Section: Atlantic Council (USA)
Ukraine Debt Deal Could Spark Chain Reaction
Ukraine’s economy is in crisis. Experts warn that the country’s gross domestic product could shrink by 6 to 12 percent and inflation could exceed 40 percent in 2015, although one prominent economist put that figure in triple digits already. The war in eastern Ukraine has throttled the country’s industrial capacity. To prevent...
Ukraine’s Volunteer Battalions Must Join the Military or Sheath the Sword
The Ukrainian army faces growing criticism from within its ranks after humiliating defeats at Debaltseve and Ilovaisk in eastern Ukraine. When fighting broke out between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists, the Ukrainian military was weak and the state had to rely on volunteers. Of the fifty thousand Ukrainian troops in the field, 22...
The West’s Strategy Toward Putin Promises Conflict and Increases Danger of Wider War
Ian Brzezinski: Our policy “conveys hesitancy and a lack of unity and determination. It has failed to convince Putin to reverse course. Indeed, it may have actually emboldened him.” The West’s current strategy toward Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aggression in Ukraine not only promises continued conflict in Ukraine but also poses...
Klitschko: Economic Success Will Unite Country
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko is no pushover. The former professional boxer turned politician has held the World Boxing Organization’s Heavyweight title three times. Known for his powerful punches, Klitschko’s 87 percent knockout rate is the second-best knockout-to-fight ratio of any champion in heavyweight boxing history.Klitschko, who...
Ukraine’s PR Problem Isn’t Just a PR Problem
Ukraine has a problem with global public relations. Despite its fundamentally compelling narrative—a recent democracy defending itself against a much larger, authoritarian neighbor—the country’s efforts remain uncoordinated, unprofessional, and unfiltered. Even as the state relies on a worldwide diaspora in its struggle for survival, it...
Let’s Go “All In” on Ukraine
In October 1949, as the defeated forces of Chiang Kai-shek fled to Taiwan and Mao Zedong declared the founding of the People’s Republic of China, Republicans in Congress blamed Harry S. Truman for losing China. Some demanded a pivot from Europe to Asia in US foreign policy. Truman might have been persuaded a few years earlier when US...
Defining US Strategy for a World in Transition
With war tearing apart eastern Ukraine, ethnic strife claiming lives from Libya to Yemen, and record numbers of African refugees drowning in the Mediterranean, it’s easy to conclude that the once-familiar world order is falling apart. Whether or not that’s true, few scholars would dispute that the United States is no longer in charge...
Gazprom, Just Follow the Law
European energy security has received a great deal of attention on both sides of the Atlantic since Russia suspended gas shipments through Ukraine in the winter of 2009. In response to Ukraine’s experience, the European Union has taken steps to develop interconnectors and new liquefied natural gas facilities that would allow gas to flow to...
Letter: Experts Worry that “Decommunization” Laws Curtail Free Speech
Editor’s note:It’s unfortunate that in a time of critical issues that legislation that disenfranchises so many looks like it’s going to become law.Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is expected to sign four laws on “decommunization,” recently passed by Ukraine’s parliament, which enact an official version of...
The Achilles’ Heel of Ukraine’s Mighty Oligarchs
The Ukrainian government’s well-executed showdown in March 2015 to rein in the country’s wealthiest oligarch is the first of many battles with the oligarchs that lie ahead. In the battle with the oligarchs, Poroshenko—the owner of Roshen Confectionery Corporation and an oligarch himself—is uniquely positioned to fight. The President...
