Section: Atlantic Council (USA)
What Ukraine Can Learn From Poland
When the Soviet Union crumbled in 1991, both Poland and Ukraine were poor. Since then, the Polish economy has boomed, while Ukrainians are poorer than they were twenty-four years ago.Poland got its reforms right in the 1990s, and now plays a significant role in Ukraine’s reform process. This is evident in the close relations between both...
Here’s How to Make Sense of the Violence in Western Ukraine
Ukraine made headlines again when a nationalist group and police in the western city of Mukachevo exchanged gunfire that killed three on June 11. A group of 21 armed members of Right Sector seized a sports complex owned by Member of Parliament Mikhail Lanyo and reportedly beat and shot one of his employees in the process. …read more Source:...
Greek Crisis ‘Diverts Attention’ from Kyiv
Ukraine’s Economy Minister: Unlike Greece, Ukraine is embracing reforms The Greek financial crisis has diverted global attention away from Ukraine, but it also “sheds a positive light” on the Kyiv government’s achievements, Ukrainian Economy Minister Aivaras Abromavicius said in a July 14 interview.”Greece is...
Ukraine Must Put Reform Agenda in Overdrive While There’s Still Time
Kyiv is vibrant with intellectual and political discussions. As after any revolution the debate is about what is wrong and what should be done. Policy people acknowledge that reforms are proceeding but too slowly, while a typical business verdict is that corruption is as bad as before, but it has become more disorganized, since the old Yanukovych...
Here’s Why European Disunity is a Greater Threat to Ukraine Than Russia
As the Greek tragedy unfolds, many Europeans seem to have forgotten that for the first time since the end of World War II, a country is trying to redraw European borders by force. Russia’s annexation of Crimea and its support for rebels in eastern Ukraine is, by far, Europe’s most serious security crisis since the Balkan wars. Once...
Ukraine’s Dangerous Drive to Decentralize
Here’s Why the West Should Stop Pushing Decentralization Now In the coming days the Ukrainian parliament is expected to debate a draft law that would amend Ukraine’s Constitution on decentralization to expand local governments’ powers.The West has enthusiastically encouraged Ukraine to embrace decentralization, provide special...
Here’s Why More Ukrainians Admire Nationalists, and Why the West Shouldn’t Freak Out
Here’s a suggestion that will strike you as either painfully obvious or unnecessarily cumbersome. If you really want to understand contemporary Ukraine and Ukrainians, you need to know Ukrainian. If you accept that point, then discard all the writings by linguistically challenged analysts incapable of delving deeper into the Ukrainian...
Repression of Crimean Tatars Intensifies Under Russia, Says New Turkish Report
Russian authorities have forced Crimean Tatars to become Russian citizens and curtailed their freedoms of speech, language, education, and residence—as well as their right to a fair trial. That’s according to an independent group of Turkish scholars sent to Crimea to investigate human rights violations after Russia annexed the peninsula on...
Here’s Why Armenia Is Not Ukraine
The Electric Yerevan protest officially ended July 7, two weeks after it began as a reaction to the Armenian government’s 16.7 percent increase in electricity prices. But the social movement behind it will likely continue influencing Armenia until the country makes serious political reforms.Thousands marched on Yerevan’s Baghramyan...
Ukraine Is More Important Than Greece
For one year, Russia has pursued a long, costly war of aggression against Ukraine. Its objective is obvious: to destabilize Ukraine so that the new democratic regime fails. Therefore, the West should adjust its goals accordingly to offer Ukraine financial support.The Kremlin has presented one false objective after the other for this aggression....
