Whom do voters turn to when elected leaders disappoint? Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko looks set to be trounced in elections Sunday, but not because of approval for his opponent, a TV comedian. “… Ukrainians seem ready to overwhelmingly elect a political novice, a comedian whose main claim to fame is that he played a president on TV …. Many in […]
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(Interfax – April 21, 2019) Moscow is most hopeful that the winner in Ukraine’s presidential election will possess an ability to negotiate and a willingness to implement ceasefire commitments in Donbass, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said. Speaking in the lead-up to the second round of voting, Lavrov suggested Russia gave little weight to campaign statements made by either […]
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“… hacked emails suggest … Zelenskiy may have a powerful patron of his own: the Kremlin. … Ukraine’s security services … are investigating whether Zelenskiy’s campaign received financing from members of the Russian security service … supporting the leadership of the Donetsk People’s Republic … self-proclaimed, pro-Russian separatist proto-state in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region. … [A] Ukrainian hacking group associated […]
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“Branding himself ‘Ze,’ he campaigned mostly via social media postings and … touring the country with his comedy shows. Instead of substantive messages, he offered banter and mockery. … accused of being a clown instead of a serious candidate … Zelensky proudly agreed, posting a video selfie … with a round red nose …. asked to share his plans for […]
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(Kennan Institute – wilsoncenter.org/program/kennan-institute – Serhiy Kudelia – April 11, 2019 – wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/could-zelensky-presidency-prove-breakthrough-for-conflict-resolution-the-donbas) Serhiy Kudelia is an associate professor of political science at Baylor University, where he teaches courses on ethnopolitical conflicts, terrorism, political regimes, and post-Soviet politics. Five years since the start of the armed conflict in Donbas, its resolution remains the top concern of most Ukrainian voters, with […]
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(Article text ©2019 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – April 13, 2019 – article text also appeared at rferl.org/a/russia-u-s-ambassador-huntsman-reaffirms-support-ukraine-s-integrity-talks/29878614.html) The U.S. ambassador to Russia said Washington was committed to defending Ukraine’s territorial integrity, saying the issue of Moscow’s annexation of Crimea and the conflict in eastern Ukraine was “a core part of our estrangement with Russia.” In […]
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(PONARS Eurasia – Sergiy Kudelia, Associate Professor of Political Science, Baylor University – April 8, 2019) [Text with charts ponarseurasia.org/article/will-ukraines-fractured-electorate-create-another-power-turnover] (PONARS Eurasia) The first round of the presidential election in Ukraine on March 31 produced two frontrunners who will face each other in the run-off on April 21: challenger Volodymyr Zelensky (30.24 percent) and incumbent Petro Poroshenko (15.95 percent). Only […]
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“… Unforgivable is the absence from [Zelensky’s television] show of Russia or … Putin. In its alternate universe, Crimea and Donbass are not occupied. There is no war. … no deaths. … no mention of Russian attempts to quash Ukrainian independence …. suggest[ing] either … Zelensky, who serves as the show’s executive producer, has no idea how to deal with […]
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“… Most Ukrainian voters, however, see … [Poroshenko] as someone who squandered the clear mantle of leadership handed to him with a resounding 54 percent of the vote in 2014, securing a first-round knockout victory over ex-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, whose third presidential bid ended in failure on March 31. Voters say they see him as no better than all […]
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MOSCOW. April 1 (Interfax) – The outcome of the first round of the presidential election in Ukraine shows that voters are tired of the atmosphere of hatred and have a demand for a solution to vital internal problems, Alexei Chesnakov, Director of the Center for Current Politics, said. “The results received are a call on the political elite to stop […]
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“Poroshenko expected to launch onslaught on Zelensky in bid to make up ground” “… exit polls indicated [that Volodymyr Zelensky] … convincingly won the first round of Ukraine’s presidential election …. The 41-year-old actor and comic[‘s] political experience is limited to playing an honest teacher elected president in a popular TV series …. [T]here was already anxiety … that the […]
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“As Ukrainians voted for a new president, Russians keeping track of the election on state TV were bombarded with coverage of Ukraine’s failures as an independent state and reports of alleged electoral fraud. … Incumbent President Petro Poroshenko, who has consistently played on the threat from Russia to rally his supporters, was not a popular choice in Moscow. …”
