Ucrania (Continuación)

Jakiw Palij, a former Nazi concentration camp guard, is carried on a stretcher as he is deported to Germany on Aug. 20. (ABC/AP)

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As the United States deports a former Nazi concentration camp guard to Germany, the world has been reminded again of the popular image of the Holocaust as one of impersonal mass slaughter. In the death camps, Jews and other victims died at the hands of murderers who didn’t know their victims but were filled with anti-Semitic hate.

But by the time that the death camps’ gas chambers became operational, approximately half of the Jews who would perish in the Holocaust were already dead. Many of these Jews were tortured or killed by “ordinary” non-Jews at close quarters: in apartments, in streets, in the woods and anywhere else Jews could be found.…  Seguir leyendo »

Ukrainian MPs vote on anti-corruption legislation in the parliament in Kyiv. Photo via Getty Images.

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President Petro Poroshenko finally signed the law establishing the High Anti-Corruption Court on 26 June. This is one of the key conditions for the release of the next tranche of the IMF’s $17.5 billion support programme to Ukraine and should ensure that officials indicted by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) face trial.

Up to now, the unreformed lower courts have found ways to obstruct or delay cases brought by the NABU. Out of 220 indictments, there have been only 21 convictions. No senior official has gone to jail.

Created by reformist forces with strong backing from international partners, the NABU is a powerful example of a new institution unconnected with the past, with high professional standards relative to other law enforcement agencies.…  Seguir leyendo »

People commemorate victims of anti-government protests at Independence Square during the first anniversary of the Euromaidan Revolution in Kiev, in November 2014. (Tatyana Zenkovich/European Pressphoto Agency)

Europa,

On June 7, Ukraine’s parliament passed long-awaited legislation establishing a special anti-corruption court. Our country took another important move forward on its path toward building a European state where all are equal under the law. This was not the first step in this journey, and it won’t be the last. But I believe it showed that our journey toward a genuine democracy is now irreversible.

Nobody would argue that our reform process has been easy. Over the past two decades, Ukrainians have become skeptical that there could be any progress in the fight against the scourge of corruption. Nevertheless, the Euromaidan Revolution of Dignity gave Ukrainians hope for a new future of accountable leaders and the rule of law.…  Seguir leyendo »

Protesters hold the Ukraine flag and anti-government placards at a rally in Kiev, Ukraine. (Sergey Dolzhenko/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)

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The journal Post-Soviet Affairs recently published a special issue on politics and identity in Ukraine. The question of Russian vs. Ukrainian identity has been central to the study of Ukrainian politics for decades now, but especially so since the “Euromaidan” protests of 2014, Russia’s subsequent annexation of Crimea, and continued violent conflict among Ukraine, Ukrainian separatists, and Russia-supported forces in the southeast. With this in mind, I spoke to one of the guest editors of the special issue, Olga Onuch, associate professor in politics at the University of Manchester and author of “Mapping Mass Mobilizations: Understanding Revolutionary Moments in Argentina and Ukraine” (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014).…  Seguir leyendo »

The indiscreet charm of a ban

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On the 8th of May Telegram, an app which has been banned in Russia since early April, turned to the Supreme Court of Russia with an appeal.

“Not sure why the messenger needs it. It benefits from the ban”, commented Pavel Salin, Director of the Center for Political Studies at the Financial University.

Indeed, Telegram has become the forbidden fruit: following the ban, the app’s audience in Russia has not dwindled, but in fact expanded. Pavel Durov, the app’s creator, estimates that 15 mln Russians are its active users and thanks Apple, Google, Amazon, and Microsoft for refusing to maintain the censorship.…  Seguir leyendo »

A Ukrainian fighter stands in a building damaged by shelling in Avdiivka, Ukraine, on Feb. 4, 2017. (Evgeniy Maloletka/AP)

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The fighting in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region is entering its fifth year. More than 10,000 people have been killed in this persistent conflict; 2,800 were civilians. Nearly two million people have been internally displaced or put at risk if they remain in their homes.

Today, the Donbas war is among the worst humanitarian crises in the world, with frequent attacks occurring from both sides across the oblasts (provinces) of Donetsk and Luhansk. Before the war, this compact, heavily urbanized and industrialized region held nearly 15 percent of Ukraine’s population (6.6 million) and generated 16 percent of its gross domestic product.

Now it’s a war zone.…  Seguir leyendo »

People carry national flags on a bridge while forming a human chain across the Dnipro River during celebrations for Unity Day in Kyiv, Ukraine, on 22 January 2018. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich

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It is common for Ukrainian officials and their international backers to say that Russia’s 2014 invasion, which was partly motivated by Moscow’s anger at Ukraine pivoting toward Europe and the U.S., has unified the country and turned it even more resolutely westward. In one sense, they are correct: Moscow’s aggression has consolidated support among many Ukrainians for membership in the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).

