The invasion of Russia has forced Ukraine to confront a domestic enemy: corruption and economic control by an insular and unethical elite.
Tag: yanukovych
On this day nine years ago, the Maidan revolution, also known as the Revolution of Dignity, began in Kyiv, and spread throughout Ukraine. What were the causes of the Maidan Revolution? The main cause of the Revolution of Dignity was widespread dissatisfaction with the corruption and authoritarianism of President Viktor Yanukovych and his government. Many […]
SUNKEN S. KOREAN FERRY TO BE RAISED South Korean President Park Geun-hye has promised to raise the sunken ferry Sewol to recover the nine bodies still missing, as the country commemorates the disaster’s one-year anniversary, Yonhap news agency reports. A total of 304 people, most of them high school students, died when the ship sank […]
UKRAINE TRUCE STILL SHAKYAn already shaky ceasefire in eastern Ukraine is threatening to collapse further after a blast killed two people yesterday at a march commemorating the first anniversary of former president Viktor Yanukovych’s ousting. Ukrainian authorities said they arrested four people who had been armed and trained in Russia, Reuters reports. Pro-Russian rebels and […]
MOSCOW — The same picture that we saw at the end of 2013 in Kiev has now simply moved to Donetsk, Kharkiv, Luhansk and Mykolaiv. Buildings stormed, barricaded streets, people in masks and flags flying. The differences, at first glance, appear insignificant. Before, there was just one center of the protests — Kiev — whereas […]
As the risk of war hovers over the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk, one local explains why he looks to Moscow rather than Kiev.
BERLIN — It looked as if a great moment might be in the making: German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his Polish colleague Radoslaw Sikorski had teamed up with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, and the trio flew to Kiev for joint talks with the then-Ukrainian government and opposition. At the time violence on Maidan […]
SIMFEROPOL — Crimea’s economy is built on two main engines: tourism and agriculture. The current unrest and pending secession of Crimea to become part of Russia could dissuade many would-be vacationers from both Ukraine and Western Europe. A serious drop in tourism numbers could translate into a serious hit for the peninsula’s economy, which is […]
From Poland to Western Europe and beyond, Ukrainian democracy needs cash to flourish. There may not be a third chance.
In Eastern Ukraine, near the Russian border, the scene – and sentiments – and not exactly like those in Kiev.
-OpEd- The Western world felt safe in the illusion that nothing would happen in Ukraine until the end of the Sochi Olympic Games. But it woke up on Wednesday to terrifying images of the bloody battlefield of central Kiev, literally ablaze. After a three-month-long face-off between a pro-European opposition, which hasn’t weakened despite the cold […]
And Igor Luzenko is the lucky one. The other activist with whom he was abducted, beaten and interrogated didn’t make it home alive.
MOSCOW – As they met in the Green Room at the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin and Viktor Yanukovych were sitting comfortably in armchairs, sharing each other’s worries about the drop in trade between their countries. Now, the Russian and Ukranian presidents told each other, is the time for decisive action, time to open up a new […]
Kiev doesn’t want to risk its ties with Moscow, but can’t afford to pass up economic opportunities in Europe. And where does that leave jailed opposition chief Yulia Tymoshenko?
WAR OF WORDS CONTINUES OVER CRIMEA Western and Ukrainian leaders stepped up what is still just a war of words over Crimea, four days away from the referendum that could see the disputed region secede from Ukraine. The President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso said the G7 and the EU would urge Russia […]
CRIMEA APPROVES DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE The Crimean Parliament overwhelmingly approved a declaration on independence, a technical step necessary to hold next Sunday’s referendum, Itar-Tass reports. According to the news agency, the document says that if Crimeans vote to integrate the Russian Federation, they will first become an independent Republic. MALAYSIA DOWNPLAYS TERRORISM POSSIBILITY The Malaysian […]
CAN U.S. AND RUSSIA START DIALOGUE ON UKRAINE? U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov are meeting today in Paris with other world leaders, on the sidelines of a long-planned conference on Lebanon. The encounter will be an attempt “to ease mounting tensions,” according to France24. It comes after Kerry’s […]
UKRAINE’S NEW GOVERNMENT PRESENTED TO MAIDANThe new Ukraine government will be presented to the protesters of Kiev’s Independence Square tonight, Radio Liberty reports. A member of Vitali Klitschko’s UDAR party announced that the union government would include some of the protesters. HEZBOLLAH VOWS TO RETALIATE AFTER ISRAELI AIR STRIKELebanese militant group Hezbollah said in a […]
FORMATION OF UKRAINIAN GOVERNMENT DELAYEDUkraine’s interim President Oleksandr Turchynov has delayed the formation of a unity government, initially planned for today, until Thursday, Itar-Tass reports. The Parliament also voted to give Turchynov the power to sign laws until the early presidential election, planned for May 25. ISLAMISTS KILL DOZENS OF NIGERIAN SCHOOL PUPILSIslamist fighters from […]
YANUKOVYCH WANTED FOR “MASS MURDER”A police warrant has been issued for ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, whose current whereabouts are unknown, the acting Interior Minister Arsen Avakov announced this morning. Yanukovych, who was last seen at his residence in Crimea, is wanted for “mass murder of civilians,” after last week’s riots in Kiev in which […]
LATEST ON UKRAINE BEIRUT HIT BY DEADLY BLAST At least six people have died and over 100 were left injured after twin explosions hit South Beirut, near the Kuwaiti embassy and the Iranian Cultural Chancellery, Al Arabiya reports. The southern part of the Lebanese capital, a Hezbollah stronghold, has been the target of many attacks […]
U.S. CURBS DRONE STRIKES IN PAKISTAN AMID PEACE TALKS The United States has sharply reduced its drone strikes following a request from the Pakistani government, which is currently pursuing peace talks with the Taliban, The Washington Post quotes U.S. officials as saying. This does not, however, mark an end to such attacks to prevent imminent […]
KARZAI HAD SECRET MEETINGS WITH THE TALIBAN Afghan President Hamid Karzai has held covert negotiations with Taliban officials, aimed at forging a peace agreement without the participation of Western allies, The New York Times reports. The discovery of these meetings seems to explain Karzai’s recent combative behavior toward the U.S., the Times reports, citing his […]
LIBYA’S CHEMICAL WEAPONS DESTROYED Col. Muammar Gaddafi’s lethal arsenal of chemical weapons have quietly been destroyed over the last three months, The New York Times reports. The U.S. and Libya used a transportable oven technology to destroy hundreds of bombs and artillery rounds filled with a deadly mustard agent that American officials feared could be […]
SYRIA TALKS TO FOCUS ON TRANSITION Talks about Syria’s future are due to continue today in Geneva and will focus on the thorny issue of power transfer, amid reports that the Israeli air force bombed a Syrian base in the town of Latakia. Yesterday, both parties agreed to let women and children leave the besieged […]
KIEV – “If we don’t stop Yanukovych, we will lose Ukraine…” Speaking in perfect Russian, one of Yulia Tymoshenko’s young supporters is talking about the upcoming election while working a shift at one of the protest tents set up along Kiev’s main street, Khreshchatyk. The stakes she sees in Sunday’s election are high indeed. “We […]