Ukraine under Yanukovich presidency

[Magda Hassan]

NATO Plans For Absorbing Ukraine May Be Dashed

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff

Sun Mar 21, 2010 7:46 am (PDT)



http://rt.com/Politics/2010-03-21/ukrain...fused.html

Russia Today
March 21, 2010

Ukraine's previous hopes of joining NATO to be dashed

Ukraine is preparing to pass a new law preventing the country from joining any military alliance, including NATO.

The legislation was put forward by the new governing coalition in parliament, in support of the recently elected President Viktor Yanukovich.

The move signals a complete U-turn on the policy of the previous leader, Viktor Yushchenko, who had actively pushed for NATO membership.

Kiev says it will still continue its dialogue with the Western alliance on common interests.

[Magda Hassan]

Analysis: Ukraine’s Presidential Election — Outcome an

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff

Fri Mar 19, 2010 9:45 am (PDT)



http://www.mainstreamweekly.net/article1949.html

Mainstream Weekly (India)
March 19, 2010

Ukraine’s Presidential Election — Outcome and Implications
by Arun Mohanty*

[Edited by RR]

Ukraine’s presidential election was watched with the utmost attention by the international community as its outcome is bound to usher in serious changes in the domestic and foreign policy of that country, and transform the geopolitical landscape in the entire Eurasia space. The elimination of the incumbent Victor Yushchenko, who polled a mere five per cent in the first round, itself signals the marginalisation of pro-American rightist forces forever if you go by the pattern in the other CIS countries. This most probably will bring down the curtain on the US-orchestrated colour revolutions in the former Soviet space.

The victory of Victor Yanukovich, leader of the pro-Russian Party of Regions, over the incumbent PM Yulia Timoshenko, the former Orange revolution ally of outgoing President Victor Yushchenko, in the second round promises significant shifts in Ukraine’s foreign as well as domestic policy.

The euphoria of the victory is going to be over soon with Victor Yanukovich left one-to-one with the heavy legacy left by the Orange revolution leader, Yushchenko.

Ukraine is in the midst of a serious economic crisis with a GDP decline of 16 per cent in a single year, skyrocketing inflation, heavy unemployment and an unprecedented fall in living standards. The other part of the Yushchenko legacy is that Ukraine is on the verge of near disintegration with the eastern and southern parts of the country drifting towards Russia and the western and central parts moving towards the West. Yanukovich has to find a solution to the lingering economic crisis and save the country from the brink of disintegration, heralding national reconciliation.

The foreign policy that spelled disaster for Ukraine under Yushchenko is destined to be balanced, pragmatic, multi-dimensional and predictable under Yanukovich. The US policy to contain Russia by Ukraine has come to its logical end with Yanukovich’s victory.

Yushchenko, in his over-enthusiasm for Euro-Atlantic integration and curtailing Russia’s strategic significance in the former Soviet space, pushed Ukraine too far away from Russia and the CIS, and led the anti-Moscow grouping GUUAM consisting of Georgia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Moldova providing a heavy jolt to Russia’s strategic interests in the former Soviet space, though the grouping gradually turned amorphous with Uzbekistan withdrawing from it, and Moldova and Azerbaijan showing little or no interest in the grouping.

Yanukovich’s elevation as the President would surely deliver the death blow to the organisation with Georgia — a failed state by all accounts —being left alone in it. Ukraine’s likely departure from the organisation or passive role would bring about a dramatic shift in the CIS’ geopolitical calculus. The US policy to contain Russia and prevent re-integration in the CIS with the help of Ukraine would be rendered ineffective as Ukraine under Yanukovich is most unlikely to pursue any anti-Moscow policy.

It is impossible to integrate the former Soviet space without Ukraine. Yanukovich’s victory is likely to provide the much-needed impetus to the sagging re-integration process in the CIS. GUAM’s natural death would no doubt provide fodder for the strengthening of inter-state organisations led by Moscow like the Euro-Asian Economic Community, Customs Union, CSTO and others.

If Yanukovich’s words while holding the post of the Prime Minister are any indication, the Single Economic Space organisation is likely to receive a new boost.

Yanukovich in 2007, in the capacity of the PM, had highlighted the significance of cooperation in the framework of the single economic space, stressing the importance of the creation of a free trade zone under it. It is reported that Yanukovich’s supporters have started unofficial negotiations for joining the Customs Union consisting of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. Ukraine’s positive attitude towards the CIS, in which it is an associate member, would no doubt breathe new life into the defunct inter-state organisation. With the Customs Union functioning from January 1, 2010, Ukraine’s accession to it will only accelerate the economic integration process in the CIS.

