Today is a noteworthy day. Exactly 120 days ago a few hundred people set up a tiny protest camp on Kyiv’s Independence Square. On November 21, this small group of people was outraged at the sudden about-face of the Azarov government, and its refusal to sign the EU-Ukraine Association Treaty. I returned to Kyiv on…
Today, Crimeans “voted”. Given the barrage of media coverage of this event, I hardly feel it’s worthwhile to comment on it further: the “referendum” was illegal and will not be recognized by any country other than Russia; the result is a foregone conclusion. A more interesting question is “what’s next?” After Prime Minister Yatseniuk’s return…
The Russian invasion of Crimea has put the entire global security system at risk: states can no longer count on the validity of guarantees endorsed through international agreements (e.g. the Budapest Memorandum); the principle of inviolability of territorial borders is no longer valid; the notion of being able to expect diplomatic honesty (i.e. not necessarily…
President Putin’s press conference seems to have taken some of the heat off Ukraine today. Although Russian troops continue to face off with Ukrainian military personnel in Crimea, tonight it seems unlikely that Putin’s invasion of Ukraine will be extended to the eastern oblasts – a least not immediately. Russian troops currently in various areas…