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KYIV. March 30 (Interfax) – Peace in Donbas will come after “the last piece of Ukrainian land and the last prisoner-of-war” are liberated, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on Ukraine television on Friday. “Write down and remember: the war will be over the day the last piece of Ukrainian land is liberated, the day the last prisoner-of-war is freed,” Poroshenko […]
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“Frustrated with graft, their inability to join NATO and the EU and a conflict with Russia, voters make a politically inexperienced comedian their top candidate” “Five years ago, Ukrainians staged a revolution that sought to throw off a Russia-backed government and sweep away a corrupt ruling class. Europe and the West would pull the country into their orbit, reviving a […]
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(Article text ©2019 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – Christopher Miller – KYIV – March 29, 2019 – article text also appeared at rferl.org/a/how-to-watch-(and-understand)-ukraine-presidential-election/29849578.html) The choice is stark. Stay the slow and not-quite-steady course with a deeply unpopular but seasoned leader who knows the ropes and has taken Ukraine westward despite foot-dragging on reforms and a failure […]
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“Ukrainian comic and presidential candidate Volodymyr Zelenskiy has denied any dependence on controversial oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky. … some experts and journalists in Kyiv are speculating that Zelenskiy is ready to de-nationalise … PrivatBank, co-owned by Kolomoisky …. Zelenskiy has strengthened his lead in the presidential elections, and now has nearly double the ratings of his rivals, according to the latest […]
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“Ukraine’s Maidan Revolution brought hope and enthusiasm to Kiev, but now much of that energy has sapped away. Sunday’s presidential election has a chance to reinvigorate Ukrainian reform.” “Ukraine’s presidential election, set for this Sunday, looks to almost everyone like a chaotic 39-way horse race. … featur[ing] … allegations of skulduggery, including fraud, bribery and … Russian meddling. … [T]he […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Evan Gershkovich – March 29, 2019 – themoscowtimes.com/2019/03/29/russia-enjoys-the-show-in-tight-ukrainian-election-a65015) A chocolate baron, a comedian who plays a president on television and a former prime minister hoping third time’s the charm. These are the leading candidates for the Ukrainian presidency as voters head to the polls on Sunday for the second time since the 2014 Maidan Revolution […]
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“… the first of two spots in an almost certain runoff next month looks wrapped up[;] a battle for the other is raging between incumbent Petro Poroshenko and ex-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. Accusations are flying — everything from voter payoffs to wiretaps and shady donors. There’s even a decoy candidate …. Dirty tricks aren’t unique to Ukraine. They’re a common […]
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Sergiy Kudelia is Associate Professor of Political Science at Baylor University and a member of PONARS Eurasia. [Full text with charts: ponarseurasia.org/point-counter/article/kudelia-ukraine-2019-election?fbclid=IwAR3I3Y-JM4qgHgQ_guQPMZ5FHV4TPxbH-E1n3KqcgJiDAV5cypW3McQAHEs] The frontrunner in the Ukrainian presidential campaign is someone who has never held a government position and has no record of political or civic activism. Rather, Volodymyr Zelenskiy has risen to prominence by ridiculing on stage the very […]
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KYIV. March 20 (Interfax) – Ukrainian entertainer and presidential candidate Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to win in a second round of presidential elections no matter which of the other candidates he faces, as is evident from a poll the Social Monitoring public opinion survey service and the Oleksandr Yaremenko Ukrainian Institute of Social Studies conducted on March 11 to 18. […]
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(Kremlin.ru – March 20, 2019 – en.kremlin.ru/events/president/transcripts/60116) The President held a regular meeting with Government members. President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, colleagues. I have something to tell you before we begin. We are aware of the political events that are unfolding in a neighboring country, which is our closest ally. They are about changes in the political leadership. […]
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(Kennan Institute – wilsoncenter.org/program/kennan-institute – Maxim Trudolyubov – March 18, 2019 – wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/russias-missed-opportunity-five-years-crimeas-annexation) Maxim Trudolyubov is a Senior Fellow at the Kennan Institute and the Editor-at-Large of Vedomosti, an independent Russian daily. The logic of Russian politicians who made an unexpected decision five years ago to annex the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea was not economic or political. It was a […]
