Latest Articles about Ukraine
Putin Calls For Naftohaz Ukrainy-Gazprom Gas Merger
Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, has proposed a “merger“of Ukraine’s national energy company Naftohaz Ukrainy with Russia’s Gazprom. The proposal emerged during Putin’s April 30 meeting with Ukrainian Prime Minister, Nikolai Azarov, in Sochi (ITAR-TASS, April 30). It was the seventh meeting, by most counts,... MORE
South Stream is Not a Ukraine Bypass Project
Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, stopped in Kyiv on April 27, following his discussions in Italy and Austria on the South Stream gas pipeline project (Austria Joins Gazprom’s South Stream Project, EDM, April 30).In Kyiv, Putin obliquely confirmed that Russia would not shift gas volumes... MORE
Gas in Exchange for Naval Base: a Boon to Ukraine’s Weak Economy
Moscow has agreed to lower the price of gas for Kyiv by one-third in exchange for extending the lease of the Sevastopol base for the Black Sea Fleet (BSF) by 25 years. The Ukrainian parliament ratified the agreement on April 27, despite protests by the... MORE
Russia’s Strategic Gains at Ukraine’s and Europe’s Expense
Russia’s new deal with Ukraine on the Black Sea Fleet (BSF) and gas prices has profound bilateral significance, as well as for the CIS and even Europe. It ratifies long-term Russian gains at the expense of all the other players and continues to solidify Moscow’s... MORE
Ukraine’s Foreign Policy Turns East
With less than two months in office President, Viktor Yanukovych, has undermined a twenty year-old elite consensus on national security by, as EDM (November 3, 2009) forecast, introducing a far more pro-Russian essence to Ukrainian foreign policy than if Yulia Tymoshenko had been elected (EDM,... MORE
Jubilant Medvedev Praises Yanukovych and Threatens Lukashenka
Yesterday, Moscow achieved one of its most important long-term strategic goals –to secure a continued military presence in Ukraine by keeping its base in Sevastopol, Crimea. During a summit in Kharkov in Eastern Ukraine, Presidents Viktor Yanukovych and Dmitry Medvedev signed a barter agreement that... MORE
Opposition Slams Yanukovych for Promising to Renounce Highly Enriched Uranium
Ukrainian President, Viktor Yanukovych, promised his US counterpart, Barack Obama, to renounce the nation’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium (HEU) during their meeting on the fringes of the nuclear security summit in Washington on April 12. In return, Washington offered financial and technical assistance, in... MORE
Ruling Coalition to Expand Following Approval by Constitutional Court
The Ukrainian constitutional court on April 8 approved the formation of the pro-presidential coalition in parliament in early March. The main controversy was over the right of individual people’s deputies to join the coalition against the will of their caucuses. The court decided that deputies... MORE
Kyiv Considers Unpopular Measures to Qualify for Additional Loans
As an International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission completed its work in Ukraine on April 2, Kyiv hopes to secure additional loans. The cabinet of Prime Minister, Mykola Azarov, badly needs such loans not only in order to fill gaps in the state budget, but also... MORE
Ukrainian Government Examines Belarusian Model of Gas Trade With Russia
Ukraine’s newly elected President, Viktor Yanukovych, and the new government clamored for low-priced Russian gas from their first day in office. As an opening gambit they called for a price similar to that paid by Belarus; or in the worst case somewhat higher at $200... MORE