Editor’s Note: This op-ed was published by Atlantic Council. It is republished here with permission. With Russian troops massed along Ukraine’s borders and Vladimir Putin threatening a potentially devastating new invasion of the country, the drumbeat of Kremlin propaganda is also becoming noticeably louder. This is no surprise.
Editor’s Note: This is issue 62of Ukrainian State-Owned Enterprises Weekly covering events from Jan. 22 – Jan. 28, 2022. The Kyiv Independent is reposting it with permission. Corporate governance in SOEs The Verkhovna Rada establishes a Temporary Commission of Inquiry for State Audit Service, State Customs Service, and Naftogaz. On
Editor’s Note: This op-ed was published by Atlantic Council. It is republished here with permission. With Russia threatening a new invasion of Ukraine, US and EU officials have been working on contingency plans to identify alternative energy supplies for European consumers in case Moscow disrupts westward deliveries of oil
Perhaps the greatest indictment that could be made against Ukraine’s pre-Maidan President Viktor Yanychovych who fled to Rostov, Russia under armed guard, was the evidence of how ill prepared the Ukrainian military was when Vladimir Putin invaded and then illegally occupied the sovereign lands of Ukraine, specifically parts of
As my home country of Ukraine once again finds itself caught in the glare of the international media spotlight during its tense standoff with Russia, something catches my eye lately: The seeming inability by some respected news outlets to correctly name Ukraine. Specifically, the addition of that pesky definite article:
On Wednesday, January 26, the United States’ ambassador in Moscow, John Sullivan, personally delivered a memorandum to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs containing the official US reply to earlier Russian demands on security guarantees. Simultaneously, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) handed over to Moscow its separate written response.
Ukraine is about to become the burial ground for the western rules-based global order, NATO, and the EU. The world’s dictators are watching. Vladimir Putin is at the top of his power with Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine about to fall in his order. Iran is about to cross
Editor's Note: This op-ed was published in Ukrainian by RFE/RL. The Kyiv Independent has translated it and is republishing it with permission. The opinions expressed in the op-ed section are those of the authors. Joseph Stalin made a huge mistake when he didn’t believe Soviet intelligence on Adolf
Editor’s Note: This op-ed was published by Atlantic Council. It is republished here with permission. In a recent article on the current geopolitical crisis in Eastern Europe, Estonian MP and security expert Eerik-Niiles Kross made the perceptive and provocative statement, “We know what the Russians want, but we are
This opinion was originally published at New Canadian Media. It's been updated to include latest developments. Canada’s Federal government took a good step by deploying 60 more personnel to join 200 troops already on the ground, which came as part of a $340 million Canadian (US$268 million) commitment
As Russian President Vladimir Putin continues his bellicose rhetoric and pours more and more troops across multiple fronts with Ukraine, the world holds its breath at a crucial juncture. What path we go down next, whether Russia backs down or makes good on its threats, will largely depend on whether
Russia’s build-up of troops on Ukraine’s border makes headlines worldwide and keeps the leaders of liberal democratic countries worried. Russia has amassed heavy arms and more than 100,000 soldiers at Ukraine’s eastern border and in occupied Crimea as well as in Belarus. We should also remember
We can still call ourselves human when we come to our neighbor's aid despite a psychopath villain threatening his existence and, perhaps, ours too. Such human gestures came recently from the little Baltic states, Poland the Czech Republic, Denmark, Canada, and others most importantly from the United States. All committed
I have been getting a lot of questions about Ukraine of late, for obvious reasons. I haven't been giving out too many answers because, frankly, I have no idea of what Mr Putin intends to do this week, next month, or next year. Nor do the other pundits I have
The frightening risk of Europe’s most devastating war in nearly 80 years is growing ever more real as the United States warns that Russia could launch a massive new invasion in Ukraine “on very short notice” and readies NATO forces to deploy in Eastern Europe. The catastrophic effects of
Editor’s Note: This op-ed was published by Atlantic Council. It is republished here with permission. Ever since 2014, Russian President Vladimir Putin has weaponized history as part of his hybrid war against Ukraine. On numerous occasions, most infamously in his July 2021 essay “On the Historical Unity of Russians
Editor’s Note: This op-ed was published by Atlantic Council. It is republished here with permission. Russian President Vladimir Putin has moved to escalate tensions with Ukraine in recent months by putting a huge and unprecedented Russian military force on its borders while launching a concerted “coercive” diplomatic effort sketching
Editor’s Note: This op-ed was published by Atlantic Council. It is republished here with permission. As I watch the never-ending coverage of the current Russian military build-up around Ukraine, I am struck by the fact that, as presented by the international media, the situation seems to have little to
After communism fell, Russia’s rulers, the siloviki (strongmen, like President Vladimir Putin and his cronies) experienced a period of uncertainty. Eventually, Russia came back under their control. They said, you can’t really run a Western democracy in a post-Soviet country, it just results in chaos. But then Latvia,
As the Biden administration and its Western allies decide how to respond next to Russia’s threatening military presence on the borders of Ukraine, it’s worth probing Vladimir Putin’s psyche. Is he a rational leader who grasps the realities of his country’s current standoff with the West?
