Section: Atlantic Council (USA)
The Other War: Ukraine Wins a First Big Battle Against Corruption
Parliament Votes in Landslide to Remove its Own 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...
Making Ukraine’s ‘Glimmer of Hope’ Sustainable
If Russia Permits, the Minsk Accord Could Be a Start for Stabilizing Donbas The ceasefire agreement signed by Russia and Ukraine on in Minsk on 12 February offers what German Chancellor Angela Merkel calls “a glimmer of hope, no more no less” for constricting, and eventually ending, the war in southeast Ukraine’s Donbas region. Whether that...
Russia’s Military Advance in Ukraine Wins It Advantages in New Truce Deal
‘Minsk II’ Accord Will Let Moscow Keep Pumping Arms, Fighters into Ukraine War With thousands of Ukrainian troops nearly surrounded in Donbas by the freshly armed, Kremlin-directed rebel militias, Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko accepted the Minsk II agreement February 12. The new accord is clearly less advantageous to Kyiv than...
A Glimmer of Hope in Ukraine?
A new deal that would end the fighting between Ukrainian security forces and Russian-backed separatists is being met with skepticism amid an escalation in the conflict in eastern Ukraine.“This is essentially the same ceasefire that failed before, so I expect the same issues to arise: Kyiv’s control of the border, lack of removal of...
Ukraine’s Fate Hangs in the Balance in Minsk, Once Again
The leaders of France, Germany, Russia, and Ukraine are set to meet in Belarus’ capital Minsk on February 11 to hammer out a deal to end the fighting in eastern Ukraine. The meeting takes place against a backdrop of a worsening conflict as Russian-backed separatists made a push to take new territory and consolidate their strongholds in what...
Obama-Merkel Accord Delays Talk of Arms for Ukraine’s Defense Against Russia
Europe Signals New Negotiation With Kremlin Will Not Include New Pressures on Kyiv The Obama-Merkel summit was critical for maintaining Transatlantic unity in the face of Moscow’s escalating aggression in Ukraine. While skeptical of the Kremlin’s intentions, German Chancellor Angela Merkel would like to try another round of diplomacy...
Ukraine’s Crisis is Deeper—and Loans by Its Allies More Critical—Than You May Think
Kyiv Lacks the Money to Accomplish the Aggressive Reforms that Ukrainians and the West Seek The uncertainty around how much—and how soon—Ukraine might get help from international lenders is contributing to two real economic dangers facing the country: a default on its debts and a radical slashing of the budget. Ukraine’s friends—the United...
US, Germany Seek a United Front on Ukraine
Differences over arming Ukrainian security forces could vanish if Minsk talks fail, says Atlantic Council’s Burwell The question of providing defensive weapons to Ukraine’s security forces will dominate the meeting between US President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the White House on February 9. The Obama...
Amid Escalated War, U.S. Weighs Defensive Weapons for Ukraine
France & Germany Use Specter of a Better-Armed Ukraine to Press Putin The Obama administration has announced no decision on whether to help Ukraine use US-made weapons to defend itself against Russian-sponsored attacks. But France and Germany are probing to see whether that threat alone might be enough to push Russian President Vladimir...
Europe Taking Steps to Wean Itself off Russian Gas
European Commission official says supply security one of five goals of new energy union Europe has seized the opportunity provided by the Ukraine crisis to improve its energy security, according to Miguel Arias Cañete, Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy in the European Commission. The annexation of Crimea by Russia in March of 2014, and...
