... soberly assess the situation in the country, weigh its strengths and capabilities and determine its priorities and immediate tasks. It is abundantly clear that we cannot expect any rapid changes for the better in the domestic and foreign situation in Ukraine.
The problems that have accumulated in and around Ukraine in recent years run so deep that it will take a great amount of time and effort to deal with them. The maturity of the Ukrainian people and the country’s political elites is facing a ...
...
The upcoming Ukrainian elections are of crucial significance due to their ability to influence the complex structures of regional security and stability. The election results will indeed impact (although to what extent, remains to be seen) the Russia-Ukraine and the wider Russian-EU relations. Given their geopolitical importance, they will surely draw attention from all the significant international actors involved.
The Russian population is keenly following the Ukrainian elections, given the close ...
CSIS and RIAC Report
Despite the difficult relationship between the United States and Russia, both countries have an interest in preventing the outbreak of new conflicts in Europe and in ameliorating the risks from existing conflicts in Ukraine, Syria, and Afghanistan. Addressing these challenges in a constructive way will require a degree of cooperation between Washington and Moscow. Yet the political realities in both countries and the wider context of U.S.-Russian confrontation make ...
Assessing the prospects and context of Ukraine’s EU drive
Ukraine first embraced the European path during the 2004 revolution. Institutionally, this path implies the country’s aspiration to join the EU and NATO. The recent amendments to the Ukrainian constitution legitimise this drive....
... military exercises of Black Sea region countries and their partners. For instance, in September 2018, the strategic command staff exercise
Cossack Freedom — 2018
was held and involved Ukrainian troops. A few months prior, in July 2018, the joint Ukraine–US Navy exercise
Sea Breeze 2018
was held in the Black Sea. In 2018, Georgia, Ukraine, France, and the US
held
joint exercises controlled by Romania’s Navy. The press service of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet also
reports
about regular exercises: ...
... control will not help. The INF Treaty is dead, and New START is likely to follow when its time is up in 2021. Thus, Moscow can only work with Washington to prevent incidents from spinning out of control; to avoid escalation of running conflicts such as Ukraine; and to minimize mutual misperceptions. Crucial here is a 24/7 US-Russian military-to-military communication link, and high-level personal contacts between their military and security chiefs. These contacts, of course, are no substitute for a ...
On January 18, 2019, Andrey Kortunov, RIAC Director General, had a meeting with Robert Serry, Chairman of the University for Peace (UPEACE Center The Hague), first Ambassador of the Netherlands in Ukraine, and Renée Jones-Bos, Ambassador of the Netherlands in Russia.
On January 18, 2019, Andrey Kortunov, RIAC Director General, had a meeting with Robert Serry, Chairman of the University for Peace (UPEACE Center The Hague), first Ambassador of ...
... increase.)
Russia will continue to pursue a cautious and conservative program of bolstering its military capability, with an emphasis on gradual technological modernization — including a continued buildup of forces stationed along the border with Ukraine in order to give Moscow more instruments for intervening in the course of the Ukrainian conflict. At the same time, Moscow will desist from any tangible military buildup in the European (northwestern) theater, despite the mutually belligerent ...
... can we explain Russia’s move to seize Ukrainian naval ships in the Kerch Strait?
Andrey Kortunov
I do not believe this move was a way for Russia to be provocative, given that the last thing the country needs today is an escalation of tensions with Ukraine. Although the initiative came from the Ukrainian side, Russia then responded very decisively, which definitely fuelled the crisis.
Michel Duclos
President Putin enjoys this kind of situation, and sees it as an opportunity to take action and make ...
... bound to lead to a collision. Crimea belongs in the same category, only the consequences of the collision are likely to be on a much higher order.
The recent naval incident off the Kerch Strait sends one clear message: the situation between Russia and Ukraine is inherently fraught with a real danger of war. Given the deepening confrontation between Russia and the United States, and Ukraine’s close relations with America and NATO, such a war, should it break out, may not be easily contained. Thus,...
