Yushchenko seeking to destabilise elections in order to cling on to power

Ukraine’s second most popular presidential candidate, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, suspects that President Viktor Yushchenko -who is running for a second term- of conspiring to disrupt the presidential election scheduled for January 17, 2010. Yushchenko, to whom opinion polls give no more than 2-4 percent of popular support, has appealed to the constitutional court against several provisions in a new election law.

Yushchenko’s proposed Constitutional reform: Ukraine’s Greatest Threat to Democracy

Whilst Yushchenko spouses the words of democracy his actions and policies are far from being democratic or constitutional.

In a desperate attempt to regain relevance Yushchenko wants his version of the constitution to be put to referendum at the next Presidential election in which he hopes to control the agenda.

Yushchenko is more unpopular in Ukraine than in Russia

Dmitry Medvedev’s decision to refrain from sending the Russian ambassador to Kiev has been interpreted by the media and analysts as Moscow’s rupture with the Ukrainian president.

Averting a Post-Orange Disaster

As Ukraine’s economic, social and political crisis sharpens, more and more Ukrainians may question the wisdom of conducting a costly presidential election when the Ukrainian state is almost bankrupt–if not on the brink of collapse.

Allies desert Yushchenko; new movements emerge

President lost control of his faction in parliament, a portentous development as more of his allies are fleeing his camp to back Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko

Yushchenko’s Son Spends $500,000 Dollars On His New Girlfriend

KIEV, Ukraine — Andrei Yushchenko, the son of Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, has found himself in the middle of another scandal again. Ukrainians continue to discuss a very expensive taste of both the presidential son and his new girlfriend Elizaveta Efrosinina

Holodomor: Tragedy, Politics, and Memory

Let’s just get this one thing out in the open right away:

I hate the way both the Ukrainians and Russians have politicized Holodomor. On one hand, in Kiev, I walk past tacky posters proclaiming that “We are remembering/ The world is learning.” There’s even a little design on them – which looks suspiciously like fireworks (someone in some PR department has seriously messed up, in my opinion).

Court corruption places child’s welfare and safety at risk

A Ukrainian Court in Poltava has been accused of corruption in that the judge and police allegedly has accepted payment of $3,000 in a case involving the custody and welfare of a 3 year old child.

Nato allies divided over Ukraine and Georgia

Washington and several of its European allies were divided last night over how to respond to Georgia’s and Ukraine’s bids to join Nato and over whether to resume high-level Nato-Russia contacts frozen because of the Russian invasion of Georgia in August.

KYIV: Yanukovych: Ukrainian parliament negotiating possible govt reconfiguration

Political groups in the Ukrainian parliament are negotiating not only a candidate for speaker but also a possible reconfiguration of the government, Party of Regions leader Viktor Yanukovych told the media in Moscow on Thursday