Section: US & Canada
Is 2016 the Canary in the Coal Mine of Global Risks?
Recent months have seen many unexpected manifestations of global risks that the Global Risks Report has been warning about over the past years. A number of seemingly disparate events make us think that a wide range of global risks are looming larger on the radar screen than ever before. Have we reached a new level of risk? On New Year’s...
Winter On Fire Blazes Oscar Trail With Gripping Account Of Ukraine’s Maidan Moment
The Oscar-nominated documentary film Winter On Fire serves as a timely and often poignant reminder of the passion that led many Ukrainians to take a leap of faith on the streets of Kyiv two years ago. …read more Source: Radio Free Europe / Radio...
Could 2016 see Ukraine crisis resolved? Russian moves hint yes.
The halting Minsk process, meant to peaceably reunite Ukraine with its restive eastern regions, got a big boost in recent weeks with the assignment of two top Putin officials to key positions in the Russian team. …read more Source: Christian Science...
Ukrainian Revolution Film Bids For Oscar Glory
“Winter on Fire,” a documentary about Ukraine’s 2013-14 revolution, has been nominated for this year’s Oscars. The film tells the story of the “Maidan” protests through the eyes of a 12-year-old boy and other participants. Director Evgeny Afineevsky and music composer Jasha Klebe spoke to RFE/RL’s...
Has Ukraine’s President Poroshenko Forgotten How to Speak Ukrainian?
Ukraine’s President Poroshenko has been mocked for “forgetting Ukrainian” by Russian media after struggling to recall the word for “wallet” during a press conference. While Ukrainian is the only official language in Ukraine, Russian is widely spoken in some regions, most notably the war-torn Donetsk and Luhansk, parts of which have been...
Commentators react to Obama’s choice of words regarding Ukraine
KYIV – U.S. President Barack Obama in his State of the Union (SOTU) address to the U.S. Congress on January 12 chose questionable words relating to Ukraine, saying it, like Syria, is being propped up by Russia. Speaking about threats faced by the U.S. and the world, Mr. Obama said: “Even as their economy severely […] …read more Source: The...
Shokin-Kasko rivalry seen by U.S. as hindering anti-corruption efforts
KYIV – It’s the new year, but the Procurator General’s Office of Ukraine is still resisting the U.S. government’s anti-corruption recommendations. The latest episode in the U.S. government’s anti-corruption struggles with the Poroshenko administration involves Procurator General Viktor Shokin denying permission for Deputy...
Ukraine stops power supply to Russian-annexed Crimea
Shortly before its residents rang in the New Year, the Russian-annexed peninsula of Crimea again found itself entirely without Ukrainian electricity. As in November 2015, this was caused by unidentified saboteurs who blew up a power transmission line tower in Ukraine’s Kherson Oblast, which borders Crimea. However, this time, Kyiv is...
Putin’s national security strategy marked by defiance and pushback
The overall goal of pushing the U.S. and its “proxies” out of Kyiv is still a dominant strategic objective of Russia. Under existing legislation, Russia’s National Security Strategy (NSS) must be updated every six years. The previous version was approved in May 2009 by then-President Dmitry Medvedev, so a new NSS was due in […] …read...
Helsinki Commission briefing sheds light on Russian human rights abuses in Crimea
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the Helsinki Commission, held a briefing on “Human Rights Violations in Russian-Occupied Crimea” on December 12, 2015. The discussion featured a panel of activists who are working to keep the world’s attention focused on the troubling human rights...