Russian President Medvedev lost no time in congratulating Yanukovich, who has been invited by the former to visit Moscow for discussing pertinent issues of bilateral and multi-lateral importance.

The head of the Kremlin staff Sergei Narishkin’s sudden visit to Kiev in the immediate aftermath of the announcement of election results deserves attention in the context of Ukraine’s presidental poll outcome and his meeting with Yanukovich merits attention in the context of Ukraine’s foreign policy in general and Russian-Ukranian bilateral relations in particular. Moscow is likely to be the first world capital to be visited by President Yanukovich. All these indicate that the period of strained relations between the two fraternal peoples is fast relegating to the background, and we can expect to witness improved relations between the two countries on all major issues of mutual concern.

NATO Expansion

No other issue than Ukraine’s bid to join NATO had considerably vexed Russia. Ukraine under Yushchenko tried its best to join NATO.

However, the fall-out of the five-day war in August 2008 between Russia and Georgia, in which Kiev supported Georgia with weapons and men, buried their hope for an early accession into the North Atlantic bloc in contrast to their expectation that this would accelerate their entry into the Alliance.

However, if you go by the declaration of NATO leaders, its eastward expansion cannot be ruled out. NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has stressed that the North Atlantic bloc is dedicated to the ‘strengthening of strategic partnership with Ukraine’.

Yushchenko’s Defence Minister Valery Ivashenko has emphasised that ‘Ukraine’s bid for European and Euro-Atlantic integration is its priority, top goal, and cannot be changed’.

Russia in its latest military doctrine has emphasised that bringing the NATO’s military infrastructure closer to its borders including through the Alliance’s expansion constitutes the most serious external threat to its security. Against this backdrop, Yanukovich can ill-afford to push for Ukraine’s accession to NATO, which he can do only at the cost of losing his constituency in the east and south of the country and losing Russia’s sympathy. Yanukovich’s emphasis on a referendum on the vexed issue presents a smart manoeuvre as no referendum can ever approve Ukraine’s NATO membership.

This by no way means Yanukovich would abandon the Euro-integration course. Indeed his metaphor that his country would be a bridge between Russia and Europe by taking advantage of the geo-political location of his country indicates that he would pursue a balanced foreign policy to suit Ukraine’s national interests.

Energy Issue

The energy issue is another irritant in Russia-Ukrainian relations that had marred their ties for years. Yanukovich has declared that ‘stability in [the] energy supply’ is one of the priorities of his policy towards Russia.

Russia has indicated that the transit potential of Ukraine would be expanded along with construction of the Nord Stream and South Stream gas pipelines.

Yanukovich’s intention to connect Ukraine to the Nord Stream pipeline would facilitate reduction of tension on the thorny issue between the two Slavic neighbours.

Yanukovich’s intention to permit Russian participation in the international consortium for management of Ukrainian gas transportation system would help further strengthening of bilateral ties.

Russia has been demanding its participation in the gas transit system over these years which Kiev was flatly refusing. Yanukovich’s policy on the issue is prompted not only to please Russia but also for solid economic reasons. The new President knows well that Ukraine does not have resources for modernising the gas transport system owned by the state on its own, and may have to live with old unusable empty pipes. By selling stakes to Russian and European participants Kiev would resolve the issue of distribution of responsibility and involvement of partners in the modernisation of the system while retaining controlling stakes in the hands of the state.

Fate of Black Sea Fleet

The future of the Black Sea Fleet at Sevastopol is yet another major irritant in Russo-Ukrainian relations. The new President is likely to find a solutiontoof the issue to the satisfaction of both sides.

The agreement for continuation of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet at Sevastopol would expire in 2017 beyond which the Yushchenko government was unwilling to permit the Russian fleet in the territory that is historically Russian.

This territory, home to the Russian fleet for centuries ever since its inception, was gifted to Ukraine in 1954 by the then Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev, himself an ethnic Ukranian, for commemorating 200 years of unification of Ukraine with Russia. Russian sentiments are extremely strong on the issue. Yanukovich is ready to accommodate Russia on continuation of the Black Sea Fleet at Sevastopol, which would no doubt help warm up bilateral relations.

