Euromaidan Newsletter # 270 CIVIC SECTOR OF
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Load more
Recommended publications
-
Euromaidan Newsletter # 343 CIVIC SECTOR of EUROMAIDAN
CIVIC SECTOR OF EUROMAIDAN GRASSROOTS MOVEMENT 2020 EuroMaidan Newsletter # 343 17, - Kyiv denies calling for new elections in Belarus Ukraine shares EU position on elections in Belarus mercenaries to Russia. Delegations of Ukraine, UK, Baltic States to PACE condemn election violations, violence in Belarus, President's Office denies statement by Belarusian August 11 August 11 warn Russia against interference. administration saying that Kyiv calls for new election in country. Belarusian police detain and beat teenagers, injure 5-year-old. Iran’s ambassador to Ukraine has said that 343. compensation for the Ukrainian plane which was Ukraine generally shares EU position on elections # downed mistakenly near Tehran in January 2020 in Belarus – MFA. will be based on international regulations. UWC condemns violence against protesters in StopFakeNews with Marko Suprun (No. 293). Belarus. Fake: Terrorists arrested in Crimea. Russian From falsifications to Russia’s role: Nine questions constitutional changes make Crimea forever and answers about the protests in Belarus. Russian. Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry acknowledges Belarus to start missile troops, artillery exercise that Crimeans are forever lost to Ukraine. near Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant on Lithuanian Pro-Kremlin disinformation and elections in NEWSLETTER border on Monday. Belarus. Belarus initiates ‘mass riot’ criminal charges Kremlin watch briefing: Russia’s pillars of against detained Ukrainian rights activists. disinformation and propaganda. Belarus hands over 32 of 33 Russian Wagner Bestiarium Kremlinensis S – Z. Left: Flowers stronger than guns as “Ladies in White” protests spread throughout Belarus Centre: Chilling testimonies of police brutality, humiliation & “re-education” amid vicious crackdown on Belarusian protesters. Right: Lukashenko regime’s savagery may be backfiring in Belarus Protests in Belarus: is there anything Ukraine can do? Russian hybrid intervention into Belarus is likely imminent The gathering autumn clouds. -
Ukrainian Armed Forces
June 23, 2021 Ukrainian Armed Forces In 2014, the Ukrainian military, which observers noted had lower (around 2.5% of GDP). Ukraine’s 2021 defense been weakened by years of neglect and underfunding, faced budget is 117.6 billion hryvnia ($4.2 billion), 127 million Russia’s occupation of Ukraine’s Crimea region and hryvnia ($4.6 million) less than 2020’s budget. invasion of eastern Ukraine. Since that time, the Ukrainian Additionally, Ukraine’s defense budget allocations are split armed forces have made considerable improvements; they between funds necessary to maintain the military and funds have undertaken efforts to adopt NATO standards and to support its ambitious reform program. received significant NATO and U.S. assistance. Many of these reforms began out of the experience of defending Ukraine inherited a sprawling defense industry from the against Russian aggression. Reforms range from the tactical Soviet Union, producing a wide range of products, to the strategic levels and include both political measures including tanks and armored vehicles, aircraft, radars and (e.g., increasing transparency, countering corruption, and electronics, missiles, and ships. Defense conglomerate ensuring civilian control over the military) and military Ukroboronprom oversees the defense industry, which reforms (e.g., modernizing equipment, reforming command comprises over 130 state-run companies. In recent years, and control, and increasing professionalization). Ukrainian officials have made reforming Ukroboronprom and increasing transparency key goals, including passing a Significant hurdles remain, however, and the reform new law, On Defense Procurement, in July 2020 to process is complicated by Ukraine’s Soviet legacy, the implement NATO standards in defense procurement. -
Naftogaz of Ukraine 2014 Annual Report
