Section: Atlantic Council (USA)
Failing on the Ukrainian Battlefield, Russia Turns to Terrorism
To understand how Russia conducts its foreign policy, simply look at what the Kremlin accuses everyone else of doing. Unlike the Soviet Union, which operated under a coherent ideology, the Russian government under President Vladimir Putin seems to believe that everybody is a cynical power player, and that the West is simply hypocritical about it....
Judiciary Reforms Take a Major Step Forward in Ukraine
While Ukraine’s eastern front falls quiet, a different campaign rages in the conference rooms of Kyiv. The administration of President Petro Poroshenko is overhauling the Ukrainian state, amending everything from the constitution to the tax code. The most important reform may be the creation of an independent judiciary. As Anders Åslund...
Expert Panel Identifies Ways to Defeat Corruption in Ukraine
A top Citibank executive and one of Ukraine’s most popular rock stars were among five luminaries who offered their suggestions Monday for cleaning up the endemic corruption that has long strangled the Ukrainian economy and kept foreign investors away.The five appeared on a November 9 panel titled “Securing Ukraine’s Future:...
Ukraine Needs Responsible Public Finances Now
With increasing surprise, I follow the Ukrainian discussion about public finances. Strangely, some prominent Ukrainians seem to think that taxes and public expenditures have no relationship to one another, arguing that public expenditures should be increased and taxes should be cut. But that is called populism, the disease Ukraine has suffered...
Justice Sector Is Central Battlefield in Struggle Between Old Ukraine and New Ukraine
Editor’s note: US Ambassador Geoffrey R. Pyatt gave remarks at the “Conference on Legal and Governance Reform,” sponsored by the US-Ukraine Business Council and Kyiv School of Economics on October 30, 2015 in Kyiv. Pyatt’s remarks have been shortened below. The full version is available here.What a difference a year...
New Film Captures Ukraine’s 91-Day Fight for Freedom
History is mostly curated and told years or even centuries later by persons not directly involved.But the twentieth century video camera brought us history on the run, produced by journalists, and now the cell phone records events and stories told by the participants themselves in real time.The finest example of this New History is the newly...
Why Poroshenko’s Support for Shokin Is Dangerous
On October 31, protesters parked ninety-three cars outside the private residence of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to demand that he fire Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin. Protesters held signs demanding change and a few held placards supporting the President. The atmosphere was reminiscent of the Euromaidan protests, but on a much smaller...
Poroshenko Not Serious About Fighting Corruption, Says Leading Anticorruption Reformer
Bogdan Yakymiuk radiates optimism. But despite his quick smile, the thirty-seven-year old reformer is deadly serious when it comes to corruption.”The speed of corruption in Ukraine equals $100 million Euro per hour,” Yakymiuk said in an October 27 interview in Washington. …read more Source: Atlantic...
“We Must Keep the Focus on Ukraine and Spread the Truth,” Says New Ukrainian Ambassador
Valeriy Chaly, Ukraine’s new ambassador in Washington, sees the United States as his country’s “main strategic partner” and says he wants to use that bilateral relationship “to resolve the crisis created by Russia in Eastern Europe and find the best model of security in this part of the world.”Chaly, 45,...
The Motivations Behind Poroshenko’s New Anticorruption Drive
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko’s government appears to have launched a new anticorruption drive with the October 31 detention of Gennadiy Korban, a close associate of oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky and the leader of Ukrop, a political party funded by Kolomoisky. The authorities arrested Korban following an investigation that began last year...
