Pavel Korduban - Jamestown

Party of Regions Plays Russian Language Trump Card Again

Several Ukrainian people’s deputies had their faces bruised and their shirts torn in a fistfight in parliament on April 24. The opposition caucuses of Our Ukraine and former Prime Minister...

Ukraine Chooses Shell and Chevron to Extract Shale Gas

The Ukrainian government has chosen Shell and Chevron to develop its shale gas fields. Their first drilling results are expected in 2013-2014. Whether or not these results match expectations will...

Ukraine’s Two Main Opposition Parties Join Forces for Parliamentary Election

Ukraine’s two largest opposition parties – Fatherland, which is headed by the imprisoned former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, and the Front of Change (FZ) whose leader is the former parliamentary...

Ukraine’s Former Defense Minister Ivashchenko Jailed

The Pechersky district court in Kyiv on April 12 sentenced Valery Ivashchenko, who was acting Minister of Defense from June 2009 until April 2010, to five years in jail. This...

Ukrainian Former Prime Minister Tymoshenko Faces Murder Accusations

Ukrainian prosecutors announced last week that former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko (2005; 2007-2010) and former Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko (1996-1997) were suspected of commissioning several murders in the 1990s. This...

Brussels Chooses to Initial Only Part of Association Agreement with Ukraine

The Ukraine-EU association and free trade agreement will not be concluded this year, Kyiv has admitted after only part of the text of the agreement was initialed in Brussels on...

Ukraine’s Party of Regions Uses Populist Promises, Acquires New Allies to Win Election

Opinion polls show that although the ruling Party of Regions (PRU) remains the most popular party, it may lose the parliamentary election scheduled for October 28 to the combined forces...

President Yanukovych to Bribe Voters with Handouts Ahead of October Election

President Viktor Yanukovych on March 7 pompously instructed the Ukrainian government to launch social reforms. The plan boils down to bribing the poorest strata with handouts at a time when...

Ukrainian President Yanukovych Continues to Reshuffle Government

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych continues reshuffling his government with an eye to the parliamentary election scheduled for October 28. Political lightweights are being replaced with heavyweights and individuals personally loyal...

Ukrainian Police Crackdown on Electronic File-Sharing Service

The Ukrainian authorities’ decision to close a popular file-sharing service has almost provoked a revolution on the local Internet. Following a crackdown on ex.ua, which is Ukraine’s most popular source...

Ukraine Struggles to Find Alternatives to Russian Gas

After Moscow’s refusal to cut gas prices for this year, Kyiv has threatened to cut its imports from Russia between 27 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas and 33 bcm...

Ukraine’s Former Security Chief and Media Tycoon Khoroshkovsky Appointed as Finance Minister

On January 18, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych appointed Valery Khoroshkovsky as the Finance Minister and relieved him of his duties as chief of the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU). Khoroshkovsky replaced...

Rinat Akhmetov’s DTEK Acquires Ukrainian Energy Assets

The energy company DTEK has increased its shares in Ukraine’s four key regional power companies to controlling stakes during the past three months. Along with being the main buyer in...

Ukraine Braces for Gas Transportation Consortium with Russia

Kyiv’s hopes for cheaper Russian gas from January 1, have failed to materialize. However, gas talks are continuing and there are signs that Moscow will agree to cut the price...

Tymoshenko’s Imprisonment Slows Integration with the European Union

The association agreement with the EU comprising a free trade agreement was not signed or initialed at the Ukraine-EU summit in Kyiv on December 19. EU Council President Herman van...

New Election Law to Prompt Consolidation of Ukrainian Opposition

On December 8, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych signed the law on parliamentary elections, which parliament passed on November 17. The new law should allow the ruling Party of Regions to...

Ukraine Loses Fight Against Corruption

The Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) has detained a fire inspector for soliciting a $44,000 bribe from a company which was involved in the construction of a new stadium for the...

Yanukovych Set to Sacrifice European Future and Keep Tymoshenko In Prison

As the EU-Ukraine summit scheduled for December 19 approaches, the chances for concluding an association agreement decrease. Although the two sides have completed their association and free trade talks (see...

Ukraine Fails to Secure IMF Financing In 2011

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission that arrived in Ukraine on October 25 left the country on November 3, one day ahead of schedule, without agreement on the next loan...

Ukraine Completes Free Trade Talks With Both the EU and CIS

Ukraine has signed a free trade agreement with the CIS and completed its free trade talks with the EU. Unlike membership of the Customs Union (Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan), which...

Russia Still Hopes Ukraine Will Join Customs Union

Ukraine has made considerable progress in the free trade talks with the EU during the past several months. Kyiv and Brussels are planning to sign an association and free trade...

Ukrainian President Yanukovych Determined Not to Let Tymoshenko Go

Contrary to expectations of many observers both at home and abroad, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has failed to instruct a parliament loyal to him to decriminalize the offences with which...

EU Offers Carrots for Ukraine to Free Tymoshenko

The Pechersky District court in Kyiv on September 30 adjourned the trial of former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko until the week starting October 10, when a verdict should be...

Ukraine and Russia Prepare New Gas Agreement

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych met with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin near Moscow on September 24 in a last-ditch attempt to persuade the ruling tandem...

Yatsenyuk’s Party Set to Become Third Force In Ukrainian Politics

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Serhy Tyhypko, a former banker who came third in the 2010 presidential elections, has sacrificed his party’s future for his personal ambitions. His liberal party, Strong...

Ukraine-Russia Gas Talks Deadlocked

As winter approaches, the Ukraine-Russia gas price talks have been deadlocked, increasing the likelihood of a repetition of the “gas wars” of 2006 and 2009. Ukrainian officials pledged to avoid...

Ukraine Rejects Criticism of Tymoshenko Arrest: Opposition Struggles to Organize Protests

Kyiv has flatly rejected foreign criticism of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko’s August 5 arrest for contempt of court. While the West was told that the executive cannot interfere with...

