Latest Articles about Ukraine
UKRAINE BRACES ITSELF FOR THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS
The global financial crisis has not affected Ukraine directly as its stock market is underdeveloped, and mortgage loans do not play a major role in the local economy. But the consequences of the crisis should have a significant impact on the local economy, which depends... MORE
YUSHCHENKO FATIGUE IN WASHINGTON?
Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko’s working visit to Washington in late September left many observers wondering what, if anything, the visit had accomplished. The apparent purpose of the trip was to seek greater security assurances for Ukraine from the United States and gauge the level of... MORE
RUSSIAN INTELLIGENCE SEEKS TO DESTABILIZE CRIMEA
On September 29 the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) protested against an appeal made by the Russian delegation to the OSCE about the Crimea. “Methods and dirty technology created in the ’90s of the last century are being used to destabilize the situation in... MORE
IS YUSHCHENKO’S UKRAINE READY FOR A NATO MAP?
Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko paid two visits to the United States at the end of September. Among the main goals of his visits was to confirm Ukraine’s hope to secure an Action Plan for NATO Membership (MAP) ahead of the NATO foreign ministers’ meeting scheduled... MORE
NEW COALITION OR EARLY ELECTION FOR UKRAINE
On September 16 Ukrainian parliament speaker Arseny Yatsenyuk pronounced the ruling coalition of President Viktor Yushchenko’s Our Ukraine-People’s Self-Defense (NUNS) and the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc (BYT) officially dead. If no new coalition emerges within 30 days, Yushchenko will be entitled to disband parliament and call... MORE
UKRAINE, VANCO ENERGY, AND THE RUSSIAN MOB
The saga of Houston-based Vanco Energy Company’s conflict with the Ukrainian government over a shady production-sharing agreement (PSA) to explore the Black Sea shelf for oil and gas has taken a new twist. Recently uncovered evidence suggests that one or more of Vanco Energy Company’s... MORE
RUSSIAN PASSPORTS AS MOSCOW’S GEOPOLITICAL TOOL
The official protest by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) on September 11 over the allegedly “unfriendly” attitudes of the Ukrainian authorities to Russia was met by a stern response on the same day by Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry (www.mfa.gov.ua). Russia’s MFA protested about President... MORE
SURPRISING AND CONTRADICTORY OPINIONS ON THE UKRAINIAN STREETS
A number of recent public opinion polls in Ukraine reveal that regional differences toward Russia after the war in Georgia remain a factor but are not as extreme as some media reports present them to be. A poll conducted from 19 to 22 August by... MORE
CRISIS IN UKRAINE
Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko is ready to call an early parliamentary election as his party, Our Ukraine – People’s Self-Defense (NUNS), withdrew from a coalition with Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko’s Bloc (BYT). According to Ukrainian laws, NUNS has time until September 13 to change its... MORE
THE STATE OF THE UKRAINIAN MILITARY
During the August 2008 commemoration of the 17th anniversary of Ukrainian independence, armored units of Ukraine’s ground forces paraded down Kyiv’s Khreschatyk Boulevard, while air force planes flew overhead in a show of Ukrainian military might and preparedness. The decision to include a full-scale military... MORE