The protracted case of detained scientist Yuri Bandazhevsky continues to solicit international attention and serves as a reminder of how sensitive the Chernobyl issue remains for the Lukashenka regime. Recently the opposition newspaper Narodnaya Volya focused on the life of Bandazhesvky, the nuclear scientist and... MORE

It was inevitable that radical, democratizing reforms would be launched within the Ukrainian Interior Ministry (MVS) after the appointment of Yuriy Lutsenko as interior minister. Already, the new atmosphere inside the MVS has contributed to progress in the Gongadze murder investigation (see EDM, March 2).... MORE

On March 1, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko made the sensational announcement that the murderer of opposition journalist Heorhiy Gongadze had been apprehended (Ukrayinska pravda, March 1). Three senior Interior Ministry (MVS) officers are in custody, but it is not clear if one of these is... MORE

Parliament speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn's People's Party of Ukraine (PPU), formerly the Agrarian Party, may fill the niche of the non-Communist opposition to the new authorities ahead of the spring 2006 parliamentary elections. While the parties of the defeated elite that had generally been expected to... MORE

During President Viktor Yushchenko's first month in office, he visited Europe twice, appearing at the European Parliament, EU, Council of Europe, and NATO. After a month of such visits and meetings there can be no doubt that Yushchenko is serious when he spoke of "the... MORE

Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko's radicalism and a conflict of interest have nearly cost Justice Minister Roman Zvarych his position just two weeks after his appointment. The cabinet-imposed ban on exporting oil imported from Russia has prevented a company linked to Zvarych's wife from meeting... MORE

During a February 15-16 visit to Lviv, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko optimistically predicted that the investigation into his near fatal poisoning in September 2004 would soon be finalized. "There is greater optimism now on this issue," he said. "I don't think it's a complicated case,"... MORE

Among the political goals announced by Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko is a plan to unify the political parties that comprise the "Our Ukraine" bloc into a single political party (Ukrayinska pravda, February 13). Yushchenko signed a "declaration of principles" regarding a new Our Ukraine party... MORE

On February 10 Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko visited the heavily industrialized and densely populated Donetsk region, whose representative, Viktor Yanukovych, finished a disputed second in the 2004 presidential election. Yushchenko has been notoriously unpopular in Donetsk, scoring around 3% there both with his Our Ukraine... MORE

As Ukraine's newly formed government prepares to thoroughly revamp the moribund socio-political system it inherited from the corrupt Kuchma administration, Russia is warily pondering its policies toward a new Ukraine. While a group of liberal-minded experts argue that Kyiv's Europe-oriented political course is not inimical... MORE