Section: Atlantic Council (USA)
Minimizing the Kremlin’s Influence on Europe
Ukraine can play a key role in Europe’s effort to decrease dependence on Russia’s natural gas. Europe’s over-weaning dependence on Russian energy is the focus of my new Atlantic Council study: Developing a Western Energy Strategy for the Black Sea Region and Beyond. Gazprom’s—and Moscow’s—energy clout has become a...
Ukraine Takes Two Steps Forward on Corruption Fight
On November 30, Ukraine took two steps forward in its fight against corruption. Member of parliament Mykola Martynenko resigned his position, and Nazar Kholodnytsky was appointed the nation’s top anticorruption prosecutor.Martynenko was the deputy head of Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk’s People’s Front party and the head of...
Russia Is a “Troll State,” Not a Rogue State
In the eighteen months since Russia annexed Crimea, the world has been alternately captivated and bewildered by the wild swings and sudden shifts that describe Russian foreign policy under President Vladimir Putin. Particularly alarming for those who fear a direct clash between Russia and the West has been Putin’s tendency to swerve between...
Mykolayiv Makes a Surprising Turn Toward the West
Built on a series of spits and peninsulas, the Ukrainian city of Mykolayiv feels surrounded by water. It is here that in 1789, Russian Prince Gregory Potemkin built the shipyards that would repair Russian Empire ships fighting the Ottoman Empire, shipyards that remained of such importance that the city was closed to foreigners for most of the...
“The human rights situation in Crimea today is deplorable,” German MP Says
Editor’s Note: This piece is adapted from a speech Dr. Christoph Bergner, a member of Germany’s Bundestag, gave at the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Foundation on October 21, 2015.I would like to thank the organizers of this event for making human rights issues in Crimea the main topic. Even if other news is currently making headlines, we...
Ukraine Two Years After Euromaidan: What Has Been Accomplished?
Two years ago, popular protests erupted against Ukraine’s former President Viktor Yanukovych on Kyiv’s Maidan. Since then, Ukraine’s economy has deteriorated sharply, with a contraction of 18 percent in two years, but the Poroshenko Bloc was the biggest party by far in the October 25 local elections. One might say that the...
Wanted: A Strong Stand Against Russia
The shoot-down by Turkish fighters of a Russian warplane in Turkish airspace is an event of major significance in Syria, Ukraine, and beyond. The savage attack by the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) in Paris on Nov. 13 has prompted French President François Hollande to seek a grand coalition with the United States and Russia against...
Making Sense of Mariupol’s Messy Elections
As cities finished counting the votes from Ukraine’s second round of mayoral elections, Mariupol and Krasnoarmiisk in the Donetsk region still haven’t held elections. Mariupol, which over the last nineteen months has been a strategic target of pro-Russian separatists, has become a political battleground. Local elections that were...
Ukraine Is Not a Bargaining Chip for Putin’s Support Against ISIS
A month and a half ago, while traveling along the frontlines of eastern Ukraine, I predicted that the Minsk II ceasefire agreements would not be respected by the Kremlin and its puppet Peoples’ Republics. It was clear to me—in spite of a tentative ceasefire put in place on October 2—that the situation in the Donbas would continue to...
Making Sense of Ukraine’s Local Elections: Voters Put Multiple Parties in Office
As the ballots are counted in Ukraine’s November 15 runoff elections, the preliminary results show no national mandate or overarching themes. Instead, in a positive step for the country’s democratic development, voters dispersed power widely and put multiple political parties into office. Here’s a quick rundown of the big races...