Russian Language

One of the thorny issues between the two neighbours was the status of the Russian language in Ukraine. Yanukovich’s poll programme that promised to provide legal status to the Russian language had evoked positive response from Moscow. Yanukovich has pledged to pass a language bill that would permit unhindered functioning of the Russian language in official transactions, education, medicine and jurisprudence. Yanukovich’s Party of Regions has been campaigning in favour of approving a law on the Russian-speaking people in March and April so that it can come into effect from the beginning of the next academic year. This proposed law would provide opportunities to deliver education in the Russian language according to the wishes of the parents of the pupils along with compulsory study of the Ukrainian language. The bureaucrats at the local level would be obliged to know two languages and prepare documents in both the languages.

The magnitude of the issue can be judged in the backdrop of the fact that Russian-speaking people constitute the majority in Ukraine. Opinion polls suggest that 37 per cent people in Ukraine consider Russian as their native language while another 34 per cent consider both Russian and Ukrainian as their native language and only 28 per cent consider Ukrainian as their native language. In spite of a five-year long anti-Russian campaign, 54 per cent of the population are in favour of giving equal status to the Russian along with the Ukrainian language. The new president is likely to pursue a balanced policy in this area.

The first step towards clearing up the mess has been taken with the Supreme Court annulling the controversial bill introduced by the government to ban use of the Russian language in educational institutes.

The status of the Russian language was at the heart of the controversy during the last five years of Yushchenko’s rule. While Yushchenko was doing everything to throw the Russian language into the dustbin, Yanukovich would pursue a rational policy on the issue.

There are enough indications that Russian-Ukranian relations would grow from strength to strength under the new establishment in Ukraine.

However, there are skeptics who believe that Yanukovich may not live up to the expectations. In this context they recall the post-Soviet history of Ukraine, which had a total anti-Russian President in the person of the first President, Leonid Kravchuk.

Leonid Kuchma defeated Kravchuk on a pro-Russian platform but did precious little to improve bilateral ties contrary to expectations. Yushchenko was an absolutely anti-Russian president who did everything to inflict damage to Russian interests on any possible issue and anywhere.

Yanukovich won the latest poll battle on a more or less pro-Russian platform, but might follow Kuchma’s path. The skeptics draw attention to the fact of Yushchenko’s close allies extending support to Yanukovich in the second round of poll and predict that decisions taken on key issues would always favour Russia. They recall that Yanukovich in the capacity of Prime Minister did precious little for giving the Russian language the status of the second state language though he had enough possibilities.

If Yanukovich’s declaration that he would be president for all Ukrainians is any indication, he might pursue policies for appeasing people living in the western and central regions where anti-Russian sentiments run very high, for the sake of keeping the country’s unity.

According to Russian commentator Stanislav Belkovsky, it would have been easier for Russia to find a common language with Yulia Timoshenko who takes decisions on her own contrary to Yanukovich who represents the interests of big capital oriented towards Ukraine’s independence and is likely to pursue a pragmatic policy. The business and political elite around Yanukovich are believed to be more pro-European for the simple reason that their business is in Europe, their children study there, they have their money in European banks and they go to Europe for taking rests.

That is why the hope that Yanukovich would do a U-turn in foreign policy and pursue a pro-Russian policy could turn out to be misplaced.

*The author is an Associate Professor, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He is also the Director, Eurasian Foundation.

[Magda Hassan]

NATO Headquarters Holds Meeting On Ukraine's "Defense Reform"

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff

Fri Mar 19, 2010 9:45 am (PDT)



http://www.interfax.com.ua/eng/main/34449/

Interfax-Ukraine
March 18, 2010

NATO headquarters hosts meeting on defense reform in Ukraine


NATO headquarters in Brussels have hosted a regular meeting of a Ukraine-NATO joint working group on defense reform in Ukraine, the press and information office of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry reported on Thursday.

Ukraine was represented at the meeting by senior officials from the National Security and Defense Council's office, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, as well as representatives of Ukraine's Mission to NATO.

During the meeting, representatives of NATO's International Staff, the delegations of NATO countries together with their Ukrainian counterparts discussed the experience and priorities of engaging experts from NATO member-states to the reform of Ukraine's security and defense sector.