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KYIV. March 14 (Interfax) – Ukraine is expecting about 700 foreign observers and 800 foreign journalists to arrive for its presidential election of March 31, Ukrainian State Border Service spokesman Oleh Slobodyan said at a press briefing in Kyiv on Thursday. “Emphasis will be put on the arrivals of international observers and accredited media representatives. As of now, about 700 […]
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LUHANSK. March 9 (Interfax) – The self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) is urging Ukraine to settle the Donbas conflict through direct dialogue, the LPR representative in the Trilateral Contact Group’s humanitarian subgroup, Olga Kobtseva, said. “It is necessary to establish direct dialogue in addition to the talks between the conflicting parties within Ukraine: Ukraine’s representatives and those from the LPR […]
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“A comedian leading Ukraine’s presidential race says the country needs to negotiate with Russia to put an end to fighting in the east. Volodymyr Zelenskiy … plays the nation’s president in a popular TV series [and] has surged ahead of … Poroshenko and … Tymoshenko [in a poll] …. He said he would encourage the United States and Britain to […]
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“… Poroshenko rivals in the upcoming presidential election are accusing him of ‘profiting from blood’ after an investigation revealed that the son of the president’s close business partner has been selling arms to separatist rebels in the breakaway eastern region of Donbas … [according to] a report broadcast on Ukrainian TV …. Former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who leads the […]
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(Article text ©2019 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – Carl Schreck – February 26, 2019 – article text also appeared at rferl.org/a/from-not-us-to-why-hide-it-how-russia-denied-its-crimea-invasion-then-admitted-it/29791806.html) In the darkness of the morning on February 27, 2014, heavily armed men wearing green uniforms with no identifying insignia stormed the regional parliament in Simferopol, the capital of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula, and raised the […]
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“… Tymoshenko is losing public support ahead of the March presidential elections and after taking an early lead has now fallen out of the top two, according to the … Kyiv-based Razumkov Center …. [indicating] 17.5% [of] all respondents plan to vote for Ukrainian comic … Volodymyr Zelenskiy and [that] of those that said they will definitely vote in the […]
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“The Russia-Ukraine conflict has moved from cozy mutual exploitation to lethal hostility. Neither side is prepared to admit its deep dependence on the other. Five years after the Ukraine crisis began, and as the presidential campaign gets under way in that country, it is conventional to see Russia’s intervention there and Ukraine’s response as a modern example of interstate power […]
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KYIV. Feb 13 (Interfax) – Seventy-two percent of Ukrainians believe that there is a war between Ukraine and Russia, while 15% disagree, according to a nationwide opinion poll conducted by the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation and the Razumkov Center and a regional survey conducted in the districts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions controlled by Kyiv. Thirty-nine percent of […]
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(PONARS Eurasia – Jesse Driscoll – February 2019) Associate Professor, Political Science; Chair, Global Leadership Institute, University of California San Diego [Full text: ponarseurasia.org/memo/ukraines-civil-war-would-accepting-terminology-help-resolve-conflict] (PONARS Policy Memo) Since Ukraine is the site of both an invasion (Crimea) and a civil war (in the Donbas), there is no academic consensus on what to call the crisis in Ukraine. Russians usually call […]
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(Article text ©2019 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – Christopher Miller – KYIV, Jan. 25, 2019 – article text also appeared at rferl.org/a/desperately-seeking-a-postwar-president-in-ukraine/29730680.html) Ukrainians say the biggest problem facing their country ahead of a crucial presidential election in March is the same one that ushered in the current head of state in the first place: war. It’s been […]
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“… After the 100-day EuroMaidan Revolution forced Kremlin-backed President Viktor Yanukovych into Russian exile in 2014, Ukraine demanded a new kind of leadership. The revolution played its role in history and brought about significant change in government, politics and civil society. However, now the time has come for Ukraine to step again on the path of steady evolutionary growth and […]
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“Ukraine’s defense ministry warned Russia on Friday that it will soon send navy ships through the Kerch Strait where Russia fired on and seized three Ukrainian vessels two weeks ago. The announcement sets up another possible flashpoint in the long-simmering conflict between Russia and Ukraine that erupted in 2014 with Russia’s annexation of the Crimean peninsula … [O]n Nov. 25 […]
