Opinions

Ukraine Needs to Address Its Paramilitary Problem

Source By Michael J. Sheldon Since the conclusion of Maidan, politically motivated private security actors operating in parallel with the Ukrainian government have played an integral part in the country’s security landscape. While some have been cooperating with Ukrainian authorities, others experience great friction with the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) and Ministry of Interior Affairs (MIA), undermining the formal security structures of the Ukrainian government. It seems that political and military power have become inseparable at the unit level, with many battalion commanders also being career politicians or parliamentary members. The term “volunteer battalion” is common...

23.07.17 18:53

Ukraine In NATO? America Should Reject A Bad Idea That Only Grows Worse With Age

Source By Doug Bandow The government of Ukraine reaffirmed its desire to join NATO. The alliance said the door is open for Kiev. It’s an idea that only grows worse with age. Earlier this week Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko met NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Kiev, proclaiming that “Ukraine has clearly defined its political future and its future in the sphere of security,” as part of the transatlantic alliance. Discussions are to begin on a Membership Action Plan and, Petroshenko added, his government would pursue reforms in order to “have a clear schedule of what must be done by 2020 to meet the NATO membership criteria.” Stoltenberg was noncommittal but...

19.07.17 23:17

No visa-free regime: NATO demands punishment for disobedient Kiev

Ukraine and Donbass: The Kremlin laid out cards on the table

Source By Irina Alksnis On the eve of negotiations with the US on the Donbass problem, Sergey Lavrov outlined Russia's position on Ukraine as a whole. In fact, Moscow suggests that the West ‘close the Ukrainian project’ and return it to where it historically belongs, namely in the zone of Russian influence. And it's hard not to notice the malice in the remark that otherwise the Kremlin is ready to wait and return to this conversation in another few years. On Sunday, as part of an interview with one of the federal television channels, Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, made a number of landmark statements on a wide range of foreign policy issues. Among the most noteworthy are those that relate to the Ukrainian crisis. As you know, the fighting situation on the contact line in Donbass is still very difficult. Official rhetoric of Moscow on this issue is characterized by an increased level of rigidity, in places passing into a very ambiguous irony. In this connection, it...

16.07.17 21:59

Let Moscow lie in ruins! - NBC published a video from a children's camp near Kiev

Source While the Russian Federation expresses its confidence in the brotherhood with the Ukrainian people, this people is cultivating hatred for it. Doing it, by the way, very thoroughly - cherishing hatred for Russia not only in itself, but also in future generations. The NBC television channel has published a scary movie which was made in a children's militarized camp near Kiev. The pastime of children includes complex studying: not only the military training of adolescents and children, but also the ideological preparation. The camp is supervised by militants of the «Azov» Nazi group. This sure explains a lot and gives reason to again mention the marginals. However, we should not forget that children are not sent to the «marginals» forcibly, but at the request of their parents. What levels out the notorious marginalism. In addition, the children themselves are happy to be in this place. ‘It was my decision, since last year I have wanted to come here, and now, my...

14.07.17 21:51

Chronicles of Malorossia: Donetsk offers an alternative scenario of the future

Source By Arina Tsukanova After the first condemnations of the Donetsk initiative to create a new state of Malorossia (Little Russia) sounded from Ukraine, Kiev, Brussels, Berlin and Paris, it is worthwhile to take a closer look at this idea: it is, in fact, a scenario for the creation of a unified country, an alternative to the Kiev’s one. Is it not what the Ukrainian authorities have been preaching for three and a half years, both at home and in the West? Is it not the format of a single country that the UN, the OSCE, the State Department, the European Committee, the European Parliament, the European Union, the European members of the «Norman format» support with such...

21.07.17 22:32

«Wild» police: patrols from former «ATO» fighters came out to streets of Ukraine

Source By Semen Doroshenko Patrols from former «ATO» fighters and members of neo-Nazi battalions have taken to the streets of Ukrainian cities. This is the «Safety of Life» project which is being implemented by the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of Ukraine. In the police, the creation of such patrols is welcomed, they say that it is necessary now. The MIA calls these «wild» patrols ‘the paramilitary police units’ and assures that former marauders and rapists will ‘maintain the public order’. It is reported by the Magnolia TV. According to the MIA, the «Safety of Life» project has two goals: to reduce the level of street crime and to adapt ATO veterans to a peaceful...

11.07.17 20:16