NAFTOGAZ OF UKRAINE 2014 ANNUAL REPORT New Ukraine Europe New rules Market Transparency Naftogaz Reform Europe New Ukraine Europe New rules Naftogaz Market Europe New UkraineNew Transparency Reform Ukraine Naftogaz New rules Europe Naftogaz New Ukraine Market Naftogaz Europe New Ukraine Reform Transparency Naftogaz EuropeReform Europe Naftogaz New Ukraine New rules Transparency New rules Transparency New rules Europe Transparency New Ukraine Naftogaz New rules Europe Market Reform Reform Naftogaz Market Reform TransparencyNew rules Reform Europe New rules Market Reform Transparency New Ukraine Transparency Transparency Naftogaz New Ukraine Naftogaz New rules Reform NaftogazTransparency Market New rules Reform Europe Reform Naftogaz New rules Europe Naftogaz New Ukraine Transparency Market Transparency New rules Naftogaz Transparency Reform Europe New rules Market New Ukraine New Ukraine Transparency New rules New rules Market Market New Ukraine Europe Transparency Reform Europe New Ukraine New Ukraine Naftogaz Transparency New rules Reform New rules Naftogaz New rules New Ukraine Reform Market Europe New rules ReformNaftogaz Transparency Europe Reform Naftogaz Transparency Reform MarketNaftogaz Reform Naftogaz New rules Naftogaz New Ukraine Market Market Naftogaz Transparency Transparency Reform Europe Transparency New rules New rules New rules Reform New Ukraine Market Transparency New rules Naftogaz Market Europe Changing for the future Ukraine’s gas transmission Entry capacity: EUROPE’S LARGEST GAS MARKETS, 2014, bcm NAFTOGAZ AT A -
Ukraine at the Crossroad in Post-Communist Europe: Policymaking and the Role of Foreign Actors Ryan Barrett [email protected]
University of Missouri, St. Louis IRL @ UMSL Dissertations UMSL Graduate Works 1-20-2018 Ukraine at the Crossroad in Post-Communist Europe: Policymaking and the Role of Foreign Actors Ryan Barrett [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://irl.umsl.edu/dissertation Part of the Comparative Politics Commons, and the International Relations Commons Recommended Citation Barrett, Ryan, "Ukraine at the Crossroad in Post-Communist Europe: Policymaking and the Role of Foreign Actors" (2018). Dissertations. 725. https://irl.umsl.edu/dissertation/725 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the UMSL Graduate Works at IRL @ UMSL. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of IRL @ UMSL. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Ukraine at the Crossroad in Post-Communist Europe: Policymaking and the Role of Foreign Actors Ryan Barrett M.A. Political Science, The University of Missouri - Saint Louis, 2015 M.A. International Relations, Webster University, 2010 B.A. International Studies, 2006 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate School at the The University of Missouri - Saint Louis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor Philosophy in Political Science May 2018 Advisory Committee: Joyce Mushaben, Ph.D. Jeanne Wilson, PhD. Kenny Thomas, Ph.D. David Kimball, Ph.D. Contents Introduction 1 Chapter I. Policy Formulation 30 Chapter II. Reform Initiatives 84 Chapter III. Economic Policy 122 Chapter IV. Energy Policy 169 Chapter V. Security and Defense Policy 199 Conclusion 237 Appendix 246 Bibliography 248 To the Pat Tillman Foundation for graciously sponsoring this important research Introduction: Ukraine at a Crossroads Ukraine, like many European countries, has experienced a complex history and occupies a unique geographic position that places it in a peculiar situation be- tween its liberal future and communist past; it also finds itself tugged in two opposing directions by the gravitational forces of Russia and the West. -
Resilient Ukraine Resilient
Resilient Ukraine: Safeguarding Society from Russian Aggression Russian from Society Ukraine: Safeguarding Resilient Research Paper Mathieu Boulègue and Orysia Lutsevych Ukraine Forum | June 2020 Resilient Ukraine Safeguarding Society from Russian Aggression Mathieu Boulègue and OrysiaLutsevych Chatham House Contents Summary 2 1 Introduction 3 2 The Impact of the Armed Conflict 13 3 Creating Resilience Dividends: Case Studies 27 4 Recommendations 33 5 Conclusion 37 About the Authors 38 Acknowledgments 39 1 | Chatham House Resilient Ukraine: Safeguarding Society from Russian Aggression Summary • Despite military conflict and an increasingly adversarial relationship with Russia, Ukraine has largely maintained its democratic reforms thanks to its resilience and determination to decide its own future. The country is gradually developing the capacity of its state institutions and civil society to address the political and social consequences of Russian aggression. • Russia’s three main levers of influence in Ukraine include the ongoing armed conflict, corruption, and the poor quality of the political sphere. The Kremlin seeks to exploit these vulnerabilities