Ukrainian anti-corruption reform faces threats
An IMF-backed reform forcing Ukrainian politicians and officials to declare their assets online is facing what some lawmakers and anti-corruption activists say are persistent attempts to sabotage it, according to Reuters. ”There is an attempt to discredit the system in order to destroy it technically, physically,” said Viktor Chumak, an...
Only KGB generals stand between Putin and absolute power – Atlantic Council
Russia`s President Vladimir Putin rules supreme. On September 18, his United Russia party won its largest-ever majority — enough to change the constitution — in the parliamentary elections. He seems to be running circles around the West in both Ukraine and Syria. Yet, Russia`s stability must not be overestimated. Last year, retail sales fell by...
That boom you hear is Ukraine`s agriculture
With the conflict frozen, money is flowing to modernize farms, Bloomberg writes. Companies are betting that global appetites will increasingly rely on Black Sea soil even as obstacles to growth remain, according to Bloomberg. ”Ukraine is a big answer to the question of how you feed the world,” says Steve Pifer, a former U.S. ambassador there...
Russia has `playbook` for covert influence in Eastern Europe
Russia has mounted a campaign of covert economic and political measures to manipulate five countries in central and eastern Europe, discredit the West`s liberal democratic model, and undermine trans-Atlantic ties, a report by a private U.S. research group said, according to Reuters. ”In certain countries, Russian influence has become so pervasive...
U.S. intelligence investigates Russian ties of Trump advisor
U.S. intelligence officials are investigating whether Carter Page, a businessman described by Donald Trump as a foreign policy advisor, has been making backroom promises to Moscow to lift some sanctions against top Kremlin officials if Trump is elected, according to the Foreign Policy magazine. ”Intelligence officials believe Page has had...