Latest articles from Vladimir Socor
Moldova’s Pro-Western Forces Achieve Landslide in Parliamentary Elections
Moldova’s pre-term parliamentary elections, on July 11, have produced an even more sweeping sea change than anticipated (see EDM, July 8, 9). The Western-oriented opposition, concentrated in the Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS), surged to 53 percent of the votes cast. PAS has dethroned... MORE
Moldova’s Parliamentary Elections May Produce a Sea Change (Part Two)
*To Read Part One, please click here. The Electoral Bloc of Communists and Socialists (BECS) would probably nominate Igor Dodon (Moldova’s president in 2016–2020) as the next prime minister, if BECS wins the snap parliamentary elections, scheduled to take place on Sunday, July 11. Dodon’s... MORE
Moldova’s Parliamentary Elections May Produce a Sea Change (Part One)
Moldova could break out from its cycle of political instability and economic decay, provided that President Maia Sandu’s creation, the Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS), gains an outright parliamentary majority on its own in the July 11 elections. That scenario mainly depends on a... MORE
NATO Summit: Strong on Russia but a Net Disappointment to Eastern Allies and Partners (Part Two)
*To read Part One, please click here. The quasi-annual charade surrounding the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s Membership Action Plans (NATO MAP) for Ukraine and Georgia took a different form at the Alliance’s June 14 summit in Brussels. The Joseph Biden administration has retreated from the... MORE
NATO Summit: Strong on Russia but a Net Disappointment to Eastern Allies and Partners (Part One)
The heads of state and government of the North Atlantic Organization’s (NATO) 30 member countries held a summit at the Alliance’s Brussels headquarters on June 14. NATO summits usually take two days. This year’s vast agenda—reflected in an unusually long communiqué—clearly would have needed the... MORE
Four Setbacks to Western Credibility in Ukraine (Part Two)
*To read Part One, please click here. Along with United States President Joseph Biden greenlighting Gazprom’s Nord Stream Two project, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken giving Ukraine’s concerns the short shrift preparatory to Biden’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin (see Part One in... MORE
Four Setbacks to Western Credibility in Ukraine (Part One)
Within the last three weeks, a series of decisions by leading Western powers seem to indicate a downgrading of Ukraine on the scale of Western policy priorities. Taken partly in deference to Russia, these decisions risk demotivating Ukrainian reform efforts (hesitant though these are) and... MORE
Zelenskyy Ready to Frame Poroshenko on Criminal Charges
On May 20, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in a highly personalized form, threatened to send his predecessor, Petro Poroshenko, to prison. “I am his sentence [prigovor], he just does not want to comprehend this… I have been his sentence ever since I became president. He... MORE
Outreach to Putin, Crackdown on Medvedchuk: A Hard Stretch for Zelenskyy
Ukrainian law enforcement authorities have detained Viktor Medvedchuk, head of the pro-Russia parliamentary opposition, to prosecute him on treason charges (see EDM, May 13). President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has publicly hailed (President.gov.ua, May 14) the move against this personal protégé of Russian President Vladimir Putin; and... MORE
Ukraine Indicts, Detains Putin’s Top Asset Medvedchuk
On May 12, Ukraine’s General Prosecutor’s Office detained Viktor Medvedchuk, pending his trial for multiple alleged criminal activities. His legal status as of now is that of “suspect,” pending the change to “accused.” Medvedchuk’s main alleged accomplice, Taras Kozak (member of parliament with Medvedchuk’s party),... MORE