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

Caution and Restraint. To Be Continued…

Why it would be wrong for Kyiv to expect blanket solidarity from the West

Side Effects

Vladimir Putin’s bet on aggressive chauvinism and revanchism consolidates the West and unnerves satellites. More and more Russians begin to doubt it as well

Russia and Europe: The Splendour of Money and the Misery of Philosophy

Bribing Western intellectuals and exporting Russia’s peculiar ideology have long been a favourite diversion of Russian rulers

Rebecca Harms: European leaders and US President Obama have to be clear that they do not accept the zigzag policy of Mr. Putin

Rebecca Harms, the President of the Greens-European Free Alliance group in the European Parliament, is one of EMPs who watch the situation in Ukraine closely. During her latest visit to Ukraine, The Ukrainian Week took a chance to speak to her shortly after her return from Eastern Ukraine.

The Big Illusion of Little Russia

Why Ukrainians still view aggressors as "friends" and "brothers"

Damon Wilson: “Permanent neutrality and “Finland status” are bad ideas for Ukraine’s own interests”

The Ukrainian Week talked to Damon Wilson, executive vice-president of The Atlantic Council, about the establishment of the pro-Ukrainian community in the world, the US-Russia relations after the annexation of Crimea, the new Ukrainian military and the likelihood of NATO MAP for Ukraine

What Remains of the Empire

What Russia’s frontiers could look like in case of fragmentation triggered by ethnic, religious, economic and other factors

Stephen Hadley: “Ukraine now has an enormous opportunity to take advantage of the attention that it is getting from the West”

The Ukrainian Week speaks to Stephen Hadley, former National Security Advisor to President George W. Bush, on ways to deter Russia’s aggression, Russia-US relations and unity in Europe

Subtle Energy Independence

EBRD priorities are gradually shifting away from Russia. The investor is setting sights on Ukraine and has already renewed public sector lending

Wolfgang Ischinger: Mr. Putin is challenging the very bases of the vision of European integration

The Ukrainian Week talks to Wolfgang Ischinger, German diplomat who was the Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for National Dialogue Roundtables in Ukraine, on his work, European and Ukrainian co-existence with Russia, and security threats of the current conflict between Ukraine and Russia

No European Joy Without Ukrainian Alloy

The EU is beginning to take concrete action against its excessive dependence on Russian gas

Roderick Parkes: “The splits in the EU are completely different this time compared to the ones I’ve seen in the past”

The Ukrainian Week talks to Roderick Parkes, EU programme coordinator at the Polish Institute of International Affairs, about how united the EU is on resisting Russia, Germany’s idea of federalization, and how the current crisis has impacted the relations between Germany and Poland

Restraining Putin, not Russians

Western strategy is to try to focus especially on Putin himself and his entourage without arousing the blanket hostility and fear of ordinary Russians

Putin’s Regiment in the EU

The “referendum” in Crimea revealed Vladimir Putin’s partners in the EU. Most are minority radical parties which, according to his design, have to undermine the EU’s already quite unwieldy system from the inside with Moscow’s support

Lamberto Zannier: “Ukraine must protect itself. It should not become a victim of the clash of the EU and Eurasian Union policies. Therefore, a strong internal dialogue is important”

OSCE Secretary General talks to The Ukrainian Week about OSCE mission for the presidential election, the way the current crisis is changing the role of international organizations including the OSCE in the world, and about circumstances that would force it to revise its current toolbox