Ukraine Starts Upgrading Gas Pipelines, Hoping for EU Assistance

Ukraine has launched the first stage of a long-planned project to upgrade its pipelines, which carry Russian gas to Europe. As the cash-strapped national oil and gas behemoth, Naftohaz Ukrainy,...

Time For Kyiv to Choose Between East and West

Although Ukraine has mended fences with Russia and made progress in the political association and free trade talks with the EU since Viktor Yanukovych’s election as president in February 2010,...

Ukrainian Courts Prevented From Fair Judgment On Tymoshenko

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) on July 5 opened a criminal case against a former business of current opposition leader and former Prime Minister, Yulia Tymoshenko, the United Energy...

Kyiv Expects Chinese Investment Deluge After Hu Jintao’s Visit

China’s President, Hu Jintao, signed important political and trade documents during his June 18 – 20 visit to Ukraine, winding up his CIS tour in which he also visited Kazakhstan...

Will Kyiv Seek Alternatives to Russian Gas or Make Concessions to Moscow?

Kyiv’s recent attempt to persuade Moscow to lower the price of gas for Ukraine proved to be a fiasco. Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, made it clear to his visiting...

Ukraine Risks Losing IMF Support

Ukrainian Prime Minister, Mykola Azarov, looks set to sacrifice the economy for electoral considerations. Azarov is reluctant to meet the key conditions set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to...

Uncertain Future For Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov

On June 1, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych fired the deputy prime minister in charge of utilities and construction, Viktor Tikhonov, and his deputy, Yury Khyvrych. The two were dismissed not...

Ukraine Drifting Away From Customs Union With Russia

Ukraine has sent Russia a clear signal that it is unconvinced it would benefit from membership in the Russian-dominated customs union more than from free trade with the European Union....

Ukraine Expels Czech Diplomats, Jeopardizing Talks with the European Union

Ukraine has expelled two Czech diplomats, explaining that they had gathered military secrets and hired local assistants who now face prison sentences. This is an extraordinary event as Ukraine has...

Ukrainian Opposition Remains Fragmented Ahead of 2012 Parliamentary Election

Clashes between far-right and pro-Russian activists spoilt the Victory Day ceremonies in the Western Ukrainian city of Lviv on May 9. Militants from the far-right Freedom Party beat up pro-Russian...

Kyiv Insists on Revision of Gas Contract with Russia

Ukraine has launched talks to revise the January 2009 gas contract with Russia according to which the base price was hiked from $179 to $450 per 1,000 cubic meters of...

Ukraine Raises $790 Million For Chernobyl Shelter Project at Donor Conference

International donors committed a total of some 550 million Euros ($790 million) for the Chernobyl Shelter Facility (CSF) fund at the donor conference in Kyiv on April 19. Although this...

Ukraine Ignores Russia’s Invitation To Join Customs Union

Ukraine’s leadership has left Moscow’s invitation to join the Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan Customs Union unanswered even after Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin personally traveled to Kyiv to advertise its...

Top Ukrainian Officials Admit Justice Inequalities

Ukrainian President, Viktor Yanukovych, and his team have admitted their helplessness in fighting corruption. While Yanukovych complained in his state-of-the-nation address that corrupt officials torpedoed his reform efforts last year,...

Ukrainian Former President Faces Charges Over Journalist Murder in 2000

The Prosecutor-General’s Office on March 21 launched an investigation against Leonid Kuchma, suspecting him of involvement in the murder of the opposition journalist Georgy Gongadze in 2000, Deputy Prosecutor-General Renat...

Ukraine Sends Mixed Signals on Free Trade With The EU, Russia

Ukraine finds it increasingly difficult to balance its relations between the European Union and Russia, which are viewed in Kyiv as equally important trading partners. While talks on political association...

Ukraine Sells Fixed-Line Operator to Austrian Investment Company

On March 11, the government privatization agency State Property Fund (SPF) signed documents selling 92.8 percent of the fixed-line operator Ukrtelecom shares to ESU, the Ukrainian daughter of the Austrian...

European Union Develops Ties with Kyiv Despite Concerns Over Democracy

It is clear that problems with democracy and slow reforms in Ukraine under President Viktor Yanukovych have not prevented the European Union from developing closer ties with Kyiv. German Foreign...

While IMF Takes Pause, Ukraine Considers Ailing Banks

The mission of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) completed its work in Kyiv on February 14, but more difficult talks are ahead. Ukraine still has to prove that it qualifies...

Ukraine Struggles to Secure Next IMF Tranche

Ukraine is once again in difficult talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to secure a much needed third tranche of the IMF’s $15 billion stand-by loan which was approved...

Ukraine Fails to Deliver Personnel Carriers, Aircraft to Iraq on Time

A $550 million contract for Kyiv to deliver 420 BTR-4 armored personnel carriers and six An-32 light military transport planes to Iraq, which was concluded in 2009, faces a crisis....

Are Continued Arrests of Ukraine’s Former Top Officials Politically Motivated?

Several former top officials who served in the 2008-2009 government of the then Ukrainian Prime Minister, Yulia Tymoshenko, have been arrested on corruption charges since her arch rival Viktor Yanukovych...

Ukraine Launches Administrative Reform, Cuts Central Government

Ukrainian President, Viktor Yanukovych, has launched a reform of public administration. This is the second major reform related to the economy undertaken by his government after the tax reform, which...

WikiLeaks Confirms Role Played by Firtash in Ukrainian Politics

Unlike in the case of several regional neighbors, including Russia, the recent WikiLeaks transcripts hardly carry the potential of spoiling relations between Washington and the current administration in Kyiv. However,...

Ukraine Achieves Limited Progress in EU Integration

In November, the European Union offered Kyiv a plan for visa-free travel and the European parliament recognized that Ukraine has a right to apply for EU membership. Previous Ukrainian governments,...

Putin Fails to Resolve Trade Differences on Kyiv Visit

Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin’s, October 27 visit to Kyiv confirmed that the honeymoon in bilateral relations, which followed Viktor Yanukovych’s election as president last February, is over. It is...

