Russian gas for the Donbas: the games being played with Kyiv and Brussels
2015-02-25Szymon KardaśThe suspension by Naftohaz of gas supplies to the Donbas has been treated by Moscow as a pretext to unfreeze the Russian-Ukrainian gas dispute. …read more Source: Centre for Eastern...
Weekly update from the OSCE Observer Mission at Russian Checkpoints Gukovo and Donetsk based on information as of 10:00 (Moscow time), 25 February 2015
This report is for media and the general public. SUMMARY Kamensk-Shakhtinsky, Russian Federation. The Observer Mission (OM) continues to operate 24/7 at both BCPs. Overall cross-border traffic flows slightly decreased at both Border Crossing Points (BCPs). The OM continued to observe a number of persons in military-style clothing crossing the...
How Ukraine Can Beat Vladimir Putin
Ukraine’s best hope for peace is to wind down the war with Russia and to use the breathing space for much-needed reform. …read more Source: Carnegie Endowment for International...
Impunity for crimes committed against members of the media must stop, journalists’ unions from Russia and Ukraine say at OSCE meeting
VIENNA, 25 February 2015 – Representatives of Ukrainian and Russian journalists’ unions today called for an end to impunity for killings and attacks on journalists, following a meeting in Vienna under the auspices of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media. The unions’ representatives also urged all members of the media not to...
OSCE eager to intensify partnership with UN, says Chairperson Dačić during UN Security Council briefing
NEW YORK, 25 February – Briefing the UN Security Council on Serbia’s Chairmanship priorities and co-operation between the OSCE and the UN, OSCE Chairperson in Office, Serbia’s First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ivica Dačić, said that partnership between the two organizations is extremely important for effectively...
The Revolution of Dignity Art Exhibit: Images from Ukraine’s Maidan, 2013-2014
The Revolution of Dignity Art Exhibit: Images from Ukraine’s Maidan, 2013-2014 presents to the Washington, D.C. public 17 Ukrainian artists: Julia Beliaeva, Glib Vysheslavsky, Anton Hauk, Olena Golub, Maryana Honcharenko, Andriy Yermolenko, Nick Zavilinskyi, Marian Luniv, Olexa Mann, Roman Mykhailiuk, Anastasiya Nekypela, Mariya Pavlenko,...
Corruption Probe Hits Top Ukrainian Official, Kazakhstani Dissident in Suspected Prison Suicide
Plus, Lithuania weighs reviving military draft, and Czech scientists claim a breakthrough find about human emotional response. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
If hryvnia devaluation persists, the government will have to raise energy tariffs again
The latest hryvnia level is nearly 30 percent weaker than the 21.7 rate foreseen in Ukraine’ 2015 budget. If the weakness persists, it will upset the government’s strict austerity plans, the Reuters reports. ‘They plan to raise (energy) tariffs. But if hryvnia devaluation continues, they will have to increase tariffs again in...
Peacekeepers may contribute to political resolution of the conflict in Donbas
Co-director of Foreign Relations and International Security Programmes of the Razumkov Centre Oleksiy Melnyk has a mixed opinion on the prospects of the deployment of peacekeepers in Donbas, reports the news agency Radio Liberty. “The only advantage I see is that this initiative enables Ukraine to once again demonstrate its intentions to resolve...
Ukrainian defence industry mostly consists of remnants of the Soviet Union
While efforts are under way to reorganise Ukraine’s defence industry sector and increase the production of new weapons, the state-owned defence conglomerate has already declared its readiness to start making more tanks and armoured vehicles, the Southeast European Times writes. Co-director of foreign relations and international security...