to promote polarization and encourage a clash between Ukraine’s citizens and its governing elite by taking military action, manipulating the corruption narrative, supporting pro-Russia parties, and fuelling religious tensions through the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC). • The ramifications of the military operation in Donbas reverberate strongly across the country and domestic politics. The most prominent spillover effects include the circulation of firearms and the weakened capacity of authorities to reintegrate internally displaced people (IDPs) and war veterans. • With no clear way to end the armed conflict, there is a growing risk of societal polarization. This could have negative consequences for any prospective peace agreement. -
Ukrainian Armed Forces
June 23, 2021 Ukrainian Armed Forces In 2014, the Ukrainian military, which observers noted had lower (around 2.5% of GDP). Ukraine’s 2021 defense been weakened by years of neglect and underfunding, faced budget is 117.6 billion hryvnia ($4.2 billion), 127 million Russia’s occupation of Ukraine’s Crimea region and hryvnia ($4.6 million) less than 2020’s budget. invasion of eastern Ukraine. Since that time, the Ukrainian Additionally, Ukraine’s defense budget allocations are split armed forces have made considerable improvements; they between funds necessary to maintain the military and funds have undertaken efforts to adopt NATO standards and to support its ambitious reform program. received significant NATO and U.S. assistance. Many of these reforms began out of the experience of defending Ukraine inherited a sprawling defense industry from the against Russian aggression. Reforms range from the tactical Soviet Union, producing a wide range of products, to the strategic levels and include both political measures including tanks and armored vehicles, aircraft, radars and (e.g., increasing transparency, countering corruption, and electronics, missiles, and ships. Defense conglomerate ensuring civilian control over the military) and military Ukroboronprom oversees the defense industry, which reforms (e.g., modernizing equipment, reforming command comprises over 130 state-run companies. In recent years, and control, and increasing professionalization). Ukrainian officials have made reforming Ukroboronprom and increasing transparency key goals, including passing a Significant hurdles remain, however, and the reform new law, On Defense Procurement, in July 2020 to process is complicated by Ukraine’s Soviet legacy, the implement NATO standards in defense procurement. -
Reforms in Ukraine After Revolution of Dignity
REFORMS IN UKRAINE AFTER REVOLUTION OF DIGNITY What was done, why not more and what to do next This publicaon was produced with financial Responsibility for the informaon and views set out assistance from the EBRD-Ukraine Stabilisaon and in this publicaon lies enrely with the authors. The Sustainable Growth Mul-Donor Account, the EBRD makes no representaon or warranty, express donors of which are Denmark, Finland, France, or implied, as to the accuracy or completeness of the Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, informaon set forth in the publicaon. The EBRD Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, has not independently verified any of the informaon the United States of America and the European contained in the publicaon and the EBRD accepts Union, the largest donor. The views expressed herein no liability whatsoever for any of the informaon can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion contained in the publicaon or for any misstatement of the EBRD or any donor of the account. or omission therein. The publicaon remains the property of the EBRD. REFORMS IN UKRAINE AFTER REVOLUTION OF DIGNITY What was done, why not more and what to do next Editors Ivan Miklos Pavlo Kukhta Contents Foreword 4 Introducon What was done, why not more and what to do next: Ukrainian reforms aer the Revoluon of Dignity 7 Chapter 1 Polical economy of reforms: polical system, governance and corrupon 10 Chapter 2 Macroeconomic policies 35 Chapter 3 Rule of law 48 Chapter 4 Energy policy 75 Chapter 5 Business environment 87 Chapter 6 Land reform 101 Chapter 7 Privasaon and SOE reform 112 Chapter 8 Healthcare reform 132 Chapter 9 Ukraine and the European Union 144 Annex 1 Report on reforms in 2016-17 162 Annex 2 The role of the government and MPs in reform implementaon in Ukraine 167 About SAGSUR (Strategic Advisory Group for Support of Ukrainian Reforms) 173 Glossary of terms 174 Foreword Foreword | 4 Foreword Maeo Patrone and Peter M. -