Europe Concerned Over Democracy in Ukraine, While Kyiv Prefers to Focus on Trade

The European Union is ready for compromises with Ukraine in all matters except democratic freedoms, EU Enlargement Commissioner, Stefan Fuele, has stated (UNIAN, October 25). Such words from an EU...

Ukraine Returns to 1996 Constitution, Strengthening President Yanukovych

The Ukrainian Constitutional Court has outlawed the constitutional reform of 2004-2006. This means that Ukraine is returning to the mixed system which existed under the then President, Leonid Kuchma, from...

Yanukovych Explains Policy Priorities During US Visit

Ukrainian President, Viktor Yanukovych, used his September 22-24 second visit to the US as president to clarify his views and intentions towards the West. Many in the US and Western...

Ukrainian Journalists Feel Unprotected 10 Years After Gongadze’s Murder

Ten years after the murder of the opposition journalist, Georgy Gongadze, Ukrainian prosecutors announced that the investigation was completed and the case will shortly be referred to court. The investigation...

Kyiv Rejects Merger of Naftohaz Ukrainy with Gazprom

Fundamental differences have emerged in talks on a joint venture between Russia’s Gazprom and the Naftohaz Ukrainy national oil and gas company. Not only do Kyiv and Moscow differ on...

Ukrainian Government Formulates Liberal Tax Reform

On September 3, the Ukrainian government presented a tax reform which should make the country more attractive to foreign investors and promote economic reform. Prime Minister, Mykola Azarov, stated that...

Ukraine Returns Disputed Gas to RosUkrEnergo

There are indications that the Ukrainian government has agreed to return RosUkrEnergo (RUE) the disputed gas, which the Stockholm court ruled belongs to RUE. According to the ruling, Ukraine has...

IMF Approves New Loan for Ukraine

On July 28, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a $15 billion loan for Ukraine, as most observers expected (EDM, July 21). Ukraine received the first $1.9 billion tranche almost...

Vladimir Putin, Moscow Mayor and Patriarch Kirill Promote Russian Interests in Ukraine

Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, Moscow Mayor, Yury Luzhkov, and Patriarch Kirill flocked to Ukraine last week. While the official goals of the visits were different, each promoted the Kremlin’s...

Ukraine Expects a New Loan From the IMF

Kyiv has made every effort to qualify for a new $14.9 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which it expects the IMF board to improve at the end...

Will Ukraine Adopt a One Party System?

The Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych’s team is tightening its grip on power. The opposition, still in disarray after Yanukovych’s victory in the presidential elections last February, has offered no resistance....

Hillary Clinton on Familiarization Visit to Ukraine

US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton’s, first visit to Ukraine on July 2, left the government satisfied, the opposition puzzled and many questions unanswered. On the one hand, no major...

Ukraine Shows No Hurry to Return Gas to RosUkrEnergo

An international court has obliged Naftohaz Ukrainy, the state-controlled oil and gas behemoth, to pass 12 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas and $192 million to RosUkrEnergo (RUE), a joint...

Ukrainian Government Denies Accusations of Bias Against Opposition Journalists

Freedom of speech may be in danger under Ukrainian President, Viktor Yanukovych. The pro opposition media are complaining of harassment despite the Yanukovych team’s assertions that everything is normal. Two...

Will Yanukovych’s Reform Plan Convince IMF?

Ukrainian President, Viktor Yanukovych, launched his long-awaited reform program with great fanfare, addressing the nation and parliamentarians from the lavish Soviet-style Ukraina palace in central Kyiv on June 3. The...

President Yanukovych Returns to Multi-Vector Foreign Policy

The Ukrainian government has ruled out membership of both the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and NATO. At the same time, integration with the European Union and cooperation with...

Yanukovych Rejects Putin’s Gazprom-Naftohaz Ukrainy Merger Proposal

Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev, met with his Ukrainian counterpart, Viktor Yanukovych, for the seventh time this year, in Kyiv on May 17-18, but contrary to general expectations no new gas...

Ukraine Wary of Putin’s Proposal to Merge National Gas Companies

The Ukrainian government and opposition alike have reacted coolly to Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin’s, April 30 proposal to merge the two countries’ national gas companies, Naftohaz Ukrainy and Gazprom....

Gas in Exchange for Naval Base: a Boon to Ukraine’s Weak Economy

Moscow has agreed to lower the price of gas for Kyiv by one-third in exchange for extending the lease of the Sevastopol base for the Black Sea Fleet (BSF) by...

Opposition Slams Yanukovych for Promising to Renounce Highly Enriched Uranium

Ukrainian President, Viktor Yanukovych, promised his US counterpart, Barack Obama, to renounce the nation’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium (HEU) during their meeting on the fringes of the nuclear security...

Ruling Coalition to Expand Following Approval by Constitutional Court

The Ukrainian constitutional court on April 8 approved the formation of the pro-presidential coalition in parliament in early March. The main controversy was over the right of individual people’s deputies...

Kyiv Considers Unpopular Measures to Qualify for Additional Loans

As an International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission completed its work in Ukraine on April 2, Kyiv hopes to secure additional loans. The cabinet of Prime Minister, Mykola Azarov, badly needs...

Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov Returns Empty-Handed from Moscow

Ukrainian Prime Minister, Mykola Azarov, failed to persuade Moscow to lower the price of gas for Ukraine. Although Kyiv’s offer of participation in a consortium to manage Ukraine’s gas pipelines...

Will Tymoshenko Unite Ukrainian Opposition?

Yulia Tymoshenko has found herself in the opposition after losing the February 7 presidential election runoff to Viktor Yanukovych. Her coalition in parliament has ceased to exist, and on March...

All the President’s Men in a Deja-vu Ukrainian Cabinet

A new pro-Yanukovych majority in parliament appointed its cabinet on March 11. Prime Minister, Mykola Azarov’s, cabinet, numbering 29 ministers, is the largest in Europe after Belarus. It looks very...