In addition, the meeting participants assessed the state of implementation of a program on professional training of civil personnel of Ukraine's defense and security structures, which is carried out by a Ukraine-NATO joint working group on defense reform. They also listened to reports on the bilateral cooperation between Ukraine and the United States as part of the implementation of the annual national program.

[Magda Hassan]

KIEV/BERLIN
(Own report) - With help of the Boxing World Champion, Vitali Klitschko, the CDU-affiliated Konrad Adenauer Foundation is in the process of establishing a pro-EU party in the Ukraine. In April 2010, shortly following the collapse of the Ukrainian pro-EU government of President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, Klitschko founded the party UDAR (in English "Punch"). The Konrad Adenauer Foundation is supporting this project as much as possible. The CDU explicitly admits that the foundation "assigned" Klitschko the task "of establishing" a Christian conservative party in the Ukraine. The boxer's popularity should raise UDAR to third place in the Ukraine's fall parliamentary elections. The party's success could be the prerequisite for creating a permanent pro-EU majority in the Ukraine - if the currently imprisoned Yulia Tymoshenko's "Fatherland" party, which also orients its policy on Berlin and Brussels, maintains its electoral strength. Recently Elmar Brok (CDU), Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs in the European Parliament, told Vitali Klitschko about Berlin's interests in the Ukraine. According to Brok, "this key East European country" should neither for geopolitical, nor for economic reasons, be lost to Russia.
On Assignment
According to the internet portal of the CDU politician, Werner Jostmeier (from North Rhine-Westphalia) "the Konrad Adenauer Foundation has assigned" the prominent professional Ukrainian boxer, Vitali Klitschko, the task of "helping to organize and establish a Christian conservative party in the Ukraine."[1] Jostmeier, who, for many years, has been handling the question of the Ukraine - particularly as chair of the German delegation to the EU "Committee of the Regions" - considers that Klitschko "takes his position as leader of the party (...) very seriously." He wishes him "continued success," and hopes he will become "a political heavyweight" in the Ukraine.

Into the EU as soon as possible
For several years, Vitali Klitschko has been engaged in politics in the Ukraine. At the end of 2004, he supported the pro-western ("Orange Revolution") putsch in Kiev. Soon thereafter, he began his own political carrier and in 2006 was a mayoral candidate in the Ukrainian capital. Placing second, with 26 percent of the votes, he became a member of the municipal parliament, where, together with about a dozen other parliamentarians, he formed his "Block Vitali Klitschko." April 24, 2010, shortly after the pro-western president, Viktor Yushchenko was voted out of office and immediately following the termination of Tymoshenko's term of office, the boxer founded the "UDAR of Vitali Klitschenko" (Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform party, translated, the acronym means "punch"). The UDAR party has already won 400 parliamentary seats in the Ukraine's 2010 municipal elections. The party's objective, according to the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, is "to integrate the Ukraine into the EU as soon as possible."[2]

Popular, Attractive
Klitschko's and the UDAR's chances of becoming an influential political force in the Ukraine are not bad. Ukrainian media commentators speak of Klitschko as mainly being known as a boxer, who is "popular" and "attractive," he is "familiar," he is "internationally respected" and has one of the lowest "disapproval ratings" of the country's politicians, a generally hated species.[3] Experts consider him to be competent, particularly for mobilizing voter segments, that are clearly pro-EU, but who, because of their disappointment with Yushchenko and Tymoshenko's government policies, refuse to vote for them. He has an "excellent opportunity" to win over those, who distrust "politicians of both sides," judges a social scientist in Kiev.[4] Only two years old, UDAR can already expect to take the five percent hurdle, it is prophesied in the capital. For Kiev's municipal elections, public opinion institutes were predicting last September that UDAR would score around 25 percent of the votes. Klitschko would like UDAR to emerge third strongest political force in the country, in the Ukrainian parliamentary elections October 28, "and sometime later, the second."[5] The world heavyweight champion's candidature in the next parliamentary elections in 2015 is considered possible.