Tensions have been flying high between Moscow and the West for months, with little prospect currently of imminent de-escalation. Stress is also mounting between Russia and Ukraine, as Russian military activities in the surrounding region increase. In Washington, the White House and President Joseph Biden argue that a Russian invasion
Editor’s Note: This op-ed was published by Atlantic Council. It is republished here with permission. The Putin regime has long sought to convince Russians that international sanctions imposed over the invasion of Ukraine are actually beneficial for the country. Russia’s propaganda machine has also succeeded in persuading many
Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed in the op-ed section are those of the authors. The French habit of being fashionably late is at best irritating, at worst dangerous when war is at stake. In his address to the European Parliament on Jan. 19, Macron urged the European Union to
At the end of last week, a concerted and widespread cyberattack struck Ukrainian government and civil society websites. Kyiv has made it clear that it believes the Russian government to be behind the attacks as part of Russia’s ongoing attempts to destabilize Ukraine. Although the Kremlin denies the accusations,
Jumping in the ice holes during Epiphany peaked its popularity in Ukraine during the 2000s. President Viktor Yushchenko loved to do this — and officials mimicked it, making the event more and more widespread. However, ethnologists, medics, and even priests shared their doubts about this tradition. Now, these doubts sound loud
As a series of high-level talks between the United States, European allies and Russia wind down this week, an uptick in Moscow's military muscle on its borders will remain a preoccupation of western diplomats long after they return to their duty stations. The roughly 100,000 Russian troops stationed near
On 21 July 2021, United States President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Angela Merkel issued a "Joint Statement of the United States and Germany on Support for Ukraine, European Energy Security, and our Climate Goals" that highlighted the arrangements made between the two leaders for the U.S. to withdraw
Russia’s president made strong self-serving demands recently. Among them seeking security guarantees from the United States, its allies and NATO, determining NATO’s membership, and withholding military co-operation to the now independent former USSR states. Otherwise the Zircons will fly, he threatened. President Joe Biden shot back. Ukraine’s
The first thing I do every morning is grab my phone to read the latest news. And every morning I read about yet another ominous threat of Russia invading my home, Ukraine. It’s either Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying Ukraine joining NATO would mean death to Russia as we
Editor’s Note: This is the 60th issue of Ukrainian State-Owned Enterprises Weekly covering events from Dec. 24 - Jan. 14, 2021. The Kyiv Independent is reposting it with permission. Corporate governance in SOEs Changes in Ukrzaliznytsia’s executive board. On Dec. 23, the Cabinet of Ministers resolved to change
Editor’s Note: Gyunduz Mamedov, Ukraine’s deputy prosecutor general in 2019-2021, was in charge of the investigation of the PS752 shootdown on the Ukrainian side. For two years, the Ukrainian investigation of the PS752 catastrophe has been waiting for Iran to fulfill its declared intentions for cooperation. It is
I have certainly put myself out there as having the most hawkish view on Russia (compared to the street consensus), but I still find it difficult to see anything but escalation by Russia with Ukraine from the current postures. Why? First, I just don’t see much room for compromise
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