Section: Atlantic Council (USA)
Ukraine and Turkey’s Newly Strengthened Relationship
Turkey and Ukraine, including Crimea, control 71 percent of the Black Sea coast between the two of them. With Ukraine to the north and Turkey directly to the south, the two nations have long been collegial when working together on regional problems, but their reasonably friendly relationship has generally been subordinated to more pressing...
Separatists Launch New “Passportization” Strategy in Eastern Ukraine
On March 16, the separatist leaders of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) began issuing their own passports in eastern Ukraine. The territory’s militant leader Aleksander Zakharchenko called the move “a very important step toward building statehood” that will serve to solidify and formalize the territory’s...
Memo to Secretary Kerry: Russia Is Weaker Than You Think
When US Secretary of State John Kerry goes to Moscow this week, he should keep in mind that Russia’s recent military engagements in Ukraine and Syria represent an attempt to manipulate perceptions. The Kremlin wants to position itself as a peer of America, open to cooperation against ISIS, but capable of military threats against US allies,...
Russian Court Finds Ukraine’s Defiant Pilot Savchenko Guilty
Nothing in the Nadiya Savchenko case has been easy or fast. The famed Ukrainian pilot whom Russia has charged with complicity in the deaths of two Russian journalists can’t even get a quick verdict at the end of a trial that has lasted nine months.On March 22, the court found Savchenko guilty of all charges and sentenced her to twenty-two...
Don’t Mess With Kyiv’s Activists
Ukrainians may soon be granted visa-free travel within the European Union, thanks to Kyiv’s watchful activists. But that status was in jeopardy after parliament weakened a key anti-corruption law on February 16. Visa-free travel was linked to a series of reforms, including a law that discloses the income of Ukrainian officials. …read...
Can Minsk Deliver a Sustainable Peace?
Is the Minsk process salvageable?Twelve experts gathered at the Atlantic Council in Washington, DC, on March 17 to debate whether the Minsk ceasefire can deliver a sustainable peace in Ukraine. The war in Ukraine has claimed over 10,000 lives and displaced more than 1.6 million people.The Minsk accords, signed in 2014 and 2015, have remained the...
It’s Time to Sharpen NATO’s ‘Spearhead’ Force
Funding issues and decision-making challenges may render obsolete NATO’s “spearhead” force, which was set up in response to Russia’s military aggression along its eastern flank. This is another critical gap for NATO given Russia’s ramped up pressure on Eastern Europe, a move that has many Alliance officials even more worried...
Russia in Ukraine: The Greatest Challenge to the European Security Order
European sanctions on Russia cannot be eased until Moscow fulfils commitments it made under the Minsk agreements to pull its troops and weaponry out of eastern Ukraine and Ukrainian control of its state borders is restored. Despite persistent Russian denials, regular Russian troops remain in Donbas and Moscow continues to provide military...
Fighting Back: New Bill Aims to Counter Russian Disinformation
Russia’s attempts to win over hearts and minds in Ukraine, Eastern Europe, and beyond are succeeding—in large part because of the United States’ disengagement in the information arena, say experts. In response, Senators Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) introduced a bill on March 16 that would significantly beef up the...
Why the Kremlin Fears Savchenko
When Timothy Snyder, professor of central European history at Yale and vocal supporter of the Euromaidan movement, was asked why he has chosen to become such a strong defender of Ukraine, his response was “I don’t like when there is too much lying.” That is an excellent reason. Judging by Nadiya Savchenko’s gesture to the Russian...