Many Questions, Many Answers
Klitschko has been supported by the CDU-affiliated Konrad Adenauer Foundation for years. Back in 2009, the Adenauer Foundation, along with the Klitschko Foundation, a community service organization seeking to help children and adolescents in the Ukraine, carried out a project entitled "Health of the Society," with the objective of "transforming Ukrainian social values," explains Nico Lange, director of the foundation's Ukrainian branch office.[6] The cooperation has become intense since UDAR was founded. In January 2011, the Adenauer Foundation organized a three-day Klitschko visit to Berlin, where he met with CDU General Secretary, Hermann Gröhe, the Chairman of the Adenauer Foundation, Hans-Gert Pöttering, a former President of the European Parliament and other prominent CDU politicians. The talks were for his "party, still in the process of formation, of great help,"[7] explained Klitschko immediately afterwards. "We had many questions and here we have found many answers."[8] The Adenauer Foundation had announced, even before the Ukrainian politician's arrival, that he would also meet with interested official bodies - with "senior advisors of the German Chancellery and in the Foreign Ministry."[9]

Misunderstood
The Adenauer Foundation has maintained its support for Klitschko and UDAR throughout. In October 2011, it organized a visit for the Ukrainian party leader to Thuringia, where he, during his "two-day visit, could also discuss questions of municipal politics."[10] In November 2011, the Ukrainian beacon of hope visited the CDU party congress in Leipzig, where he met with Berlin's influential politicians. In March 2012, in its Brussels "European Office" the foundation put on an event entitled "The Ukraine at the Crossroads" - with Elmar Brok (CDU) Chairperson of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the European Parliament and UDAR leader Klitschko. As evidenced by a report on the event, Klitschko explicitly expressed his gratitude "for the support of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and the CDU" in setting up his party.[11] As one learns from the CDU politician, Jostmeier, the fact that the German side had even initiated the founding of UDAR - an absolutely blatant intrusion into the domestic affairs of a sovereign country - sheds a new light on reprisals during the summer of 2010, taken by the Ukrainian authorities against the director of the Adenauer Foundation in the Ukraine. He had been detained at the country's border and denied entry until the German government intervened in Kiev. The foundation's employee had speculated at the time that his contacts to the country's opposition were "possibly misunderstood." (german-foreign-policy.com reported.[12])

Europe's Granary
At the Adenauer Foundation's March event with Klitschko in Brussels, foreign policy politician Elmar Brok spoke rather frankly about why Berlin has such strong interest in the Ukraine. After all, that is "a country with great economic possibilities," with "a well educated population" and with "good agricultural prerequisites," he explained.[13] Under no circumstances does one want to lose "this key East European country" to Russia, which is also intensively seeking to win over the Ukraine; - "neither for geopolitical, economic, nor for historical reasons." Brok was quoted, saying "Europe's granary," is what he had "learned in school about the Ukraine," belongs "simply to Europe."[14] In his choice of terminology, Brok explicitly ties current German policy toward the Ukraine to the policy preceding the First World War. german-foreign-policy.com reports tomorrow.

Further information on the current German policy toward the Ukraine can be found here: Between Moscow and Berlin.

[1] Jostmeier trifft Klitschko; http://www.jostmeier.de 12.12.2011
[2] Eine Frage des Teamworks; http://www.kas.de 25.01.2011
[3], [4] Klitschko To The Rescue? http://www.kyivpost.com 12.01.2012
[5] Klitschko warnt vor blutigen Aufständen in Kiew; http://www.welt.de 30.03.2012
[6] Gesundheit der Gesellschaft; http://www.kas.de 12.10.2009
[7] Eine Frage des Teamworks; http://www.kas.de 25.01.2012
[8] Klitschkos Sparring in Berlin; http://www.ftd.de 26.01.2011
[9] Vitali Klitschko zu politischen Gesprächen in Berlin; http://www.kas.de 20.01.2012
[10] Klitschko besucht Thüringen; http://www.kas.de 11.10.2011
[11] Demokratie, Rechtsstaatlichkeit, Europäische Integration - die Ukraine am Scheideweg; http://www.kas.de 28.03.2012
[12] see also Kiewer Irritationen
[13] Demokratie, Rechtsstaatlichkeit, Europäische Integration - die Ukraine am Scheideweg; http://www.kas.de 28.03.2012
[14] Klitschko warnt vor blutigen Aufständen in Kiew; http://www.welt.de 30.03.2012

http://www.german-foreign-policy.com/en/fulltext/58302

[Magda Hassan]

Problems of Eastward Expansion
2013/11/27

KIEV/VILNIUS/BERLIN
(Own report) - In the run-up of the EU's "Eastern Partnership" summit scheduled to begin tomorrow in Vilnius, Berlin's expansion project is threatened to fail. Only two countries, Georgia and Moldova, will sign Association Agreements, while Belarus and Armenia prefer to join the "Eurasian Customs Union" with Russia. However, the biggest blow comes from the Ukraine, which has halted preparations for signing the EU Association Agreement. Germany has left no stone unturned in its efforts to eventually break the Ukraine completely out of the Russian sphere of influence and integrate it into Berlin's hegemonic system. German media now speaks of the "battle for the Ukraine" and a "new Iron Curtain," to be vanquished in the East. German government advisors had, in fact, already planned to forge ahead to integrate Russia into a European free trade zone, after the six countries have been firmly integrated into the German sphere of influence. This now has also been put into question.


