The foreign affairs ministers of Russia, Germany, France, and Ukraine conferred on July 2 in Berlin, in a format designed to subject the Ukrainian side to pressure from the other three parties. The Ukrainian side has made far-reaching concessions in this meeting. Those terms are... MORE

On July 1 in the Kremlin, President Vladimir Putin addressed the annual conference of Russia’s ambassadors accredited to foreign countries and international organizations, top foreign affairs ministry officials, leaders of both chambers of parliament, government ministers and agency chiefs, representatives of think-tanks and Russian business... MORE

Ukraine has extricated itself from the trap of a unilateral ceasefire exploited by the Russian side. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko had declared a seven-day ceasefire on June 20, and prolonged it again unilaterally from June 27 through June 30. Secessionist leaders announced a parallel ceasefire... MORE

Ukraine’s unilateral ceasefire, announced by President Petro Poroshenko on June 20, expires today (June 27). Russia and its proxy forces in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions (Donbas) have actively undermined the ceasefire, politically as well as militarily. The Russian side has undoubtedly sensed weakness in... MORE

On June 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin again denied the existence of a Ukrainian nation in its own right, distinct from Russia; and he went on to dismiss Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko’s June 20 ceasefire and peace offers as inadequate. The first part of Putin’s... MORE

On June 20, President Petro Poroshenko unveiled a “peace plan” in 15 points for resolving the armed conflict in Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk provinces, parts of which have been seized by Russia’s proxy forces. On the same date, Poroshenko ordered a unilateral ceasefire, from June... MORE

On June 20, President Petro Poroshenko ordered a seven-day unilateral ceasefire by Ukrainian forces in the Donetsk and Luhansk provinces, parts of which have been seized by Russia’s proxy forces. On the same date, Poroshenko unveiled a “peace plan” in 15 points for resolving the... MORE

Following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s warnings, Gazprom has fully halted natural gas supplies to Ukraine since June 16, citing debts calculated by Moscow for past deliveries of gas to Ukraine (see EDM, June 19). The Ukrainian government views Gazprom’s move in the broader context of... MORE

On June 16, Russia suspended natural gas supplies to Ukraine over non-payment of debts for supplies already delivered. Russia would resume the supplies on condition that Ukraine pays in advance for any gas volume that it would request to import from Russia (pre-payment). On that... MORE

Ukraine’s president-elect, billionaire Petro Poroshenko, has received a broad popular mandate to promote closer relations between Ukraine and the European Union. On May 25, Poroshenko won 55 percent of the vote in the first round of a crowded presidential race (his score avoided a runoff).... MORE