Ukraine’s Minister of Economic Development and Trade Aivaras Abromavicius…offered a candid statement about the reasons for his resignation: “My team and I have no desire to be a cover for open corruption or puppets for those who want to establish control over state funds in the old fashion.”
“VOA will present the policies of the United States clearly and effectively, and will also present responsible discussion and opinion on these policies.” — VOA Charter
Why Do Ukraine’s Reform Ministers Keep Quitting?
Posted February 9th, 2016 at 12:16 pm (UTC-5)
Comments are closed
A Whiff of Panic in the Kremlin as Russia’s Economy Sinks Further
Posted February 5th, 2016 at 2:52 pm (UTC-5)
Comments are closed
President Vladimir Putin has gone so far as to blame Soviet Union founder Vladimir Lenin for Russia’s current difficulties….Signs of panic and dysfunction are everywhere. Finance Minister Anton Siluanov has demanded yet another round of 10 percent budget cuts….The Russian government really has no good economic options other than hope.
Russia’s Ruling Regime Must Modernize or Face Collapse
Posted January 22nd, 2016 at 12:35 pm (UTC-5)
Comments are closed
In 2016 the Russian authorities will have to shift their focus away from shaping the world order and toward putting their own house in order. Otherwise, they will not survive.
Putin and Trump: It’s a Match!
Posted December 18th, 2015 at 3:18 pm (UTC-5)
Comments are closed
“He is a bright and talented person without any doubt.” The words of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who lavishly praised Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump. Trump returned the favor the very next day when asked about Putin’s comments. “He’s running his country, and at least he’s a leader, unlike what we have in this country,” ignoring assertions from a TV host that Putin “kills journalists, political allies and invades countries.”
The love from Trump isn’t new. Previously, he said he thought he’d get along with Putin, who now has chilly relations with the United States after Russia’s annexation of Crimea and his highly suspect record on human rights. Diplomats were left gasping or opining righteously on cable news outlets that Trump’s comments prove what a danger a President Trump would be. Others found humor in the odd love affair. One blogger called it “Trumpevich.”
U.S. European Commander on Russia, Women in Combat
Posted December 10th, 2015 at 8:27 am (UTC-5)
Comments are closed
General Ben Hodges, Commanding General of the U.S. Army in Europe, discusses the threat posed by Russia, the situation regarding Ukraine and the new policy of opening all Army positions, including combat, to women.
Putin’s Syrian Misadventure
Posted December 2nd, 2015 at 10:27 am (UTC-5)
Comments are closed
Putin’s “crafty” Syrian chess move has left him with a lot more dead Russians; newly at odds with Turkey and Iran; weakened in Ukraine; acting as the defense lawyer for Assad — a mass murderer of Sunni Muslims, the same Sunni Muslims as Putin has in Russia; and with no real advances against ISIS.
Success in Ukraine Could Threaten Western Unity
Posted November 23rd, 2015 at 1:52 pm (UTC-5)
Comments are closed
Today’s headlines about Syria obscure a major triumph for Western policy. Ukraine seems to be heading toward an informal settlement largely on European and U.S. terms. Yet this success could threaten the very Western unity that brought it about.
Teaming up with Russia in Syria Could be a Dangerous False Step for the U.S.
Posted November 19th, 2015 at 12:15 pm (UTC-5)
Comments are closed
Mr. Putin is doing his best to look like a potential partner. On Tuesday, after weeks of obfuscation, his government suddenly confirmed that the Islamic State was responsible for the bombing of a Russian airliner last month, and Russian forces carried out a rare wave of attacks against the Islamic State capital, Raqqa.
Morality, Pragmatism, and Orwell in Rhetoric and Policy
Posted November 12th, 2015 at 2:53 pm (UTC-5)
Comments are closed
We’ve all gotten very familiar with Vladimir Putin’s Orwellian logic, according to which peace is war, intervention is non-intervention, democracy is fascism, and fascism is democracy. His latest comments at the Valdai discussion club just reinforced, if any reinforcing were still necessary, the point that the man is a master of mendacity.
Ukraine is in Danger of Becoming a Failed State
Posted November 6th, 2015 at 5:01 pm (UTC-5)
Comments are closed
Despite attempts at change by a new generation of bureaucrats, Ukraine’s economy remains unreformed. Taxes are oppressive but widely evaded, the shadow economy is growing and the regulatory climate for business has barely improved.
Baltics in Crosshairs Between NATO and Russia
Posted November 5th, 2015 at 4:42 pm (UTC-5)
Comments are closed
VILNIUS, LITHUANIA — Russia’s annexation of the Crimean peninsula and ongoing war in Ukraine have cast a shadow across Central and Eastern Europe, but nowhere is it darker than in the Baltic States. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are the only former Soviet republics to have joined either NATO or the EU. That factor especially seems […]
The Kremlin’s Tragic Miscalculation
Posted November 4th, 2015 at 10:34 am (UTC-5)
Comments are closed
The truth is that the young democracies of Central and Eastern Europe sought to join the EU and NATO – and worked hard to gain membership – because they longed for peace, progress, and prosperity. It was those countries’ ambitions, not some vendetta against Russia, that drove EU and NATO enlargement.
The Myth of Putin’s Strategic Genius
Posted November 2nd, 2015 at 9:03 am (UTC-5)
Comments are closed
Five years ago, Russia was in a much stronger position, both at home and in the world. Today, Mr. Putin is playing defense, doubling down on bad decisions guided by an outdated theory of international politics.
Ukraine and the West Need Each Other
Helping Ukraine stand up to Moscow now is in the West’s best interest and would spare it the expense of confronting a bigger, more powerful Russia in the future….what we need most is for the West to follow through on what’s already been promised: an investment in the new Ukraine…