But talk of unity among Ukraine’s 44 million people is misleading. It leaves out over two million inhabitants of Crimea, annexed by Russia, and up to three million residents of Donbas, the eastern region of Ukraine partly controlled by Moscow-backed rebels.…  Seguir leyendo »

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The war in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region will soon enter its fifth year. In September 2017, talk of a settlement picked up after Russia circulated a draft UN Security Council resolution proposing the deployment of UN forces along the front line separating Kyiv’s forces, on one side, from Kremlin-backed separatists, on the other.

Moscow had ignored Kyiv’s calls for peacekeepers since early 2015, so its proposal was regarded with suspicion by Ukraine and its Western allies. Most saw the small force envisaged along the front as a non-starter, more likely to freeze the conflict than end it. Nonetheless, the proposal spurred fresh thinking about ways out of the stalemate.…  Seguir leyendo »

Ukrainian troops fire a howitzer close to the front line in the Donetsk area of Ukraine on Jan. 11. (Markiian Lyseiko/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)

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Could a U.N.-backed peacekeeping force end the grinding war in eastern Ukraine that has claimed more than 10,000 lives? In September, Russian President Vladimir Putin hinted that he might be open to a U.N. force. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and the Trump administration also seem keen on the idea.

The Russians want something light. Ukraine would like a hefty U.N. force to quickly take control of the breakaway areas of the Donetsk basin, or Donbas — but recognizes that Russian-occupied Crimea is off-limits.

Even if a diplomatic compromise is possible, how would a force work on the ground? In a new report for the Hudson Institute, I explore the lessons of past operations for a deployment in the Donbas.…  Seguir leyendo »

Protesters hold the Ukraine flag and anti-government signs at a rally in downtown Kiev, Ukraine, on Dec. 17, demanding that lawmakers lift their parliamentary immunity and establishment an anti-corruption court. (EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)

Europa,

For the last three years, Ukrainian activists have been trying to beat back systemic government corruption — but now that “Revolution of Dignity” is hanging by a thread. In mid-December 2017, anti-reform forces in President Petro Poroshenko’s government moved to suppress anti-corruption forces, including efforts to sideline the most prominent anti-corruption member of parliament and to subordinate the country’s independent anti-corruption bureau to the very politicians it is supposed to investigate. Here’s what’s going on — and how it matters to anti-corruption efforts worldwide.

A new approach to rooting out corruption: The ‘sandwich’ model

For the last three years, Ukrainian civil society and the international community have been experimenting with a new way to force the government to undertake major anti-corruption reforms called “the sandwich.”…  Seguir leyendo »

Mikheil Saakashvili, the former president of Georgia, center, standing in a courtroom enclosure surrounded by reporters before his hearing in Kiev, Ukraine, on Dec. 11. Credit Efrem Lukatsky/Associated Press

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I may be the first former head of state since a Habsburg to be left stateless.

In the past, I’ve also been described as one of the worst enemies of President Vladimir Putin of Russia. And yet I recently spent three days in solitary confinement, held by the Security Service of Ukraine, which, among other allegations, accused me of being an agent of the Russian secret service.

How did this happen?

After I finished two terms as president of Georgia, during which I turned my homeland into what the World Bank described in 2007 as the No. 1 reformer in the world, I moved to the United States to teach.…  Seguir leyendo »

Protestors carry flags and a banner with the slogan “people’s impeachment” during a rally Sunday in downtown Kiev, Ukraine. (Sergey Dolzhenko/EPA-EFE/REX)

Europa,

Ukraine’s complex political intrigues can be hard to figure out. But this week we’ve arrived at a rare moment of clarity.

The most important domestic issue in our country is corruption. And for the first time in our modern history, we have the people and the institutions in place to fight it.

But at the very moment when anti-corruption officials have really started to tackle the problem, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is moving to undermine them. His followers in parliament have dismissed the head of a crucial anti-corruption committee, and now they’re preparing to neutralize the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), its only independent anti-graft body, which has made a name for itself with aggressive prosecutions of high-ranking politicians.…  Seguir leyendo »

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After playing into Russia’s hands on Syria, the Trump administration now risks repeating the error in Ukraine, where diplomatic discussions over a Russian initiative are heating up. Moscow’s plan is to legitimize its invasion and control over parts of two eastern provinces by drawing President Trump into another bad deal.