Cleaning up the Energy Sector
10 Cleaning Up the Energy Sector Victory is when we won’t buy any Russian gas. —Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk1 Ukraine’s energy sector is well endowed but extremely mismanaged. Since Ukraine’s independence, it has been the main source of top-level corruption, and its prime beneficiaries have bought the state. This long-lasting policy has undermined national security, caused unsustainable public costs, jeopardized the country’s balance of payments, led to massive waste of energy, and capped domestic production of energy. It is difficult to imagine a worse policy. In- stead, conditions should be created so that Ukraine can develop its substantial energy potential and become self-sufficient in coal and natural gas.2 The solution to these problems is no mystery and it has been elaborated in a large literature for the last two decades. To check corruption energy prices need to be unified. That means raising key prices four to five times, which will eliminate the large energy subsidies and stimulate energy saving, while also stimulating domestic production of all kinds of energy. To make this politi- cally possible, social compensation should be offered to the poorest half of the population. The energy sector suffers from many shortcomings, and most of these need to be dealt with swiftly. Otherwise, new rent-seeking interests will evolve, and soon they will become entrenched and once again impossible to defeat. The new government has a brief window of opportunity to address the most important issues. 1. “Ukraina osvoboditsya ot ‘gazovoi zavisimosti’ ot RF cherez 5 let—Yatsenyuk” [“Yatsenyuk: Ukraine Will Free Itself from Gas Dependence on Russia in 5 Years”], Ekonomichna pravda, Sep- tember 8, 2014. -
Ukraine's New Gas Chief Says He Is 'True Reformer' After Backlash Over His Appointment
Received by NSD/FARA Registration Unit 06/24/2021 6:14:10 PM v RadioFreeEurope f RadioLiberty UKRAINE Ukraine's New Gas Chief Says He Is 'True Reformer' After Backlash Over His Appointment June 10, 202117:03 GMT By Todd Prince Received by NSD/FARA Registration Unit 06/24/2021 6:14:10 PM Received by NSD/FARA Registration Unit 06/24/2021 6:14:10 PM The new chief executive officer of Ukraine's state-owned gas behemoth has said he is committed to pushing reforms at the company after a recent management change sparked Western concerns about transparency. Yuriy Vitrenko, who was named CEO of Naftogaz in late April, told RFE/RL on June 9 that he was behind many of the company's reform initiatives since 2014. Vitrenko's comments came following a day of meetings in Washington with officials from the State Department and Energy Department, among others, and a day before addressing U.S. energy industry investors. Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers, of which Vitrenko was a member in his capacity as acting energy minister, came under harsh criticism after it temporarily dismissed the supervisory board of Naftogaz on April 28 in order to fire longtime CEO Andriy Kobolyev. The body then appointed Vitrenko to replace Kobolyev. The United States, which has pushed reforms of the once notoriously corrupt company for years and viewed Kobolyev's efforts positively, sharply criticized the decision as "calculated." Vitrenko said that Washington reacted as it did because of existing concerns over Ukraine's reform agenda and because Naftogaz had emerged as a "symbol" of the nation's reform progress. -
Ukraine and Black Sea Security
SIPRI Background Paper December 2018 UKRAINE AND SUMMARY w The Black Sea region is BLACK SEA SECURITY experiencing a changing military balance. The six littoral states (Bulgaria, siemon t. wezeman and alexandra kuimova* Georgia, Romania, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine) intensified their efforts to build up their military potential after Russia’s The security environment in the wider Black Sea region—which brings takeover of Crimea and the together the six littoral states (Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Russia, Turkey start of the internationalized and Ukraine) and a hinterland including the South Caucasus and Moldova— civil war in eastern Ukraine is rapidly changing. It combines protracted conflicts with a significant con- in 2014. ventional military build-up that intensified after the events of 2014: Russia’s The loss of Crimea