Section: Atlantic Council (USA)
As Russia Prepares a Next Offensive, It’s Time for Obama to Lead
Provide Weapons to Ukraine, More NATO Cover to Baltics—and Leadership for Europe President Barack Obama has given space for Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel to lead recently in the Western response to Russia’s war on Ukraine. But now, writes former Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns, it’s time for Obama to take the reins...
The Myth of the West’s Threat to Russia
Did NATO Provoke a War By Trying to ‘Take’ Ukraine From Russia? Much Western thinking about the causes of the Russo-Ukrainian War is rooted in a myth. It posits that the West—or, more specifically, NATO—attempted to wrest Ukraine from Russia’s sphere of influence, thereby forcing Vladimir Putin to defend Russia’s legitimate...
Europe Averts Winter Gas Cutoff for Now with Ukraine-Russia Deal
For Long-Term Security, EU Should Push Moscow to Obey Rules and Kyiv to Reform Gas Sector By brokering a March 2 interim gas deal between Ukraine and Russia, the European Union helped avert a wintertime cutoff of gas to Ukraine and other parts of Europe. Russia had threatened to halt supplies to Ukraine in the two countries’ dispute over...
Is the IMF Bailout Enough for Ukraine?
An International Monetary Fund bailout for Ukraine underestimates the banking sector’s needs and is unrealistic about government expenditure on security and defense, according to Andrei Kirilenko, a Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Ukraine has secured a $40 billion bailout from the IMF and other creditors. The...
Nemtsov Assassination Is Rooted in Putin’s Authoritarianism
Passive Responses to Putin Darken the Future for Ukraine—and for Russia The professional killing of Boris Nemtsov February 27 confronts us with two facts that Western policymakers ignore at great cost in the Russia-Ukraine war. First, Mr. Putin’s war in Ukraine is potentially a great domestic political liability for him. Second, it is...
Russian Opposition Leader, Boris Nemtsov, Killed in Moscow
[View the story “Nemtsov, a Putin critic, was to address rally denouncing Russia’s role in Ukraine” on Storify] …read more Source: Atlantic...
The Flawed Minsk Peace Accord—And How to Use It
Truce Buys Ukraine Time to Get a Little Real Help From Its Friends Ukraine and its allies hope this month’s cease-fire deal agreed with Russia and Russian-backed rebels brings relative calm to southeastern Ukraine. But the Minsk agreement is deeply flawed, and there is every chance it may yet unravel, even if it holds for the short term....
Ukraine’s Fight Against Corruption Slogs Forward
New Prosecutor Briefly Arrests a Prominent Oligarch; Anti-Corruption Bureau Seeks a Director The Ukrainian campaign to actually begin cleaning up Europe’s most corrupt government and economy is progressing more slowly than many Ukrainians have demanded. But the past week showed some movement in two critical government agencies: the...
Russian Forces Win a ‘Cease-Fire’ Battle in Ukraine
Kyiv Forced into New Retreat; US, Europe Must Increase Support, Atlantic Council Analysts Say At midday February 18, three-and-a-half days beyond the designated hour for a cease-fire in eastern Ukraine, fighting was continuing in the strategic city of Debaltseve, where Russian forces continue to pound a nearly surrounded Ukrainian contingent that...
Ukraine’s Other War: Parliament Advances Anti-Corruption Fight
Lawmakers Vote to End Their Immunity from Prosecution Members of Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, overwhelmingly passed a bill to end their own legal immunity from prosecution, one of the main laws that for years helped Ukraine to the top of Europe’s corruption charts. Article 80 of Ukraine’s constitution protects all...
