Latest Articles about Europe's East
UKRAINIAN PROSECUTORS TARGET SELF-DEFENSE LEADERS
The Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) has opened criminal cases against Minister of the Interior Yuriy Lutsenko and businessman Davyd Zhvania. Both were among the leaders of the 2004 Orange Revolution, which brought President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko to power. Since 2007,... MORE
EURO-ASIAN OIL TRANSPORTATION CORRIDOR PROPOSED AT KYIV ENERGY SUMMIT
The presidents of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Ukraine, Poland, and Lithuania agreed on May 22 and 23 in Kyiv on steps to create a Euro-Asian Oil Transportation Corridor. The planned EAOTC is a centerpiece to the concept of an Energy Transit Space, which was also launched at... MORE
U.S. COMPANY BANISHED FROM UKRAINIAN OIL AND GAS FIELD
The Ukrainian government has revoked the license to develop Black Sea oil and gas fields which was issued to Vanco Prykerchenska, a subsidiary of the US company Vanco Energy. Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko said that the agreements which were concluded with Vanco in 2007 were... MORE
YUSHCHENKO WILL BE MARGINALIZED BY CONSTITUTIONAL AND POLITICAL INSTABILITY IN UKRAINE
The three holiday breaks (Easter, May Day and World War II Victory Day) gave only a short respite before the two main figures in Ukrainian politics, President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, resumed their fight to the bitter end. Yushchenko and Tymoshenko are... MORE
MOSCOW QUESTIONS TERRITORIAL STATUS QUO IN THE CRIMEA
Moscow Mayor Yurii Luzhkov and senior members of Russia’s Duma persist in making territorial claims to Sevastopol, following Luzhkov’s foray into the Ukrainian territory of the Crimea (see EDM, May 13). These continuing statements appear designed to question Ukraine’s sovereignty in Sevastopol, and more broadly... MORE
WHO IS REALLY TO BLAME FOR RECORD-HIGH INFLATION IN UKRAINE?
Inflation in Ukraine was 3.1 percent in April and 13.1 percent from January through April. This was the highest inflation rate of any former Soviet state, twice as high as in Russia. The Yulia Tymoshenko government drafted the state budget for 2008 based on the... MORE
MOSCOW MAYOR, RUSSIAN DEFENSE MINISTER QUESTION RUSSIA-UKRAINE AGREEMENTS ON SEVASTOPOL
Moscow Mayor Yurii Luzhkov called for the “return” of Sevastopol to Russia during a visit to that Ukrainian territory, on the anniversary of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. The Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry implicitly backed Luzhkov in a follow-up statement; and Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov,... MORE
LUKASHENKA SPEECH DENOUNCES OPPOSITION, WARNS THE U.S.
On April 29 Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka delivered a speech to the National Assembly on the "health" of the state that was wide ranging and more than two hours in duration. Although the speech covered a number of topics, its chief interest lies in his... MORE
RACISM IS ON THE UPSWING IN UKRAINE
On May 5 a court in Kyiv sentenced four individuals of about 20 years of age to 13 years in prison each for beating a Korean national to death in 2007. According to 1+1 TV, this was one of the very few sentences that have... MORE
YUSHCHENKO, TYMOSHENKO CLASH OVER PRIVATIZATION
Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko have demonstrated that they would not stop short of open confrontation when big property is at stake. Yushchenko cancelled Tymoshenko’s orders to replace the head of the privatization body, the State Property Fund (FDM), and to... MORE