President Yanukovych in Moscow: First Round of Tough Talks?

Viktor Yanukovych’s first visit to Russia as Ukrainian president on March 5 showed that he is no more prone to making concessions to Moscow than any of his predecessors. Yanukovych...

Yanukovych Inaugurated: a Pseudo Kuchma Era?

Viktor Yanukovych was inaugurated as Ukraine’s new president on February 25. His first steps and statements have proved reminiscent of President Leonid Kuchma’s (1994-2004) first term. Yanukovych selected Kuchma’s former...

Tymoshenko Refuses to Recognize Yanukovych as President

Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has withdrawn her appeal from the High Administrative Court against the February 7 election runoff result. This means that nothing will prevent the election winner Viktor...

Ukraine: Largest Ailing Bank Nadra Remains in Limbo

The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) has rejected the government plan to liquidate Nadra, the largest among Ukraine’s ailing banks. The only potential investor interested in Nadra, energy and chemical...

Yanukovych Faces Uphill Struggle for Control of Ukraine, Despite Victory in Presidential Election

As expected, opposition leader Viktor Yanukovych has won the February 7 presidential election runoff. Unlike in 2004, when Yanukovych lost a controversial poll to Viktor Yushchenko and his supporters were...

Yanukovych, Tymoshenko Hold Opposite Views on Russian Gas

Both Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and her opponent in the February 7 presidential election runoff, the former Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, have sought Moscow’s support for their campaigns. Both are...

Ukrainian Election: Yanukovych Beats Tymoshenko in First Round

On January 17, the first round of the Ukrainian presidential election brought no surprises. As predicted by the pollsters, the opposition leader Viktor Yanukovych beat Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and...

Ukrainian Presidential Election: the Fear of Vote-Rigging

Closer to the January 17 presidential election, the front-runners have grown suspicious of each other. Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and Party of Regions (PRU) leader Viktor Yanukovych, who as opinion...

Will Yushchenko Help Yanukovych in Election Campaign?

A former employee of President Viktor Yushchenko’s secretariat has claimed that Yushchenko agreed to back the frontrunner, Party of Regions leader Viktor Yanukovych in the run-up to the January 17...

Ukraine-EU Summit a Failure?

The Ukraine-European Union (EU) summit held in Kyiv on December 4 failed to move the country closer to the West. An association agreement, viewed in Ukraine as a serious step...

Gazprom Agrees Not to Penalize Naftohaz, Gas Price to Grow in 2010

Gazprom and Naftohaz Ukrainy on November 24 signed addenda to their earlier contracts according to which Naftohaz will not pay fines for buying less gas in 2009 than stipulated by...

Putin, Tymoshenko Agree on Gas and Deride Yushchenko, Saakashvili

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Yulia Tymoshenko met in Yalta on November 19 and reached a number of agreements, confirming once again that their relationship is...

Ukraine Relying on IMF Payments for Russian Gas Purchase

Ukraine finds it increasingly difficult to survive without money from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The country paid Russia for October’s gas deliveries with IMF funds and the same means...

Will Flu Spoil Tymoshenko’s Election Campaign?

A flu epidemic which recently erupted in Ukraine may derail the presidential election campaign. As the major parties try to use the epidemic to their advantage, the situation threatens to...

Electoral Populism in Ukraine Prevails over Economic Wisdom

International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn on November 2 called Ukraine “a big problem” when asked about the situation in Central and Eastern Europe as the region worst...

Poroshenko Starts to Mend Fences with Russia

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Petro Poroshenko visited Moscow on October 23. Appointed earlier this month, Poroshenko views rapprochement with Russia as one of his main goals, and he made a point...

Ukrainian Tycoon Returns to Government as Foreign Minister

On October 9 the Ukrainian parliament appointed the candy and automobile tycoon Petro Poroshenko as the foreign minister. His nomination, submitted by President Viktor Yushchenko, was backed by 240 deputies...

Who is to Blame for Ukraine’s Privatization Scandal?

Nortima, a company linked to the Ukrainian tycoon Ihor Kolomoysky, on September 29 won the privatization tender for Odessa Portside Plant (OPZ), one of Ukraine’s largest chemical factories. Nortima bid...

Party of Regions Claims Tymoshenko Attacks Freedom of Speech: Déjà Vu?

The Pechersky district court in Kyiv on September 22 banned "any unfair advertisement" against Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. This prompted Viktor Yanukovych, her main rival in the run-up to the...

Can President Yushchenko Disrupt the Presidential Election?

Ukraine's second most popular presidential candidate, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, suspects that President Viktor Yushchenko -who is running for a second term- of conspiring to disrupt the presidential election scheduled...

Presidential Election Campaign Paralyzes Ukrainian Parliament

Ukrainian lawmaking has fallen victim to the presidential election campaign. Parliament has failed to resume its work after the summer vacation as the opposition Party of Regions (PRU) physically blocks...

Yanukovych and Tymoshenko Courting Moscow Ahead of Election

The Russian factor might well determine the outcome of the January 2010 presidential election in Ukraine. The two leaders in the presidential race, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and former Prime...

Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill Visits Ukraine

Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill visited Ukraine from July 27 - August 5 in order to suppress the pro-independence mood among the local clergy and more broadly, to assert Russian religious...

International Assistance Granted to Support Ukrainian Economy

Several recent international decisions relating to Ukraine have shown that attitudes toward the local economy have improved following signs of stabilization. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved the allocation of...

Key Suspect in the Gongadze Case Detained: a Boost for Yushchenko?

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has arrested former Police General Oleksy Pukach, a key suspect in the murder of investigative journalist Georgy Gongadze in 2000. It is believed that...

Tymoshenko Faces Damaging Domestic Gas Price Increases

European Commission (EC) and Ukrainian government experts will meet in Kiev on July 24 to discuss Ukraine's request for a loan to pump Russian gas into underground reservoirs for the...

