Friday saw Turkish President Erdogan in Kyiv. The usual and expected reassuring words from Ukraine’s (and Odessa’s) Black Sea neighbour were uttered: “We support territorial and political integrity and independence of Ukraine, including Crimea. We recognize the legitimate aspirations of Ukraine to be united with Europe and support them. We are directly observing the […]
Unnecessary overlap or cracks in the pavement? - UA Borders
March 16, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Yesterday saw the public announcement and signing of an agreement between the Government of Ukraine and the USA relating to a $24.4 million programme dealing with corruption - making public what was already more or less known regarding cooperation between the US Department of Justice and the FBI together with the Ukrainian Prosecutor Generals Office […]
Time for a swift re-framing during the lull?
February 28, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Though a ceasefire remains far from in effect in eastern Ukraine, it is fair to say there is something of a lull in the fighting. Indeed there was an entire 24 hours where nobody died, though it is the exception and not the rule. Today heavy weaponry has started to be pulled back - certainly […]
The UAE-Ukraine Defence Deal
February 26, 2015 by 2 Comments
Yesterday Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko announced that the United Arab Emirates and Ukraine had reached a deal whereby the Arab State would cooperate militarily - thus theoretically paving the way for the UAE to send arms to Ukraine. President Poroshenko making sure to keep strictly to the script of defensive weaponry only stated - “I […]
And what of China in Ukraine?
February 25, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Little has been written here about China and its activities in Ukraine for some time. That is in part due to China doing what it does in its usual quiet and unassuming way - despite the Chinese Consulate in Odessa being by far the largest and best presented of the almost 30 consulates situated in […]
The EU & Russia: Before & Beyond the Crisis in Ukraine
February 21, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Yesterday saw the release of the House of Lords European Union Committee report “The EU and Russia: Before and beyond the crisis in Ukraine“. It really is a very good read for those who know nothing about the region and how it has managed to find itself where it is. For those who are still […]
Arming Ukraine, when Ukraine could be (partly) arming itself
February 10, 2015 by 3 Comments
Over the next few days the decision to arm Ukraine - or not - will be made by the USA. Should it decide to do so, and the wind is certainly blowing in that direction should nothing come of the “Normandy Format” meeting in Minsk tomorrow, others will certainly follow - Lithuania, Poland, Romania etc. […]
Too many cooks - Ukraine
February 9, 2015 by 6 Comments
There is an expression that states “Too many cooks spoil the broth”. And it has merit. The same can be said of the negotiations and interactions between the actors to end the war in eastern Ukraine. In the UK media there has been criticism of the UK lead in these negotiations. Some have made comment […]
In search of “policy”
January 23, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Two pointed questions today relating to the grand scheme of things - and before going any further, the term “policy” should not be considered as synonymous to the term “strategy”, for they are quite different things. Has anybody identified a definitive policy for Ukraine from “The West”? Has anybody identified a definitive policy for Russia […]
A 3G update - Ukraine
January 17, 2015 by 1 Comment
Following on somewhat nicely from yesterday’s Turkey-orientated entry, a return to a mid-November 2014 entry that was published relating to the anticipated 3G tender and licensing. An entry that attempted to highlight just how critical to Ukraine a transparent tender and subsequent licensing will be, considering the number of large foreign international corporations looking closely at […]