Latest Articles about Ukraine
COALITION TALKS: YUSHCHENKO DECIDES TO STEP IN
President Viktor Yushchenko will strive to carry on as the main powerbroker in Ukraine despite the constitutional reform that came into effect on January 1, 2006. This assertion was probably the main message of Yushchenko’s first speech before the new parliament elected in March. The... MORE
GUAM IN KYIV: ANOTHER SUMMIT OF GOOD INTENTIONS
Presidents Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia, Vladimir Voronin of Moldova, and Viktor Yushchenko of Ukraine met on May 23 in Kyiv for another effort to revitalize the GUAM group of countries. Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus attended as well, in line with his... MORE
ENERGY INSECURITY, FROZEN CONFLICTS PREOCCUPY GUAM SUMMIT
The GUAM summit in Kyiv on May 23 called international attention to the challenges and threats posed to the four member countries by energy insecurity and secessionist conflicts. Furthermore, Moldova and Georgia are the targets of politically motivated Russian embargoes on agricultural products and wine,... MORE
INCONSISTENT LANGUAGE POLICY CREATES PROBLEMS IN UKRAINE
The Party of Regions (PRU), which strengthened its grip on Ukraine's Russophone east and south after the March 26 parliamentary election, continues to probe the government's weaknesses, challenging it on the sensitive issue of language. The PRU-dominated Donetsk regional council has followed the example of... MORE
REGIONS OF UKRAINE COMES BACK, TAKES UP LANGUAGE ISSUE
Though defeated in the Orange Revolution, regional elites scored a strong performance in Ukraine's March 26 general election, strengthening the position of their main party -- the Party of Regions (PRU) of former presidential contender Viktor Yanukovych. President Viktor Yushchenko's Our Ukraine bloc emerged very... MORE
KYIV ALSO GLANCING AT EXIT FROM CIS
While Tbilisi seems prepared to leave the Commonwealth of Independent States altogether (see EDM, May 11), Kyiv is reducing its own participation in the organization to almost nil, while maximizing its criticism of it. Even the meager membership dues of "nearly $1 million" that Ukraine... MORE
YUSHCHENKO’S TEAM REJECTS TYMOSHENKO’S PRIME MINISTERIAL AMBITION
Yulia Tymoshenko's desire to return to the prime minister's chair has become the main obstacle to restoring the Orange Revolution coalition in order to form a majority in Ukraine's newly elected parliament. President Viktor Yushchenko's Our Ukraine bloc has rejected Tymoshenko's demand that the distribution... MORE
TYMOSHENKO SET TO OUST NEW MAYOR OF KYIV
Banker Leonid Chernovetsky has managed to secure the legitimacy of his election as Kyiv mayor. On April 10, the Shevchenkivsky district court in Kyiv ruled that there was no proof of vote buying by Chernovetsky. Outgoing mayor Oleksandr Omelchenko had accused Chernovetsky of buying votes... MORE
ORANGE REVOLUTION LEADERS DECIDE TO RE-UNITE
After weeks of difficult consultations, the Our Ukraine bloc of President Viktor Yushchenko, the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc, and the Socialist Party have decided to re-establish their alliance. On April 10, they launched talks on the shape of a cabinet coalition. Our Ukraine rejected coalition proposals... MORE
MAVERICK BANKER WINS MAYORAL ELECTION IN KYIV
The mayoral election in Kyiv, which was held simultaneously with the national parliamentary elections on March 26, produced a sensation. Leonid Chernovetsky, a maverick nouveau riche whose bid for city hall was hardly taken seriously in the beginning, came out ahead. While the two favorites... MORE