On January 10, President Leonid Kuchma held a meeting to discuss the deteriorating situation in Iraq. Eight Ukrainian troops died when a bomb they were defusing went off accidentally on January 9. Another seven Ukrainian troops were injured. Ukraine has the fourth-largest military contingent in... MORE

On January 11-12, the U.S. State Department added an unnecessary complication to Ukrainian President-elect Viktor Yushchenko's internal political challenges. Questioning Ukraine's political decision to withdraw its 1,600 troops from Iraq, the Department's deputy spokesman Adam Ereli in Washington and U.S. Ambassador John Herbst in Kyiv... MORE

On January 10, Ukraine's Central Election Commission (CEC) officially declared opposition candidate Viktor Yushchenko to be Ukraine's third president. The final vote count stood at 51.99% for Yushchenko compared to Viktor Yanukovych's 44.20%. Thirteen CEC members voted in favor of the ruling while two abstained.... MORE

Viktor Yushchenko, who was elected Ukraine's president on December 26, has promised to come up with a candidate for prime minister this week. The candidate will need to be approved by parliament. This will be the first test of Yushchenko's ability to negotiate with the... MORE

Just as President-elect Viktor Yushchenko predicted, Supreme Rada Chairman Volodymyr Lytvyn chose Moscow as the destination of his first visit abroad after Ukraine's presidential election. Lytvyn, who had switched allegiance from the Kuchma-Yanukovych camp to the constitution of Ukraine and supremacy of law during the... MORE

As Viktor Yushchenko prepares for his inauguration as Ukraine's third president, he knows that Ukraine-Russia relations will be one of the most difficult issues he faces. The Economist (December 29) advised Yushchenko, "to kiss and make up with Russia and Vladimir Putin, who backed Mr.... MORE

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili delivered his New Year's address to Georgia from the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, where he had flown to congratulate Viktor Yushchenko on his victory in the presidential elections. This step emphasizes the importance Saakashvili gives to warm relations with a Yushchenko-governed Ukraine.... MORE

The ruling centrist and oligarchic elites that supported President Leonid Kuchma over the last decade are now rushing to adapt to the reality that Viktor Yushchenko is Ukraine's new president. The Supreme Court and Central Election Commission threw out complaints by his opponent, former prime... MORE

Ukraine is undergoing radical change in anticipation of a Yushchenko victory in the repeat presidential runoff on December 26. Challenger Viktor Yushchenko will have eight months to undertake sweeping and radical reforms before his powers are reduced when constitutional reforms go into effect in September... MORE

Ahead of the December 26 repeat presidential runoff, which will again pit opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko against Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, debate has resumed over Yushchenko's mysterious illness. On December 11, the Vienna-based Rudolfinerhaus clinic announced that Yushchenko had definitely been poisoned by dioxin, a... MORE