Section: News & Summaries

      Ukraine Must Finish Reforming Public Procurement Practices as Part of Anti-Corruption Drive
      Aug17

      Ukraine Must Finish Reforming Public Procurement Practices as Part of Anti-Corruption Drive

      As Ukraine struggles with a collapsing economy and Russian-backed separatists in the Donbas, a third crisis threatens its long-term national stability: endemic corruption.Ukraine ranks 142nd out of 175 countries on Transparency International’s latest annual Corruption Perceptions Index. Of the fifteen former Soviet republics, only...

      Ukraine’s Fall Elections Matter More Than You Think
      Aug17

      Ukraine’s Fall Elections Matter More Than You Think

      With less than 80 days before election day in Ukraine, mayoral races are already heating up. Parliament approved a new election law that does two things: Ukraine will use an open-list system and the country will hold runoffs for mayors in larger cities. These two features combined with the potential decentralization reforms being debated by...

      Fighting flares in eastern Ukraine

      Several civilians were killed during clashes between Kiev government forces and Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine. ||| Kiev – Fighting flared between Ukrainian government forces and Russian-backed separatists in two separate parts of eastern Ukraine overnight with several civilians killed by shelling, Ukrainian police and...

      Russian terrorists shelled at Ukrainian villages with mortars and Grad rocket systems – ATO Press Center
      Aug16

      Russian terrorists shelled at Ukrainian villages with mortars and Grad rocket systems – ATO Press Center

      PHOTO:Terrorists shelled Avdiivka village On August 16, 2015, the ATO Press Center reports that yesterday Russian terrorists continued to fire at the ATO forces’ positions, and slightly reduced the use of rocket artillery. “As usual, terrorists were the most active since 6 p.m. till 12 a.m. in the Donetsk region. During this period, the...

      Russia’s Occupation of Ukraine Still Top Threat to Global Security
      Aug13

      Russia’s Occupation of Ukraine Still Top Threat to Global Security

      Recent articles in the US media suggest that the Pentagon is “rebalancing” its forces towards Europe to meet the Russian challenge. At the same time, NATO plans to halve the number of air patrols over the Baltic. Supposedly the Russian threat to Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania has ebbed, and governments are finally stepping up to...

      How Mr. X Outsmarted Mr. Kvit: The Lopsided Progress of Ukraine’s Education Reforms
      Aug12

      How Mr. X Outsmarted Mr. Kvit: The Lopsided Progress of Ukraine’s Education Reforms

      Let me tell you the story of Mr. X—a student whom I had never seen in class, and who had not shown up for any of his final exams. “Oh, do not worry,” his fellow students reassured me, “it has been like this year in year out.” I could have easily forgotten this trivial episode had Mr. X not earned a university diploma and...

      Ukraine Crisis Is Not Only About Ukraine
      Aug12

      Ukraine Crisis Is Not Only About Ukraine

      The Ukraine crisis is not only about Ukraine. Far more urgent for humanity as a whole are the commitments made by Russia and other UN Security Council members with regard to Ukraine’s accession to the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty (NPT) following the Soviet Union’s collapse. The NPT aims to curtail the spread of weapons...

      Hackers’ insider shop sold data on demand

      Five people are being investigated over a scheme combining digital-age cybercrime with old-fashioned insider trading. ||| New York – The email from Kiev offered a tantalising prize: the formula for a new kind of Wall Street crime.“Log-in data will be sent to the email you leave,” the attached video said in Russian.So began what authorities...

      Even After Iran Deal, Putin Won’t Get His Way in Ukraine
      Aug11

      Even After Iran Deal, Putin Won’t Get His Way in Ukraine

      Ever since US Secretary of State John Kerry visited Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi last May, Ukraine’s friends have been concerned that in its eagerness to ensure Kremlin support for a deal with Iran, the White House was willing to let Putin have his way in Ukraine. Advocates of this outlook point to five developments:In Sochi,...

      ‘Russian-made missile’ at MH17 crash site

      Investigators identified pieces that “possibly” come from a Russian-made BUK missile at the crash site of flight MH17. ||| The Hague – Investigators probing the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 said on Tuesday they had identified pieces that “possibly” come from a Russian-made BUK missile from eastern Ukraine, where the plane...