IMF Confirms Sharp Contraction in the Ukrainian Economy

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) completed the second review of its stabilization program for Ukraine on July 10. A visiting IMF delegation recommended that the IMF board grant Ukraine the...

Will the Ukrainian Parliament be Disbanded?

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko may return to the idea of disbanding parliament and call snap elections. The opposition Party of Regions (PRU), which has the largest caucus in parliament, has...

Ukrainian Coalition Nears Collapse

The Ukrainian parliament on June 23 scheduled the next presidential election for January 17, 2010. Although the motion was passed by an overwhelming majority of 399 votes in the 450-seat...

The Ukrainian Government Launches Bailout Plan for Banks

Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko announced on June 10 that three banks will be bailed out. The state will take over stakes ranging from 84-98 percent in the mid-size banks...

Grand Coalition Talks Collapse in Ukraine

The talks on forming a coalition between Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and Party of Regions (PRU) leader Viktor Yanukovych have failed due to mutual distrust. Electing the next president in...

Viktor Yanukovych Promotes his Presidential Credentials in Ukraine

Ukraine might shortly become a parliamentary republic if a constitutional reform plan is agreed. This is a joint plan by Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and Viktor Yanukovych, the leader of...

Yushchenko Accepts Resignation of his Aide Baloha

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has launched a major reshuffle of his team ahead of the upcoming presidential election and a possible early parliamentary election. Yushchenko accepted the resignation of the...

Ukraine’s Interior Minister Resigns

The Ukrainian Interior Minister Yury Lutsenko has tendered his resignation following his arrest at a German airport. Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko wanted to keep him since he was a loyal...

Moscow Pressuring Ukraine on its EU Pipeline Deal

Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, commencing talks with her Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Moscow on April 29, said that a "certain confrontation" in the gas trade between the two...

Ukraine Witnessing Rise of Radicalism

As elections approach in Ukraine, controversial historical and linguistic issues are high on the agenda within a country divided along regional and cultural lines. The nationalists including President Viktor Yushchenko,...

IMF to Resume Assisting Ukraine

The IMF's mission visited Ukraine April 8-17 and was satisfied with the results of its talks with the government. It will recommend that the IMF board resumes financial assistance to...

Ukraine Planning Early Presidential Elections

Ukraine's parliament has scheduled the next presidential election for October 25, 2009, three months earlier than expected. President Viktor Yushchenko went further, signaling his readiness to step down sooner if...

European Union’s Eastern Partnership Plan Disappoints Ukraine

President Viktor Yushchenko was vexed when European Commission President Jose Barroso suggested that he and Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko should make peace for the sake of Ukraine's stability. "I...

Can the Far-Right and Liberal Hopefuls Challenge Ukraine’s Leaders?

Recent opinion polls and a local election on March 16 have shown that two stars are rising in Ukrainian politics. The time remaining until the January 2010 presidential election should...

Ukrainian Central Bank to Become More Independent from Government

The efforts of Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko's government to tighten control over the banking sector have failed. In order to qualify for loans from the IMF, the government has had...

Nalyvaychenko Becomes Ukrainian Security Chief After Two Years in Legal Limbo

The Ukrainian parliament on March 6 approved President Viktor Yushchenko's nomination for Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) chief, Valentyn Nalyvaychenko. Yushchenko's choice was backed by 230 votes in the 450-seat...

Yushchenko, Tymoshenko Pledge Reforms in Letter to IMF

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko have managed to set their differences aside and agree on a reform package in an effort to save the economy from...

Yushchenko Criticizes Tymoshenko for Gas Accords and Plea for Loan from Moscow

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has accused Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko of betraying national interests in the gas agreements concluded in Moscow on January 19 and 20 and by turning to...

Tymoshenko Defeats Yanukovych in Parliament

Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko survived a no-confidence motion in parliament on February 5. The motion was backed by 203 votes, 23 short of the number required in the 450-seat...

Who Owns the Gas in Ukraine’s Underground Reservoirs?

The gas dispute that left half of Europe without gas in early January was officially settled by accords signed by Gazprom and Naftohaz Ukrainy in Moscow on January 19 and...

Ukrainian Chief Banker in Legal Limbo

The Ukrainian parliament has exacerbated both the political and economic crises in Ukraine by voting to dismiss National Bank (NBU) head Volodymyr Stelmakh. Consequently, it is not clear who is...

Russia Suspected of Trying to Take over Ukraine’s Gas Transit Network

Russia was supposed to resume pumping gas to the EU through Ukraine on January 13 following trilateral Moscow-Kyiv-Brussels talks, but the Russia-Ukraine gas row is far from over. Neither the...

A Possible Alliance Between Yanukovych and Yushchenko

The establishment of a new coalition in the Ukrainian parliament has left the Party of Regions (PRU) led by former Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych in the opposition. Yanukovych wants to...

Hard Times for Ukrainian Banks, Central Bank Chairman Under Fire

Ukraine’s banking system is teetering on the brink of disaster. The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) $16.4-billion loan (see EDM, November 12) has probably come too late either to restore trust...

Ukraine Continues To Knock on the West’s Doors but Looks Back to Russia

Kyiv has suffered several setbacks in its Euro-Atlantic integration plans. The European Union came up with a collective plan for Ukraine and several other post-Soviet states that does not give...

Ukraine Recognizes Gas Debt, May Face Higher Price

Gazprom has threatened to more than double the gas price in 2009 if Ukraine fails to pay its debt for previous purchases by January 1. Ukraine’s energy inefficient industry might...

Were Ukrainian Arms Supplies to Georgia Illegal?

A Ukrainian parliamentary commission investigating arms supplies to Georgia has claimed that they were illegal. The commission chairman, Valery Konovalyuk from the pro-Russian Party of Regions (PRU), insists that President...

Ukraine Moves To Stabilize Financial System

Ukraine has secured a big loan from the IMF in order to stabilize its finances amid the global crisis. To qualify for the loan, parties in parliament agreed to set...

