Section: Atlantic Council (USA)
Seven Key Reforms for Ukraine in 2016
After Orthodox Christmas, I spent a few days in Kyiv. It is quite striking how the mood has changed in a positive direction. The 2016 budget and the modified tax code were adopted on December 24. After two weeks of well-deserved rest, there is a sudden realization that Ukraine accomplished many important economic reforms in 2015. Admittedly, many...
The Complex History of the Ukrainian Nation: A Review of “The Gates of Europe”
During a time of war, history becomes a weapon used to justify claims and raise soldiers’ spirits. In this case, successful histories are simple, unequivocal, and confirmed by the experiences of past centuries.The current Kremlin version of history of the relationship between Russia and Ukraine fully meets these criteria. According to...
New Poll Confirms Growing Mistrust Between Donbas Residents and Kyiv
Ukrainians elected more than 10,000 mayors and 160,000 city councilmembers in local elections on October 25. It was the third nationwide election since the Euromaidan Revolution. A new International Republican Institute (IRI) poll of the Ukrainian-controlled territories of the Donbas region (i.e., Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts) reveals that only 26...
Free the Kremlin’s 20 Ukrainian Hostages Now
Soviet dissident Vasyl Stus—an important Ukrainian poet of the 20th century—never lived to see the fall of the Soviet Union. He died in a prison camp near Perm in 1985.As I read one of Stus’s poems about Siberia, I realized that Gennadiy Afanasyev, a 25-year-old Crimean photographer exiled to the Sytkyvkar penal camp in Russia’s Komi...
The Real History of the Ukrainian Nation: A Review of “The Gates of Europe”
During a time of war, history becomes a weapon used to justify claims and raise soldiers’ spirits. In this case, successful histories are simple, unequivocal, and confirmed by the experiences of past centuries.The current Kremlin version of history of the relationship between Russia and Ukraine fully meets these criteria. According to...
Ukraine Should Do More to Combat Human Trafficking
Ukraine remains one of Europe’s most notorious sources of human trafficking. Since 1991, over 160,000 men, women, and children have been exploited for labor, sex, forced begging, and organ removal, according to a mid-2015 report from the International Organization for Migration (IOM).Ukraine’s Ministry of Social Policy, with...
2016 Will Be a Make It or Break It Year for Ukraine
Two years ago, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians braved the freezing temperatures on Kyiv’s Maidan to protest. Since then, Ukraine has gone through almost too many crises to count: upheaval with the ousting of former President Viktor Yanukovych; Russian occupation of Crimea; a war with Russian forces in the Donbas that continues to...
How Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Sabotaged the Reform Process
Viktor Shokin, Ukraine’s prosecutor general, was upbeat in his New Year’s message to colleagues. While “2015 was a difficult and responsible year for us all,” he wrote, we “carried out unprecedented reform and overhaul of the prosecutor’s system, bringing it closer to European standards.” Almost thirty...
Ten Reasons Why I’m Optimistic About Ukraine’s Economy in 2016
The outlook for the Ukrainian economy in 2016 is positive. Many important reforms were carried out in 2015. The necessary exchange rate adjustment has occurred and most required bank closures have taken place. The parliament has adopted tax changes and a decent budget for 2016. The debt restructuring deal has postponed foreign debt service. The...
Putin’s Next Potential Target: The Baltic States
Although Russia’s economy is reeling and its military forces are increasingly engaged in Syria and Ukraine, NATO commanders, governments, and analysts are concerned that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s adventurism has not run its course. Most anxieties focus on the Baltic states as Russia’s next potential military...