and the takeover of Crimea and the start of the internationalized civil war in eastern conflict in the east of the Ukraine.1 Transnational connections between conflicts across the region country have dramatically and between the Black Sea and the Middle East add further dimensions of changed Ukraine’s relations insecurity. As a result, there is a blurring of the conditions of peace, crisis with Russia and its position in and conflict in the region. This has led to an unpredictable and potentially the Black Sea. The civil war has high-risk environment in which military forces with advanced weapons, become by far the most including nuclear-capable systems, are increasingly active in close proxim- important security issue for Ukraine and Russia has become ity to each other. the main threat to its security. -
Jakub Olchowski Ukraine: New Security Strategy, Old Problems
Editorial Team: Beata Surmacz (Director of ICE), Tomasz Stępniewski (Deputy No. 288 (191/2020) | 23.11.2020 Director of ICE), Agnieszka Zajdel (Editorial Assistant), Aleksandra Kuczyńska-Zonik, Jakub Olchowski, Konrad Pawłowski, Agata Tatarenko ISSN 2657-6996 © IEŚ Jakub Olchowski Ukraine: New Security Strategy, Old Problems The national security strategy of Ukraine that was adopted in September 2020 refers to many levels as well as threats and challenges, and also specifies Poland as a strategic partner. In the military dimension, however, the implementation of the strategy may be difficult. Despite rapid development and modernization, both the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the arms sector are struggling with numerous problems, mainly financial and political. The national security strategy of Ukraine. The new strategy is considered to be more coherent and better prepared than the previous one, adopted in 2015 under the presidency of Petro Poroshenko. The main element of continuation is the confirmation that Ukraine’s strategic goal is to strengthen cooperation and eventually obtain membership of the European Union and NATO (this corresponds to an amendment introduced to the Ukrainian constitution at the beginning of 2020). However, unlike the previous document, the new strategy indicates the hierarchy of international partners. The United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada and France are to be the priority; Azerbaijan, Lithuania, Poland, Georgia and Turkey are to be the strategic partners. This is a good signal for Poland, as it was not mentioned at all in the previous strategy. As has long been the case in many other countries, the strategy also takes into account the concept of compre- hensive (multidimensional) security, which emphasizes not only traditional – that is, political and military – threats and challenges. -
Putin's Next Objectives in the Ukraine Crisis
HUGO SPAULDING BACKGROUNDER FEBRUARY 3, 2015 PUTIN’S NEXT OBJECTIVES IN THE UKRAINE CRISIS Russia’s campaign in eastern Ukraine has reached an inflection point. Five months after signing a ceasefire agreement, Russian and separatist forces have moved from a preparation phase to a maneuver offensive launched by the separatist victory at the Donetsk airport on January 21, 2015. This new phase of the conflict presents a fresh set of operational decision points for the governments in Moscow and Kyiv. Will Russian- backed forces stop at the boundaries of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts [Provinces] and consolidate their gains? Will they seize Mariupol and then drive west to build a land-corridor to Crimea? Or will they prepare for much larger battles to take the pivotal cities of Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, and Zaporizhia, whose capture would put the survival of the Ukrainian state in grave doubt? Will the Kyiv government commit reserves to defend against any of these contingencies? These decisions, much like the decision to seize the airport, will shed light on Moscow’s strategic objectives in Ukraine and Kyiv’s capacity to withstand them. They will also shape the evolution and quite possibly the outcome of this war. RUSSIAN OBJECTIVES IN KYIV Russia’s strategic interest in controlling Ukrainian political may well be reluctant to undertake it. Unless he can either affairs reflects Russian President Vladimir Putin’s belief in achieve his goals by means short of conquest or be persuaded the need to maintain a buffer between NATO, the European to accept lesser objectives, he is likely to be planning for and Union, and Russia.