Is Yushchenko’s Top Aide Backing Ruthenian Separatist Movement?

The leaders of Subcarpathian Ruthenians (pidkarpatski rusyny) have urged Kyiv to grant autonomous status to their native area, Ukraine’s westernmost Transcarpathian Region. There was no official reaction from the Ukrainian...

UKRAINIAN CABLE TV NETWORKS ORDERED TO DROP RUSSIAN CHANNELS

Moscow has claimed that Kyiv’s recent decision to banish several Russian TV channels from Ukrainian cable TV networks was a violation of bilateral accords and of the rights of Russian...

TYMOSHENKO OPPOSES EARLY ELECTION IN UKRAINE

On October 9 Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko disbanded parliament and scheduled an early parliamentary election for December 7. This was the result of the breakup of the ruling coalition of...

UKRAINE BRACES ITSELF FOR THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS

The global financial crisis has not affected Ukraine directly as its stock market is underdeveloped, and mortgage loans do not play a major role in the local economy. But the...

IS YUSHCHENKO’S UKRAINE READY FOR A NATO MAP?

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko paid two visits to the United States at the end of September. Among the main goals of his visits was to confirm Ukraine’s hope to secure...

NEW COALITION OR EARLY ELECTION FOR UKRAINE

On September 16 Ukrainian parliament speaker Arseny Yatsenyuk pronounced the ruling coalition of President Viktor Yushchenko’s Our Ukraine-People’s Self-Defense (NUNS) and the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc (BYT) officially dead. If no...

CRISIS IN UKRAINE

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko is ready to call an early parliamentary election as his party, Our Ukraine – People’s Self-Defense (NUNS), withdrew from a coalition with Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko’s...

KYIV ON GEORGIA: DIPLOMACY AWKWARD, PARTIES DIVIDED

Kyiv was among the first capitals to define its stance clearly in the early stages of the conflict in South Ossetia. Deputy Foreign Minister Kostyantyn Yeliseyev was the first high-ranking...

UKRAINIAN GOVERNMENT OFFERS OUT-OF-COURT SETTLEMENT TO VANCO

There is a new turn in the dispute over the right of the U.S. company Vanco to explore the oil and gas fields in the Ukrainian part of the Black...

FORMER YUSHCHENKO ALLY CALLS PRESIDENT’S POISONING CLAIMS A MYTH

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has made it clear that he holds Davyd Zhvania, the sponsor of the populist People’s Self-Defense bloc (NS), responsible for his mysterious poisoning at the height...

YUSHCHENKO, TYMOSHENKO LOCK HORNS OVER OIL PIPELINE

Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has refused to approve using the Odesaa-Brody pipeline for pumping Caspian oil to the Pryvat Group’s refineries. The pipeline, Odessa-Brody, is currently used by Russian...

TYMOSHENKO CABINET SURVIVES NO-CONFIDENCE VOTE

The opposition in Ukraine’s parliament has failed to oust the government of Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. Only 174 deputies in the 450-seat chamber voted in favor of a no-confidence motion...

TYMOSHENKO DEFIES YUSHCHENKO ON OIL AND GAS EXPLORATION

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has ordered the government of Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko to allow the U.S. company Vanco to proceed with its oil and gas exploration project in the...

WILL PARLIAMENTARY CRISIS LEAD TO TYMOSHENKO’S DISMISSAL?

The coalition of Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc (BYT) and President Viktor Yushchenko’s Our Ukraine--People’s Self-Defense (NUNS) no longer has a majority in the Ukrainian parliament. Two deputies quit the...

WILL NATO BECOME POPULAR AMONG UKRAINIANS?

The Ukrainian government has launched a campaign to make NATO popular in the country in order to secure a Membership Action Plan (MAP) for Ukraine. The Cabinet of Ministers has...

WILL TYMOSHENKO OBEY NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL?

The government of Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko will have to revise its decision to banish the U.S. company Vanco from the oil and gas fields in the Ukrainian part...

UKRAINIAN PROSECUTORS TARGET SELF-DEFENSE LEADERS

The Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) has opened criminal cases against Minister of the Interior Yuriy Lutsenko and businessman Davyd Zhvania. Both were among the leaders of the 2004 Orange...

U.S. COMPANY BANISHED FROM UKRAINIAN OIL AND GAS FIELD

The Ukrainian government has revoked the license to develop Black Sea oil and gas fields which was issued to Vanco Prykerchenska, a subsidiary of the US company Vanco Energy. Prime...

WHO IS REALLY TO BLAME FOR RECORD-HIGH INFLATION IN UKRAINE?

Inflation in Ukraine was 3.1 percent in April and 13.1 percent from January through April. This was the highest inflation rate of any former Soviet state, twice as high as...

RACISM IS ON THE UPSWING IN UKRAINE

On May 5 a court in Kyiv sentenced four individuals of about 20 years of age to 13 years in prison each for beating a Korean national to death in...

YUSHCHENKO, TYMOSHENKO CLASH OVER PRIVATIZATION

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko have demonstrated that they would not stop short of open confrontation when big property is at stake. Yushchenko cancelled Tymoshenko’s orders...

TYMOSHENKO CHOOSES PARLIAMENTARY REPUBLIC

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has suffered a crashing defeat over his plan to change the constitution. Not only has it become clear that Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko will not support...

CAN THE UKRAINIAN COALITION HOLD TOGETHER?

The ruling coalition of Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko’s Bloc (BYT) and President Viktor Yushchenko’s Our Ukraine, People’s Self-Defense (NUNS), is on the verge of breaking apart. Yushchenko’s team not only...

UKRAINIANS DIFFER ON NATO SUMMIT RESULTS

Both President Viktor Yushchenko and opposition leader and former Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych have claimed that the April 2 to 4 Bucharest NATO summit’s decision on Ukraine was a “victory.”...

