Henrik Meinander: “Any kind of Ukraine’s neutrality would be a Russian-dependent one”

Finnish historian talks about the relations between Finland and USSR after World War II, the prospects of neutrality for Ukraine, and the future of a new Cold War

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir: “The awareness of languages and human thought in different languages is very important for interchange and peace”

The first female president in the world talks about preservation of language and identity, gender equality, and promotion of peace through understanding and caring for the environment

Where is Leadership to be Found?

We can conclude that Putin’s fascism and aggression in Europe was stopped, first and foremost, by the courage and heroism of Ukraine. Yet the leaders of the world, namely, Barack Obama and Angela Merkel, have responded to the challenge as well

The Force of Habit

The interests and prejudices of officials and diplomats from the UN, OSCE, Council of Europe and other international agencies sometimes affect policy decisions more than they should

Working on the Ground

Initially, local civilians and the military had been quite critical of the OSCE monitors. This has changed recently

Little Steps to Great Freedom

Magna Carta as foundation of human rights

The Pit of Fear

Why the Maidan in Ukraine has discouraged Belarusians from protests against their authorities

Raimonds Vejonis: "Everything we saw in the Soviet days still goes on, but with new actors"

The Ukrainian Week spoke with Raimonds Vejonis, the newly-elected President of the Republic of Latvia and Minister of Defense when this interview was made, about NATO revival, the "deterrent effect," Putin's unpredictability, and the cost of the conflict in Ukraine to Riga

Dace Melbārde: “One goal of the Russian propaganda is to weaken one’s sense of patriotism and belonging to his or her country”

Latvian Minister of Culture spoke to The Ukrainian Week about Russia’s war for the hearts and minds of young people, and ways for Latvia and Europe to resist it effectively

Vytautas Landsbergis: "Ukrainians are now undergoing a long endurance test"

The first speaker of the Seimas of the independent Lithuania and EMP until recently on the way Europe is changing its perception of Russia, the shifting "center of Europeanness", and why it is crucial for Ukrainians to resist disenchantment

Michael McFaul: Putin believes that time is on his side: that the West will become disinterested and Ukraine will fail with reforms

Ex-US Ambassador to Russia on the “reset policy”, Russia’s “resource curse”, and main threats of Putin’s policy for the West and Ukraine

A Struggle for Peace

The veterans fought for freedom and a better life in Europe. Can that peace and prosperity now endure in the face of so many new challenges?

Alexander Motyl: "Ukraine is important to the US as a counterweight to Russia"

American historian of Ukrainian descent, Rutgers University Professor on Washington's policy towards Kyiv, Ukraine's image, and the perception of Ukrainian politicians in the US

Adrift In Washington

The reasons for American inaction

At an Impasse

The initiative to invite peacekeepers to Donbas seems like a desperate move in the situation when traditional means of deterring Russia's creeping expansion have failed

David Kramer: “We have an obligation to help Ukraine defend itself”

How visible Crimea is a year after annexation internationally, how seriously the threat of its militarization is seen in the West, and why Barack Obama is reluctant to provide effective support to Ukraine

From Cold War to Hot War

Russia’s aggression in Ukraine is part of a broader, and more dangerous, confrontation with the West

When the Rules Are Broken

François Heisbourg and Judy Dempsey comment on the leadership of the USA and Germany in the Ukraine-Russia conflict, delivery of weapons to Ukraine and the new world order

Russian Military Bases

around NATO borders and in Central Asia

Taavi Rõivas: “Thanks to reforms, we became members of the EU and experienced economic growth”

The Ukrainian Week spoke to Estonia’s Prime Minister about reforms, business environment they way Estonian investors see it in Ukraine, economic benefits of e-governance and international response to the Russian threat

Vaira Vike-Freiberga: “The most important element for the future of Ukraine is what Ukrainians do themselves”

The Ukrainian Week talked to Vaira Vike-Freiberga, the sixth President of Latvia, about the EU’s strategies towards Ukraine, differences between new and old member-states and ways to counter Russian propaganda

Yuriy Sergeyev: “Ukraine wants to create a coalition for the protection of the interests of our region – Europe”

The Ukrainian Week spoke to the Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations about the transformation of the UN, Ukraine’s cooperation with neutral member-nations, and isolation of Moscow

Lobbymocracy

Ukraine does not have adequate support in the West, either in political circles, or among experts. The situation with the mass media and civil society is slightly better

The West: Between Interests and Values

If the West wants to develop freely, it cannot allow the dominance of Russia, which, backward and parasitic, dictates its ineffective rules to the rest of the world.

The Red Thaw in Eastern Europe

After 1989, East European Communists transformed into social-democrats. Those who survived lustration remained in politics at home through the 1990s and early 2000s

Toomas Hendrik Ilves: “We are clearly at the beginning of a period where Russia is a very different partner”

In his interview for The Ukrainian Week, Mr. Ilves draws parallels between transformations of the international order caused by Russia’s actions today and circumstances that encouraged the establishment of NATO and EU over 60 years ago, and between the presence of Russian troops on Ukrainian soil today and Soviet occupation of Estonia