25th-anniversary balloon of the symbolic end of the cold war by warning of a new one, fed by NATO's eastward expansion. An economically weak USSR lost the last one; a still weaker Russia will lose this one too.
NATO’s summit this week offers
the opportunity to turn the tide against the re-emergence of the cold war in
the context of the Ukraine crisis. It is an opportunity, however, unlikely to
be taken.
A quarter century after Mikhail Gorbachev supervised the collapse of Europe’s cold-war division, a world of new dividing lines is emerging—with Vladimir Putin playing an active part in inscribing them.
The tumult in Ukraine marks a wider crisis of the corrupt post-Soviet model. The impact will be felt most acutely in Russia itself, says Krzysztof Bobinski.
There was a way out of the
Ukraine crisis this week, through dialogue and accommodation. But the regime,
backed by Russia, chose to pursue victory instead. It will be a Pyrrhic one—but
the international community can shorten the agony.
Ukraine’s parliament has abandoned the law to curb public protests only
recently introduced and the prime minister has resigned. What lies behind these
dramatic events?
In a few months, the
EU will decide whether to sign an Association Agreement with Ukraine. President
Viktor Yanukovych is, however, focused on a different agenda - how to win a second term in
2015. He's ready to go to any lengths to bring that about, reports Sergii Leshchenko.
The fate of
historic buildings is a global hot topic, but this month activists occupying an
old trading complex in Ukraine’s capital to try to stop its redevelopment had
to deal with a real fire destroying their ‘Friendly Republic’. Marta Dyczok sees
here a metaphor for the country as a whole.
Last
October, Ukraine’s ruling Party of the Regions won only a slim election victory,
but President Viktor Yanukovych has taken the opportunity to pack his new
government with members of his ‘Family’ – and to level new and grave charges at
jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko. Sergii Leshchenko reports.
By means fair and foul, the ruling Party of the Regions came out top in Ukraine’s recent parliamentary election. President Yanukovych is far from home and dry, however: to control parliament he needs a majority, and the necessary concessions to other parties will certainly cost him dear, says Sergii Leshchenko
The Parliamentary election in Ukraine has, as expected, returned President Yanukovych’s Party of Regions to power. It has also had one less predicted result: the first election to the country’s parliament of MPs from the ultra nationalist far-right. Anton Shekhovtsov looks at the rise of ‘Svoboda’ (Freedom). Photo: RIA NOVOSTI Agency
On 28th October, Ukrainians will elect a new parliament. Their country has moved in the last few years from the forefront of democratic transition in the post-Soviet space to a clan-based authoritarian regime, taking its lead from its neighbour Belarus. Serhiy Leshchenko reports on the state of play.
Neither democracy nor authoritarianism has completely succeeded in Ukraine, though Yanukovych has moved towards breaking the stalemate and establishing his sway. But Ukraine is not Russia and it will be an uphill struggle. In the run-up to the 28 October elections, Igor Torbakov considers the differences (photo: RIA Novosti Agency)
Rigged elections and corruption in post-Soviet states such as Belarus and Ukraine are hardly news. Ukraine’s shift towards authoritarianism has highlighted new similarities between the two countries. But might they both eventually move towards a new bright dawn? Yegor Vasylyev wonders
Young people from the civic resistance movement are trying to get elected to parliament. If they succeed, it could be the beginning of the end for the Yanukovych regime, thinks Roman Kabachiy.
Rampant corruption among government officials is a given for most Ukrainians. A recent scam involved the purchase of school buses, which were so defective that fatalities were avoided only by a miracle. But without the political will at the very highest level, there is no chance that this case will go to court and the criminals be punished, says Natalia Sedletska
When in 2007 Ukraine was given the privilege of co-hosting the Euro 2012 games, the tournament was seen as a unique opportunity to unite the country, improve infrastructure and set in train European reforms. Everything that has happened since has deviated from that script. Today, the world’s media routinely portray a country in democratic crisis; Andrew Wilson’s take, which delves a bit deeper, concludes that things are, in fact, even worse.
As the 2012 European Football Championship approaches, co-host Ukraine has been hitting global headlines for its treatment of former PM Yulia Tymoshenko. Carolyn Forstein argues, however, that international attention should be more focused on a systemic shortcoming of the judicial system — the non-enforcement of court judgments — which threatens the credibility of the European Court of Human Rights itself.
While the rest of the world is embracing new forms of civil activism, Ukrainians, who were once responsible for one of history’s most symbolic and peaceful revolutions, are staying at home. With the country in severe economic difficulty and the Yanukovych government winding back all but the most trivial of Orange reforms, there is no shortage of reasons to protest. So what is keeping Ukrainians from the streets? asks Nataliya Gumenyuk
Recent press coverage of Ukraine has been extremely negative. Now, as the European Football Championships get under way, a Ukrainian writer gives a bird's eye view of the state of affairs across the country. Not a pretty picture, thinks Yuriy Andrukhovych
Ahead of the Euro 2012 football championships, media attention on political scandal and excessive profiteering has undermined Ukrainian attempts to raise prestige in the eyes of the world. Janek Lasocki and Łukasz Jasina wonder if the hosts will eventually be able to defy critics and secure a positive legacy from the tournament.
Ukrainian politics have gone through several major upheavals: the alleged poisoning of Yushchenko, the Orange Revolution and, more recently, the hounding of Tymoshenko. The rise of the far-right seems to have ruffled few feathers, but it would be a mistake to ignore them, argues Ivan Katchanovski.
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.
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