TWO NEW PARTIES TO COMPETE WITH EACH OTHER AND TYMOSHENKO

A new pro-presidential party has been set up in Ukraine, and another one is about to be established. The two parties aim to replace Our Ukraine (NU), which President Viktor...

SBU ACCUSED OF PLAYING POLITICAL GAMES IN KHARKIV

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has become embroiled in a new scandal. The main opposition force, the Party of Regions (PRU), has accused the SBU of playing political games...

TYMOSHENKO WANTS KYIV MAYOR OUT

Yesterday, March 18, the Ukrainian parliament called an early election for the post of mayor of Kyiv. This is a victory for Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko’s bloc (BYuT), which spearheaded...

UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT UNBLOCKED, NATO DISPUTE OFF AGENDA

The opposition Party of Regions (PRU) of former prime minister Viktor Yanukovych has finally backed off its brinksmanship games over Ukraine’s application for a NATO Membership Action Plan (MAP). The...

PARTY OF REGIONS DISCUSSES LANGUAGE, NATO AT FORUM

Ukraine’s main opposition force, the Party of Regions (PRU), organized what it called a “congress of people’s deputies of all levels” in the eastern town of Severodonetsk on Saturday, March...

WILL UKRAINE HAVE NEW CONSTITUTION?

President Viktor Yushchenko has begun his drive to reverse the 2004 constitutional reform. His goals include boosting presidential powers and weakening the legislature. On February 20 Yushchenko convened the first...

YUSHCHENKO’S CHIEF OF STAFF RESIGNS, MAY LAUNCH NEW PARTY

Viktor Baloha, the head of Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko’s staff, has left Yushchenko’s Our Ukraine–People’s Union party (NSNU). Baloha apparently gave up on making NSNU a reliable, strong political party...

DIFFERENCES OVER NATO MAY PROVOKE EARLY ELECTION IN UKRAINE

The Ukrainian opposition has blocked parliament since the end of January, demanding a referendum on NATO membership. The Party of Regions (PRU) and the Communist Party (CPU) are confident that...

IS A COALITION BETWEEN TYMOSHENKO AND YANUKOVYCH POSSIBLE?

In a recent television interview Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko raised the possibility of a coalition between her eponymous bloc and the Party of Regions (PRU) of former prime minister...

UKRAINIAN MINISTER, MAYOR TRADE ACCUSATIONS OF CORRUPTION

When Kyiv Mayor Leonid Chernovetsky publicly accused Ukrainian Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko of corruption. Lutsenko denied that allegation and punched Chernovetsky in the face. Chernovetsky sued him, and Kyiv prosecutors...

YUSHCHENKO STRIVES TO DOMINATE TYMOSHENKO GOVERNMENT

The political honeymoon between Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko appears to be over. Yushchenko has thwarted Tymoshenko’s planned visit to Moscow, torpedoed planned appointments to her...

NEW UKRAINIAN PRIME MINISTER LAUNCHES STATE AUDITS, SAVINGS PAYOUTS

Having barely formed her Cabinet of Ministers, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko got down to business. She resumed several campaigns that she had launched when she was prime minister in 2005...

YUSHCHENKO PICKS CHIEF SECURITY ADVISER FROM OPPOSITION CAMP

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has appointed Raisa Bohatyryova as secretary of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC). This came as a surprise for many, as Bohatyryova has been one...

TYMOSHENKO CABINET GETS DOWN TO WORK

The coalition of President Viktor Yushchenko’s Our Ukraine – People’s Self-Defense (NUNS) and the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc (BYuT) succeeded in electing Tymoshenko as prime minister on Tuesday, December 18. The...

TYMOSHENKO VOTE SHOWS COALITION’S LIMITATIONS

The coalition of President Viktor Yushchenko's Our Ukraine-People's Self-Defense bloc (NUNS) and the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc (BYuT) has failed to ensure Tymoshenko's return to the post of prime minister, from...

NEW YUSHCHENKO-TYMOSHENKO COALITION PASSES FIRST TESTS

The Our Ukraine – People’s Self-Defense bloc of Viktor Yushchenko (NUNS) and the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc (BYuT) have managed to set aside their differences and create a majority coalition in...

DIFFERENCES IN OUR UKRAINE HINDER COALITION FORMATION

Ukraine’s new parliament opened on November 23 only to adjourn until November 29, as the absence of a more or less stable majority left it incapacitated, making it impossible to...

UKRAINIAN COALITION MAY NOT MATERIALIZE

The Ukrainian parliament elected on September 30 will gather for its first sitting on Friday, November 23. It should elect a speaker and start forming a new cabinet. The constitution...

CRIMEAN TATARS CLASH WITH POLICE OVER LAND

Ethnic tension has increased in Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula as the authorities move to tackle the problem of Crimean Tatar squatters occupying local plots of land. In early November, Tatars were...

IS BIG BROTHER WATCHING UKRAINIANS?

The Ukrainian government has simplified the procedure allowing the special services and police to procure confidential information about citizens. Ukrainian human rights activists and Internet providers believe that the government...

DIFFERENCES WITHIN UKRAINIAN COALITION ESCALATE

A coalition consisting of President Viktor Yushchenko’s Our Ukraine-People’s Self-Defense bloc (NUNS) and the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc (BYuT) is showing cracks long before the newly elected parliament even has its...

LEFTIST, PRO-RUSSIAN EXTREMISTS DEFY YUSHCHENKO OVER HISTORY

President Viktor Yushchenko’s recent efforts to commemorate World War II nationalist fighters have provoked a wave of pro-Russian and leftist extremism in Ukraine. Radical leftists disrupted commemorations of the Ukrainian...

NEW ORANGE COALITION IN THE MAKING

The blocs of Our Ukraine-People’s Self-Defense (NUNS) and Yulia Tymoshenko (BYuT) have agreed to form a majority coalition in Ukraine’s newly elected parliament. Tymoshenko should be the new prime minister,...

CAN TYMOSHENKO LIVE WITH A GRAND COALITION?

Opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko’s hopes to become prime minister may be dashed. President Viktor Yushchenko wants to invite the Party of Regions (PRU), led by her archrival, Prime Minister Viktor...

UKRAINIAN ELECTION OVER, BUT ITS OUTCOME UNCLEAR

Ukraine’s September 30 early parliamentary election produced a hung parliament, just like the regular election in March 2006. Like last year, the Party of Regions (PRU) of Prime Minister Viktor...

YANUKOVYCH SAYS YUSHCHENKO’S TEAM WILL RIG ELECTION

Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych has accused President Viktor Yushchenko of illegal interference in the parliamentary election campaign and his team of harboring plans to rig the vote in the...

WILL RUSSIA HELP INVESTIGATE YUSHCHENKO POISONING?

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has accused Moscow of hindering the investigation into his poisoning in 2004. What’s more, he hinted that Russia might actually have been behind the poisoning. An...

PARTY OF REGIONS CHALLENGES PRESIDENT WITH REFERENDUM PLAN

The Party of Regions (PRU), led by Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, has come up with a plan for a referendum touching on the sensitive issues of language, NATO membership,...

WILL UKRAINIAN CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGE BE SYNCHRONIZED WITH ELECTIONS?

Ukraine’s most popular opposition politician, former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, is pushing for a referendum to change the constitution. She wants the vote to be held simultaneously with the early...

YUSHCHENKO, YANUKOVYCH, TYMOSHENKO CONTESTING ELECTION AGAIN

The campaign for the September 30 parliamentary elections officially kicked off in Ukraine on August 2. This campaign will see the same contenders as in the March 2006 election: President...

DONETSK PROSECUTORS, COURTS STRIKE BACK

Several prosecutors and courts recently decided high-profile cases in favor of individuals who were prosecuted when President Viktor Yushchenko came to power in 2005. At the same time, the Donetsk...

TOXIC SPILL IN UKRAINE A TEST FOR GOVERNMENT MATURITY

Almost 200 people have been hospitalized following a poisonous chemical spill in Western Ukraine. A cargo train en route from Kazakhstan to Poland derailed in Lviv Region late last Monday,...

OLD GUARD BANISHED FROM YUSHCHENKO PARTY LEADERSHIP

Roman Bezsmertny, a high-ranking member of President Viktor Yushchenko’s Our Ukraine (NU) party, has left its leadership and is not going to run for parliament this year. Bezsmertny’s departure is...

LUTSENKO TOPS YUSHCHENKO’S LIST FOR PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko’s bloc for the early parliamentary elections scheduled for September 30 has been formally set up. At a July 5 meeting chaired by Yushchenko, representatives of several...

DID YUSHCHENKO BORROWS KUCHMA’S IDEAS FOR CONSTITUTION?

The Ukrainian constitution will most certainly be changed after the snap parliamentary election scheduled for September 30, no matter who wins the vote. Both President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister...

YUSHCHENKO STARTS ELECTION CAMPAIGN FOR HIS PARTY

There is no unity among the supporters of Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, with just three months to go before early parliamentary elections, scheduled for September 30. His strongest ally, Yulia...

UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT IN LIMBO

The majority of Ukraine’s parliament has defied the accords between President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych to disband parliament and hold an early parliamentary election. Yushchenko has not...

WILL UKRAINE, RUSSIA SOLVE PROBLEM OF PERSONAE NON GRATAE?

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko found time in their schedules to meet on the fringes of the St. Petersburg economic forum on June 10. They discussed...

IS UKRAINIAN INTERIOR MINISTER SICK OR HIDING?

Interior Minister Vasyl Tsushko has left Ukraine for medical treatment in Germany. President Viktor Yushchenko had accused him of breaking the law when Tsushko ordered riot police to storm the...

CRISIS OVER, BUT RULE OF LAW UNDERMINED IN UKRAINE

The Ukrainian political crisis triggered by President Viktor Yushchenko’s April 2 decision to disband a hostile parliament appears to be over. On May 27, Yushchenko and his opponents, Prime Minister...

UKRAINE’S CONSTITUTIONAL COURT UNDER PRESSURE

On May 21, the Constitutional Court of Ukraine (CC) closed proceedings related to President Viktor Yushchenko’s April 2 decree to disband parliament. This was a pure formality, as Yushchenko had...

YUSHCHENKO REPLACES KEY SECURITY AIDE

On Saturday, May 12, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko replaced Vitaly Hayduk with Ivan Plyushch in the post of secretary of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC). Hayduk -- co-owner...

WHEN WILL SNAP ELECTION BE HELD IN UKRAINE?

Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych has bent to pressure from President Viktor Yushchenko and agreed to an early parliamentary election. This decision has been essentially a compromise between the two...

YUSHCHENKO SETS NEW DATE FOR PARLIAMENTARY POLL

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has re-scheduled the snap parliamentary election from May 27 to June 24. His opponents initially reacted as they had to his April 2 decree, which called...

IS COMPROMISE POSSIBLE IN UKRAINE?

Radicalism is apparently giving way to compromise in the Ukrainian political crisis. President Viktor Yushchenko, aware of the impossibility of holding a snap election as early as May 27, as...

CAN UKRAINE’S CONSTITUTIONAL COURT BE UNBIASED?

Today, April 17, Ukraine’s Constitutional Court (CC) began considering an appeal by a group of pro-government parliamentarians regarding President Viktor Yushchenko’s April 2 decree on the dissolution of parliament. The...

IS COMPROMISE POSSIBLE BETWEEN YUSHCHENKO AND RULING COALITION?

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has rejected calls for a truce from Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych and ignored the pacifying overtures made by Yanukovych’s allies in parliament last week. Yushchenko insists...

YUSHCHENKO RULES TO DISSOLVE PARLIAMENT

Yesterday, April 2, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko signed a decree dissolving parliament, which the parliamentary majority immediately rejected. Yushchenko’s opponents -- the ruling coalition, consisting of Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych’s...

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Articles by Pavel Korduban