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(Video and caption ©2018 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – August 14, 2018 – caption and video also appeared at rferl.org/a/ukraine-maidan-family/29637299.html) “Halyna Trofanyuk joined the mass protests in Kyiv known as the Euromaidan, hoping Ukraine would have a prosperous future and closer ties with the European Union. Five years later, she travels to neighboring Poland for work […]
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(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org – RM Staff – November 30, 2018) [Article also appeared, with different images, at russiamatters.org/blog/rm-picks-what-read-kerch-strait-crisis] Looking to make sense of the events between Russia and Ukraine in the Sea of Azov and their implications? RM recommends the following articles: “Why Putin Is Pressuring Ukraine. The United States needs to decide how much of a threat Moscow’s […]
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MOSCOW. Dec 3 (Interfax) – Russia has not been obstructing the passage of Ukrainian ships through the Kerch Strait, but traffic gets suspended from time to time, mostly for weather reasons, according to presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov. “They [the allegations of Kyiv’s representatives that Russia is hindering the passage of Ukrainian ships through the Kerch Strait] are not true. […]
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KYIV. Nov 26 (Interfax) – Several factions in Ukrainian parliament blocked its plenary session on Monday, preventing President Petro Poroshenko from explaining his proposal to impose nationwide martial law, the Petro Poroshenko Bloc faction said. “A number of factions decided to block the rostrum without even allowing the president to reveal what exactly is happening in the Sea of Azov […]
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“Ukraine’s defense ministry put its troops on military alert … a day after Russian forces fired on and detained three Ukrainian naval vessels near the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, a move that threatened to reignite tensions between Moscow and Kiev. … Poroshenko has called for martial law – that could last for 60 days after being enacted and give […]
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KYIV. Nov 26 (Interfax) – The Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council proposes in its resolution of November 26 that President Petro Poroshenko declare martial law for 60 days, until January 25, 2019. The Council resolved “to propose that the president of Ukraine declare martial law in Ukraine for 60 days, from 2:00 p.m. November 26, 2018 until 2:00 p.m. […]
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“The split between the successors to former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych’s Party of Regions widened this week when the parliamentary Opposition Bloc stripped its co-chairman Yuriy Boyko of membership. … three days after Boyko threw his hat into next spring’s presidential race …. Earlier this month, Boyko and another Opposition Bloc member, Vadym Rabinovych, announced the formation of an offshoot […]
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“Disoriented since the downfall of former president Viktor Yanukovych, the parts of Ukraine’s opposition more sympathetic to Russia have not disappeared. They are regrouping, with an eye mainly to next year’s parliamentary elections, seeing the presidential election as all but lost. But they have yet to find a common leader or unifying idea. …”
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“… [incumbent President] Petro Poroshenko is facing an uphill battle for re-election …. Nearly 50 percent of Ukrainians won’t vote for Poroshenko under any circumstances, according to [a] poll … conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, the Razumkov Center, and the Rating Group sociological organization. … giv[ing] Poroshenko the highest ‘anti-ranking’ …. The poll shows presidential candidate Yulia […]
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“… key donors of Ukraine – the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank – note low effectiveness of the Ukrainian authorities in the fight against corruption. ‘We see good and important progress in setting out institutions for tackling investment …. Shortcomings in the judicial system and corruption are some of the key reasons why investment is so low […]
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“Almost two-thirds of the citizens of Ukraine, or 63%, consider the Russian Federation to be an aggressor country vis-à-vis Ukraine, according to a nationwide poll conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, the Oleksandr Razumkov Ukrainian Centre for Economic and Political Studies and the Rating sociological group …. ‘We asked … “Is Russia seen as an aggressor country vis-à-vis […]
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MOSCOW. Nov 12 (Interfax) – The Kremlin treats the elections in the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR) held on Sunday “with understanding,” as the republics have no choice but to organize themselves due to Ukraine’s rejection of them, Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said. “We treat the fact of these elections with understanding. You know […]
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