Free Republic

Max Seddon identifies the danger of treating Ukraine like the “new Georgia”: More dangerously, the western politicians basking in the adulation of the protesters risk giving pro-European Ukrainians false hope. For all the caveats McCain and his colleague, Sen. Chris Murphy, dropped into their speeches, telling the crowd that, “if you are successful, the U.S. Senate will stand with you every step of the way,” as Murphy did, leads ordinary Ukrainians to assume they have the backing of Western governments while raising the ominous question of what happens if the protests fail. As much as the senators might enjoy pandering...

A Church of martyrs confronts the cultural iron curtain.L’viv, Ukraine — It was almost a decade ago when I last visited Ukraine, and the surface changes over that period are immediately evident. Then, my flight from Poland was met by a Soviet-era school bus, sans engine, towed by a Soviet-era tractor: a bizarre jury-rigged hybrid that carted my companions and me to a one-hour wait in a Soviet-era “VIP lounge” at the Soviet-era L’viv International Airport, while the visas we had spent the better part of a day acquiring in a classic Soviet-era bureaucratic muddle were validated. On July 3,...

The arrest of opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko on August 5 derails Ukraine’s integration into Europe at the same time as its relations with Russia are poor (video of arrest here: www.pravda.com.ua/photo-video/2011/08/5/6454611/). Supporters of opposition politician Yulia Tymoshenko rally outside the court building The disunited opposition has rallied to Tymoshenko’s side with Arseniy Yatseniuk’s Front for Change issuing a press release “The rubicon has been crossed. Democracy has come to an end. The authorities have become a regime” and warned “no regime ever wins a war against its own people” (http://frontzmin.org/). European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek condemned the arrest while Western...

Viktor Yanukovych, the expected next Ukrainian president, says he cannot rule out Russia's Black Sea Fleet remaining in Ukraine after its lease on the Sevastopol naval base expires in 2017. Preliminary results showed Yanukovych narrowly winning Ukraine's presidential election, and although the official count has not been released he has been congratulated by world leaders including the Russian and U.S. presidents. The Party of Regions leader is expected to move Ukraine away from the determinedly pro-Western stance of President Viktor Yushchenko, who vowed that Russia would have to find a new main base for its Black Sea Fleet once the...

Jan. 11, 2005 22:08 Putin's claims strain Israeli-Russian relations By JPOST.COM STAFF Russian President Vladimir Putin's claim that Israeli officials aided Ukrainian opposition candidate Viktor Yuschenko on the campaign trail has led to a serious break in Russian-Israeli relations, Channel 2 TV reported Tuesday evening. Putin further accused Israel of financing Yuschenko in the presidential race against Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, the candidate he preferred. The Russian president claimed that the Israeli government could have prevented the financial sponsorship of Yuschenko. Putin's close associates additionally charged Israel of supporting the Russian opposition. Israel denies the charges, the Channel 2...

One of the most inspiring events of 2004 happened on the year's last weekend: the election of pro-Western democrat Viktor Yushchenko, who had to overcome everything from poisoning to voter fraud to claim Ukraine's presidency. The triumph of the Orange Revolution should dispel the quaint notion still prevalent in many Western universities and foreign ministries that democracy is a luxury good suitable only for rich countries with a tradition of liberalism stretching back centuries. Ukraine fits no one's criteria of a promising democracy: Its per capita income of $5,400 a year is lower than Algeria's or Turkmenistan's; it has a...

UKRAINIANJOURNAL.com WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2004 Front Page Nation Business Editorial Feature Opinion About us Survey Copyright Contact Top News As Kuchma confidants die suspiciously, another crony flees Ukraine Journal Staff Report KIEV, Dec. 28 – Ihor Bakay, a close financial confidant of outgoing President Leonid Kuchma, fled Ukraine amid a range of suspicious deaths reported ahead of an anticipated change of power in Ukraine. Bakay most recently handled finances for the Kuchma administration. He is thought to be one of the richest men in Ukraine and is believed to have made his fortune while leading Naftogaz Ukrayiny, the state oil...

Ukraine's opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko has urged his supporters to prevent a planned cabinet meeting from going ahead on Wednesday. Mr Yushchenko, declared winner of the re-run presidential election, said the "illegal government" should not be allowed to meet. The planned meeting is due to be chaired by his defeated rival, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych. Mr Yushchenko urged supporters to renew their blockade of government offices. Results unofficial "In what country is it possible for a government that has been dismissed to say that it doesn't want to go? No meeting of an illegitimate government can take place," he told...

CHICAGO (AP) In buses and rented vans, Ukrainian Americans from across the Midwest converged on the Ukrainian Consulate to cast their votes Sunday in a fiercely waged presidential election between the Kremlin-backed prime minister and opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko. Officials estimated 5,000 people would vote at the downtown consulate, some driving from as far away as Detroit and Oklahoma to make their voices heard in the third vote of a presidential election that has been tainted by allegations of poisoning and fraud. Many of the voters arriving at the consulate Sunday wore orange scarves and hats the color of the...

Russian behavior throughout the Ukrainian crisis has fueled talk about Russian neoimperialism. The specter of Moscow-inspired separatism in eastern Ukraine reflects the worst fears of analysts on both sides of the Atlantic and brings back talk of a new Cold War. In short order, no matter what happens in Ukraine, we are likely to hear calls for a policy toward Russia drawn from the Cold War: neo-containment. That's the wrong prescription. Consider the evidence of Russian neoimperialism. Heavy meddling in Ukrainian domestic politics is but the latest manifestation of a trend that began long before the crisis in Kiev. Neoimperialist...