Latest Articles about Ukraine
SBU ACCUSED OF PLAYING POLITICAL GAMES IN KHARKIV
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has become embroiled in a new scandal. The main opposition force, the Party of Regions (PRU), has accused the SBU of playing political games after SBU servicemen carried out a controversial search at the Kharkiv City Council. Although the... MORE
EXTRANEOUS CONSIDERATIONS IN THE WAY OF GEORGIAN AND UKRAINIAN MAPS AT THE NATO SUMMIT
In on-the-record interventions and, especially, at off-the-record policy conferences, German officials lay out a whole collection of arguments against Membership Action Plans (MAPs) for Georgia and Ukraine at the upcoming NATO summit. Several West European governments share some of those arguments to some degree or... MORE
TYMOSHENKO WANTS KYIV MAYOR OUT
Yesterday, March 18, the Ukrainian parliament called an early election for the post of mayor of Kyiv. This is a victory for Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko’s bloc (BYuT), which spearheaded a campaign to oust Kyiv Mayor Leonid Chernovetsky, accusing him of corruption. However, there is... MORE
TYMOSHENKO MOST POPULAR POLITICAL FORCE IN UKRAINE
Parliament’s March 18 vote to call pre-term elections for Kyiv’s city mayor was a second major victory for Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko this month, following the new gas contract with Russia signed on March 6. The vote is symbolically important because Ukraine’s legislation requires that... MORE
UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT UNBLOCKED, NATO DISPUTE OFF AGENDA
The opposition Party of Regions (PRU) of former prime minister Viktor Yanukovych has finally backed off its brinksmanship games over Ukraine’s application for a NATO Membership Action Plan (MAP). The PRU and their allies, the Communists, had blocked the parliamentary rostrum since the end of... MORE
YUSHCHENKO LOOKS TO GRAND COALITION TO REPLACE TYMOSHENKO
On March 15 the government of Yulia Tymoshenko will mark its first 100 days in office, a period that has been a baptism by fire. Not only has the government faced relentless attacks from the opposition Party of Regions (PRU), it has also faced a... MORE
PARTY OF REGIONS DISCUSSES LANGUAGE, NATO AT FORUM
Ukraine’s main opposition force, the Party of Regions (PRU), organized what it called a “congress of people’s deputies of all levels” in the eastern town of Severodonetsk on Saturday, March 1. It discussed topics such as official languages and NATO membership. Almost 3,700 representatives of... MORE
WILL UKRAINE HAVE NEW CONSTITUTION?
President Viktor Yushchenko has begun his drive to reverse the 2004 constitutional reform. His goals include boosting presidential powers and weakening the legislature. On February 20 Yushchenko convened the first meeting of the National Constitution Council (NKS), consisting of 97 experts and politicians, to share... MORE
OPPOSITION USES UKRAINE–NATO ISSUE WHEN POLITICALLY EXPEDIENT
For over a month, the Ukrainian parliament has been in a forced recess as the opposition blocked the legislature to protest a joint letter to NATO signed by President Viktor Yushchenko, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, and Parliamentary Speaker Arseny Yatsenyuk. The January 15 letter asked... MORE
YUSHCHENKO’S CHIEF OF STAFF RESIGNS, MAY LAUNCH NEW PARTY
Viktor Baloha, the head of Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko’s staff, has left Yushchenko’s Our Ukraine–People’s Union party (NSNU). Baloha apparently gave up on making NSNU a reliable, strong political party capable of winning national elections. It is widely expected that Baloha will launch a new... MORE