Vladi­mir Putin’s pattern is familiar. He uses his military to escalate fighting on the ground and then approaches the West with a proposal sold as de-escalation. Appealing to European and U.S. desires for peace without Western intervention, the Russian president puts forward an alleged compromise. But in the details, Putin’s proposals are really designed to divide his adversaries and cement his gains.…  Seguir leyendo »

A woman attends a commemoration ceremony dedicated to the the people killed during the 2014 Ukrainian mass protests. (Gleb Garanich/Reuters)

Europa,

Last Tuesday was the fourth anniversary of the beginning of the demonstration that turned into a revolution in Ukraine. To mark the occasion, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko visited the Maidan, the central square where much of the drama played out back in late 2013 and early 2014. Together with the prime minister and the speaker of parliament, he and his wife laid flowers beside the monument to dozens of people who were murdered by police sharpshooters at the climax of the revolution, just before Poroshenko’s predecessor fled the country. Since then, many thousands more have died in fighting in the east.…  Seguir leyendo »

Viktor Yanukovich, left, with Vladimir Putin in 2010. Credit Gleb Garanich/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

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Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, insists that indictments against Paul Manafort and Richard Gates have “nothing to do with the president’s campaign or campaign activity.” Administration officials dismiss the alleged criminal activity by Mr. Manafort, formerly President Trump’s campaign chairman, as being merely about money-laundering and Ukraine — but not Russia, the focus of the investigation by Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel.

But Mr. Manafort’s work in Ukraine, which began in 2006, has always in a real sense been about Russia — and may also have been about the campaign.

Mr. Manafort didn’t go to Ukraine to advance the interests of democracy, Western Europe or the United States.…  Seguir leyendo »

Una educación inclusiva para Ucrania

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La educación es una de las pocas áreas que todavía se consideran una cuestión puramente soberana, algo sobre lo que los gobiernos nacionales (y en muchos países, también las autoridades locales) deben tener control. Pero en el mundo de hoy, parece que no hay asunto que sea inmune a la manipulación política. Es lo que sucede con la nueva ley marco educativa de Ucrania, que ha concitado una tenaz oposición no tanto dentro del país, sino desde algunos países vecinos.

La ley, aprobada el mes pasado por el parlamento ucraniano, es reflejo de un proceso deliberativo largo e incluyente. Su artículo 7 establece que los alumnos de escuelas y universidades estudien en el idioma nacional, lo que parece conforme a la normativa europea.…  Seguir leyendo »

Soviet statue destroyed by artillery in Nikishyne, Ukraine. Photo: Getty Images.

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Since 5 September, much attention has been devoted to Vladimir Putin’s proposal to bring UN ‘blue helmets’ into Ukraine’s Donbas. His initiative is vintage Putin. It shifts the ground, reversing Russia’s rejection of a UN presence as recently as 2 September. It is double-edged, juxtaposed alongside threats of a wider conflict if the US provides lethal weapons to Ukraine’s armed forces. It outflanks the opponent, Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko, who has been calling for a UN presence since February 2015. It earns praise (notably from Germany’s outgoing foreign minister, Sigmar Gabriel, who called it a ‘change in [Russia’s] policy that we should not gamble away’).…  Seguir leyendo »

Ukrainian soldiers marching in a military parade in Kiev on Independence Day in August. Credit Mykhailo Markiv\TASS, via Getty Images

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The Russian occupation of eastern Ukraine produced one very hot summer. Through August, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe recorded between 1,000 and 1,500 nightly cease-fire violations, a large majority committed by Russian-led forces. Ukrainian soldiers and civilians continue to be killed or injured on a daily basis. While the attacks have tailed off since Labor Day, Moscow this month teed up a huge military exercise in western Russia, Belarus and Kaliningrad that stoked fears of an even broader assault.

Since invading Ukraine three and a half years ago, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has mastered the tactical rheostat, turning up the heat at will, then cooling things down when the United States and Europe push back.…  Seguir leyendo »

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En la capital de Ucrania se mezclan signos de esperanza y anarquía. Pese al giro económico impresionante que experimentó el país, todavía está muy extendida la corrupción. El gobierno del presidente Petró Poroshenko estabilizó las finanzas públicas, pero no pudo poner coto al clientelismo.

La pregunta ahora es si las reformas legales y del sistema judicial encaradas por Poroshenko podrán crear condiciones para un crecimiento económico firme y sostenido. Tras la firma de un acuerdo de crédito con el gobierno en marzo de 2015, el Fondo Monetario Internacional procedió a efectuar cuatro cuantiosos desembolsos. Pero en una visita reciente, el primer subdirector gerente del FMI, David Lipton, señaló que el país está en riesgo de “retroceso”.…  Seguir leyendo »

U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis walks past honour guards during a welcoming ceremony in Kyiv, Ukraine, on 24 August 2017. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich

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Washington is considering providing Kyiv with lethal weapons, worrying many residents of eastern Ukraine – and not just separatist rebels or pro-Russian sympathisers. “Most people here don’t think about what these weapons would mean in practice – but of course I am scared”, an outspoken city council member generally loyal to Kyiv told me in Severodonetsk. The town has been Kyiv’s administrative centre for the Luhansk oblast since 2014 when its main city and former administrative centre, Luhansk, fell into Russia-backed rebel hands.

Another new dimension to the international struggle over Ukraine are competing proposals from Moscow and Kyiv for a new UN peacekeeping operation that would keep armed forces apart in the main conflict areas in eastern Ukraine.…  Seguir leyendo »