A retired Ukrainian intelligence officer who attracted attention a month ago by calling for the formation of a Russian-Ukrainian corps to fight for the Syrian government now claims that there are 15,000 radical Islamists in the mountains of Crimea. Many of them, he claims, have... MORE

Addressing Gazprom’s annual general meeting of shareholders, CEO Alexei Miller warned that Gazprom would “never again, under any circumstances” use Ukraine’s gas storage system in the process of delivering Russian gas to Europe via Ukraine (Kommersant-Ukraina, July 4; Nezavisimaya Gazeta, July 10; see EDM, July... MORE

Ukraine has recently initiated procurement of natural gas from European suppliers. These volumes are small but growing, correspondingly eroding Gazprom’s market share in Ukraine.The German Rheinisch-Westfaelisches Elektrizitaetswerk (RWE) is providing the volumes through its subsidiary, RWE Supply & Trading. Some of these gas volumes are... MORE

Ukraine stands on the threshold of finalizing the Association Agreement with the European Union, possibly signing it at the Vilnius summit in November. If signed, the agreement would open the way for European comprehensive support to the modernization of Ukraine’s gas transit system, which carries... MORE

The world heavyweight boxing champion, Vitaly Klichko, may become the strongest challenger to the incumbent President Viktor Yanukovych in the presidential election scheduled for early 2015, recent opinion polls show. If his popularity stands the test of time, Ukraine may, for the first time, elect... MORE

A discussion sparked by calls from some Ukrainian nationalists to transform the Crimean Autonomous Republic into the 27th oblast of Ukraine has led to a remarkable admission by a Ukrainian expert. The autonomy that Crimea has enjoyed since 1992 is so small that the republic... MORE

In Ukraine, June 22 marks a day of mourning dedicated to the memory of the victims of the Great Patriotic War (Second World War). On this day, Ukrainian war veterans, military service officials and government representatives in different regions of the country come together and... MORE

The leaders of the several-million-strong Crimean Tatar diaspora community in Turkey are increasingly focusing on Crimea. This trend encourages Crimean Tatars living in Crimea to conclude that they have an important political ally in their Turkish compatriots, who are slowing the assimilation trends inside Turkey.... MORE

While the Customs Union between Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan is seeking to expand its membership, paving the way for the gradual incorporation of the Kyrgyz Republic and Ukraine into its integration orbit, opposition in these countries to the Eurasian integration project has been steadily rising.Several... MORE

When writing about xenophobia and racism, Western scholarly and media writing about Ukraine inevitably focuses on Western Ukraine and the rise of the Svoboda nationalist party. But in fact, Council of Europe reports, the United States’ diplomatic cables from Kyiv (released by Wikileaks), annual reports... MORE