: :inin Kyiv (EET)

Section: The Jamestown Foundation (USA)

      Russia Set to Strengthen Hard Power Options
      Aug05

      Russia Set to Strengthen Hard Power Options

      Russia’s Armed Forces, feeling the strain of unofficial involvement in Ukraine and maintaining higher readiness throughout the crisis, have recently experienced a number of high-profile air force crashes and setbacks for military modernization. The annual VDV Day saw an opportunity to extol the 85th anniversary of the elite Airborne Forces...

      Southern Gas Corridor’s Advances Cool off Energy Cooperation Between Italy and Russia
      Aug04

      Southern Gas Corridor’s Advances Cool off Energy Cooperation Between Italy and Russia

      The European Union–backed Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) project continues to gain traction against the Moscow-led Turkish Stream natural gas pipeline initiative. The game-changer in the Euro-Russian “battle” for pipelines and energy hubs could be the participation of the major oil and gas producers Iran and Turkmenistan in the planned European...

      Elections in Donetsk-Luhansk ‘People’s Republics’ And Russia’s New Conflict-Freeze Model
      Aug04

      Elections in Donetsk-Luhansk ‘People’s Republics’ And Russia’s New Conflict-Freeze Model

      Western governments regularly disagree with the Kremlin over the meaning of democracy and free elections. Nevertheless, Western diplomacy currently supports Moscow’s goal for local elections to be staged in the Russian-controlled territory of Ukraine’s east. If validated as apparently intended by the Organization for Security and...

      Russia Insists on Own Impunity, Gains Pariah Status
      Aug04

      Russia Insists on Own Impunity, Gains Pariah Status

      The Russian nyet in the United Nations Security Council, which blocked the resolution on setting up an international tribunal on the downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 over eastern Ukraine, was entirely predictable (see EDM, July 30). President Vladimir Putin had described the proposed legal body as “untimely,” and many Russian officials and...

      Once Again Moscow Tries to Intimidate Tokyo
      Aug01

      Once Again Moscow Tries to Intimidate Tokyo

      Despite the best efforts of both Moscow and Tokyo to sustain the momentum toward a full normalization of their relations and a genuine rapprochement (see EDM, February 24, 2014; June 10, 2014), once again Russia has tried to intimidate Japan. In June 2015, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu ordered a program of new military and civilian...

      Elections in Ukraine’s Secessionist Territory: A Topic of International Negotiation (Part Two)
      Aug01

      Elections in Ukraine’s Secessionist Territory: A Topic of International Negotiation (Part Two)

      To read Part One, please click here. At this point, Moscow seems content to watch Western diplomats urging Kyiv to legitimize the Donetsk-Luhansk authorities through local elections, and (as a consequence of this) enshrining an official status for that territory in Ukraine’s constitution (see EDM, July 20, 24). According to Kyiv officials,...

      Elections in Ukraine’s Secessionist Territory: A Topic of International Negotiation (Part One)
      Aug01

      Elections in Ukraine’s Secessionist Territory: A Topic of International Negotiation (Part One)

      Ukraine is scheduled to hold local elections throughout the country (except the Russian-occupied territories) on October 25—the first such elections since the advent of a Western-oriented Ukrainian government. Under Ukrainian laws, passed in March (and corresponding with international law), elections of Ukraine may not be held in territories of...

      Belarus: Domestic Events and Outside Actors
      Jul31

      Belarus: Domestic Events and Outside Actors

      Recent news about Belarus has recently concentrated on three somewhat connected issues: the upcoming presidential elections, economic decline, and the activities of Moscow and the collective West vis-à-vis Minsk. On July 20, Lidia Ermoshina, chairperson of Belarus’s Central Electoral Commission (CEC), participated in a Vienna-based seminar...

      Russia Vetoes UN Draft Resolution on MH17 Tribunal
      Jul31

      Russia Vetoes UN Draft Resolution on MH17 Tribunal

      Moscow vetoed a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) draft resolution that would have set up an international tribunal to investigate and prosecute those involved in the downing passenger airliner of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17. The Boeing 777 jet was shot down on July 17, 2014, in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas, over territory...

      Kazakhstan’s Next Parliamentary Election May Lay Foundation for Eventual Presidential Succession
      Jul30

      Kazakhstan’s Next Parliamentary Election May Lay Foundation for Eventual Presidential Succession

      In early July, Kazakh media reported on a new political initiative announced by a group of young activists headed by Olesya Khalabuzar (Informburo.kz, July 8). The group proposed the creation of a political party under the name “Spravedlivost” (“Justice”). This “new left” project seeks to build a multi-ethnic organization that would advocate...