What is Behind Special Status for Donbas

The “special status” of the Donbas within Ukraine can turn it into an impoverished criminal reservation. This will help Moscow conceal its occupation of part of the neighbour’s territory and legitimize its presence in the region

Inevitable Rehabilitation

Sovietism is deeply rooted in the Donetsk prairies. Unless it is liquidated, the region will see no progress or solution to the current situation

In-Depth Defence

The advance of Russians in the Donbas has halted the movement of the Ukrainian army eastward and intensified the panic in our rear. However, the shock will soon pass, and society may have no option but to prepare for a cold winter and a lengthy military confrontation

Lustration Over the Ocean

Ukrainian activists are pursuing the lustration of state organs of professional frauds. Yet another place where lustration of corrupt individuals has to occur is among the Diaspora of the United States

Mission Possible: Survival Without Russian Gas

Ukraine is able to stand its ground in a gas war, even if it continues for years. The biggest threat, though, is to get hooked on Russian gas once again in exchange for a discount from Gazprom

Between Munich-2 and the Truman Doctrine

Russian aggression against Ukraine has forced the world to choose between two ways of handling the aggressor. Each was tested in the 20th century

Yehor Sobolev: “Lustration has been blocked”

Chairman of the Lustration Committee speaks about the government’s tricks, the Kremlin’s agents and the need to rebuild government agencies from scratch

tReasonable Doubts

The Parliament inherited from Yanukovych holds an imminent threat to Ukraine, yet the breakup of pro-European coalition is potentially as dangerous

Fixing the Donbas

If the “Donbas pacification plan” announced by Petro Poroshenko is to be implemented effectively, the region’s administrative map could be redrawn more sensibly

In the Army Now: Answering Many Why’s

The Ukrainian Army after 23 years of “ingenious” military reforms and three months of warfare in Eastern Ukraine

Yehor Firsov: “Living in a new way? We’ll see”

The Ukrainian Week talks to the Donetsk-born Yehor Firsov, the youngest MP in the Verkhovna Rada, about recipes for rapid career growth in politics, the bazaar atmosphere in parliament and the helpless Rinat Akhmetov

A Heavy Mace for Mr. Poroshenko

What the new President should start with to meet expectations of his voters

Vitaliy Kovalchuk: “The agreement on close cooperation between UDAR and Poroshenko has not been voided by anyone”

The chairman of the UDAR faction in parliament speaks about the roots of the Poroshenko-Klitschko union, the need for an early parliamentary election and the tests of power

Andrey Illarionov: “The aggression against Ukraine will inevitably end in a redrawing of Russia’s borders”

Andrey Illarionov, a former advisor to Vladimir Putin, talks to The Ukrainian Week about the prospects of Russian imperialism, the efficiency of Western diplomacy and the possible consequences of the Russian-Ukrainian war

Donbas: The Revenge of the Proletariat

Russian weapons have transformed separatist-controlled territories into a battlefield. The locals support the rebels for promises of order and Soviet values. The region could quickly become the new Transnistria

The Birth of New Political Reality

Presidential elections are merely a prologue to the dramatic overhaul of political landscape

Who's in control of the rebellion in Donetsk?

The question "who controls the separatists in the eastern Ukraine?" has no categorical answer. The insurgents of Donetsk don't have a single command centre. In fact these terrorist groups are controlled by a number of different individuals who often don't see eye to eye.

It’s Not the Winning, But the Taking Part That Counts

Why some candidates are running in the campaign without a chance to win it

The Myth of Russian-Speaking Regions

If Russian becomes the second state language or even acquires official status in part of Ukraine’s territory, this will aggravate the discrimination of the Ukrainian-speaking majority and will ease the Kremlin’s expansion

Déjà vu? Poroshenko vs Tymoshenko

Ukraine risks returning to the post-Orange Revolution internal squabbles very soon

A Dangerous Compromise

If Ukraine’s top officials are unable to adequately assess the fatal outcome of their efforts in compromise seeking with Russia for Ukraine, they have no right to head the country. If they do realize the danger of the linguistic concession they are about to make, they should be treated as actors in the Russian cultural and language expansion in Ukraine who intentionally undermine its constitutional order and national statehood

The Force of Hope. Who Is to Stop Separatism?

While new authorities are set to play by the old rules, the country is veering further out of control. All hopes are on the army

Who's Behind Separatism in the Donbas?

Checkpoints and barricades made out of tires have been installed on the highways of Donetsk region. In the cities administrative buildings have been seized. Groups of masked men armed with sticks and bats control the roads and search the passing transport. Using crowds of civilians as a shield "the little green men" capture Ukrainian armored vehicles

Crimean Mafia in Politics

Russian aggression in Crimea reveals interesting aspects of using criminal groups in politics

Serhiy Kunitsyn: “The only thing that forced Crimean elite to support Moscow was the presence of 20,000 Russian troops”

Ex-premier of Crimea speaks about a fatal four-day procrastination following Russia’s invasion, attempts to bribe Crimean Tatars and reasons why the leaders of Crimea’s enforcement authorities defected to the Russians

Nuclear Reincarnation. Does Ukraine Need Its Nukes Back?

Russian military aggression has recently become a constant threat, while the Western powers are failing to fulfil the security guarantees they extended to Ukraine under the 1994 Budapest Memorandum. The issue of nuclear or other similarly effective weapons with which to defend Ukraine’s borders is again high on the agenda