Section: Research Organizations & Think Tanks about Ukraine
Donbas Diplomacy: Ukraine Bides Its Time
The Minsk agreements are not dead, nor is the conflict in Donbas frozen. Despite a recent diplomatic push, and given the lack of trust between Russia and the United States, and Ukraine’s resistance to the Minsk accords, the status quo is for the time being an acceptable option for all sides. Mired in the upcoming election cycle in 2019,...
Unintended Consequences of Sanctions on Russia
Russian soldiers without insignia – “little green men” – in Simferopol on Crimean peninsula, photo by Anton Holoborodko via WikipediaBESA Center Perspectives Paper No. 770, March 16, 2018 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014, the downing of a civilian aircraft, and the Russian military aggression in...
Russia uses loyal ‘observers’ and repression for illegal elections in occupied Crimea
As expected, Russia has invited unwavering supporters from different countries to act as supposed ‘observers’ of the presidential elections which it is illegally holding in occupied Crimea. …read more Source: Kharkiv Human Rights Protection...
When States Kill
There can be no doubt who poisoned Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury on 4 March. The interesting question is why. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
Political Shenanigans to the End: Ukraine’s Parliament elects their own MP as ‘Human Rights Ombudsman’
“The Ombudsman is not a commodity and parliament is not a bazaar!”. That was the message from Ukrainian rights activists this week, and one that Ukraine’s parliamentarians have now ignored. On March 15, a politician was elected to the post by her colleagues through procedure in open breach of the Law on the Human Rights Ombudsperson...
The Byzantine history of Putin’s Russian empire
Russian athletes were conspicuous in their neutral colours during this year’s Winter Olympics and Paralympics due to a ban based on doping allegations. In Vancouver in 2010 and in Sochi in 2014, however, Russia’s Olympic hockey jerseys prominently featured a two-headed eagle exactly where Canada’s jerseys highlighted the maple...
The Balkans’ unravelling peace
It was not that long ago, well into the late 2000s in fact, that the complex network of internationally brokered peace agreements that pacified the Western Balkans in the wake of the 1991-2001 Yugoslav wars were held up as hallmarks of post-Cold War diplomacy. Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Dayton peace accords, in particular, were regularly...
Watch List: March 15, 2018
The items listed below represent potential emerging issues that our analysts are tracking. These can be long term or short term, but will be updated daily. If an item on our Watch List becomes critical, we will email you a full analysis explaining its significance. Each Saturday, we will follow up our daily Watch List for each week with our...
Putin is sure to win, so what’s the point of elections in Russia?
EPA/Sergei ChirikovThe result of the imminent presidential election in Russia won’t surprise anyone. The incumbent, Vladimir Putin, will be reelected for the fourth time until 2024, to become Russia’s longest serving ruler since Stalin. Putin’s victory will be based on two contradictory factors. On the one hand, he is genuinely...
Kyiv Weighs Costs of Prosecuting Manafort
Ukraine’s elites may feel that keeping Trump happy outweighs the karma points for crushing his former aide. …read more Source: Transitions Online...