The political situation in Ukraine has been heating up as the European Union’s November 28–29 Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius approaches. Kyiv is preparing to sign an Association Agreement (AA) with the EU at Vilnius, but it is not yet certain whether the signing will... MORE

On October 26–27, the sixth convocation of the Crimean Tatar Qurultay (Crimean Tatar National Congress) took place in Simferopol, Crimea, and elected a new chairperson for the Crimean Tatar Mejlis (de facto, 33-member quasi governing assembly of Crimean Tatars). After the final count of the... MORE

Ukraine’s parliament has made two steps towards the signing of an association and free trade agreement with the European Union, scheduled for November 28–29 in Vilnius. On November 8, it gave preliminary approval to amendments to the parliamentary election law and to a new law... MORE

At the October 24 summit of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in Minsk, Kazakhstani President Nursultan Nazarbayev suggested that Turkey may wish to join the Custom Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. According to Nazarbayev, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan reached out to him... MORE

The Ukrainian government is launching major natural gas extraction projects in the country, as joint ventures with leading Western companies (Interfax-Ukraine, Ukrinform, November 5). At present, Ukraine depends on Russian gas imports for more than 60 percent of Ukraine’s total annual consumption (Bloomberg, November 7).... MORE

On October 24 and 25, Belarus hosted two high-level meetings of heads of state of the Supreme Economic Council of the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEc) and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). While these gatherings enabled their participants to discuss a wide range of issues... MORE

According to the Legatum Global Prosperity Index (LGPI), Belarus is a country with average prosperity: it is 58th out of 142 countries for which the index in question has been just published (www.svaboda.org/content/article/25150395.html?). Much like on the Human Development Index, according to the LGPI ranking,... MORE

On October 14, President Viktor Yanukovych launched the advanced stage of Ukraine’s military reform by issuing a decree canceling the compulsory draft to the armed forces in 2014 (https://dt.ua/UKRAINE/v-ukrayini-skasovano-obov-yazkoviy-prizov-na-strokovu-sluzhbu-v-armiyu-130046_.html). However, Yanukovych’s announcement nearly coincided with a scandal involving three top Ukrainian generals in the General... MORE

The European Union’s Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius, scheduled for November 28–29, is less than a month away. Unlike Ukraine, whose hopes of signing landmark political and trade deals with the EU in Vilnius hang in the balance amid wrangling over the fate of former... MORE

On October 25, members of the Congress of Russian Communities and the Union of the Orthodox Citizens of Crimea picketed in front of the Russian Consulate in Simferopol, the regional capital of Ukraine’s Autonomous Republic of Crimea. The protesters waved Russian and Crimean flags as... MORE