Ever Further Eastward
The real significance of the "Eastern Partnership" that Berlin planned to consolidate this week in Vilnius, can only be seen from the historical perspective - when viewing Europe's situation 25 years ago. Even though the Federal Republic of German (FRG) had had a bit of influence in the East, it was restricted, in large part, by its borders with the German Democratic Republic (GDR). Comprehensive eastward expansion of the FRG's industry had been blocked merely by the existence of the socialist countries' alliances. The 1989/91 upheavals in Eastern and Southeastern Europe opened doors for the FRG. But preparation and implementation of the EU's eastern enlargement has not only facilitated the solid integration of most of the countries in that region into the German hegemonic system - the EU - but also the alignment of their economic and legal norms on German standards. The objective is to also integrate those five remaining southeast European non-EU member countries. To continue the eastward expansion, Berlin and Brussels have initiated an association of six other countries in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus - the "Eastern Partnership". This "Eastern Partnership" is also part of Germany's efforts to expand its influence and align the norms of these countries with German-European standards ("economic integration").

A New "Iron Curtain"
That project is now doomed to fail. Even though the Association Agreement is supposed to be signed with Georgia and Moldova at the upcoming summit in Vilnius, it is still being negotiated with Azerbaijan. Armenia has decided to join the "Eurasian Customs Union" that already includes Belarus. The "Eurasian Customs Union" is an alliance predominated by Russia and is seen as a rival by Berlin and Brussels. However, most significant is the fact that the Ukraine, the largest and by far strategically most important of the six "Eastern Partnership" countries, has postponed preparations for its signing the Association Agreement. The majority of the country's oligarchs prefer the sort of limbo position between the West and East, without taking sides for one or the other, therefore hoping to retain a maximum freedom of prerogative. According to warnings in Berlin, the rejection of the EU's Association Agreement could even lead to the Ukraine's integration into Russian alliances. And the German media even speaks of a new "Iron Curtain."[1]

Struggle for Natural Gas Supply
Over the past few years, Germany has been working hard to integrate the Ukraine into its hegemonic system. Intense power struggles have been waged in the field of energy supply. The Ukraine has always been dependant on deliveries of Russian natural gas and this, in turn, has facilitated Russia's exertion of considerable pressure on Kiev. However, the shale gas boom in the USA has unexpectedly opened new options for Berlin and Brussels. Since recently, the United States is in a position to dump large quantities of shale gas onto the market and with the ever growing volumes of low priced liquid gas (LNG) - for example from Qatar - being available, world market gas can now be delivered to the Ukraine via Western Europe - through pipelines, which had previously been supplying Western Europe via the Ukraine with Russian natural gas. This has also become possible because Russian deliveries are being routed via the Baltic Sea through the "North Stream" pipeline. Since last year, the West, with also the participation of German companies, has been, in fact, supplying the Ukraine with natural gas - primarily, at the moment, via pipelines through Poland and Hungary. (german-foreign-policy.com reported.[2]) Now an additional accord between the Ukraine and Slovakia is ready to be signed, which is supposed to break the Ukraine's dependence on Russian gas for good. Bratislava had adamantly refused to be drawn into the power struggles between Berlin and Moscow, but is now relenting under EU pressure. The German RWE Corp. is supposed to furnish the Ukraine with gas also via Slovakian pipelines beginning in the middle of 2014.[3]

"Battle for the Ukraine"
Should the Ukraine persist in its refusal to sign the EU's Association Agreement, this could be a political defeat for German efforts. Berlin is, of course, not giving up. The German government has announced it remains open to Kiev changing its course to favor the West, and does not preclude that the EU Association Agreement could be signed at a later date. Last week, observers were already considering that no final decision must be taken in Vilnius. The main thing is that "the contact" to Kiev "not be lost, so that the Ukrainian pendulum does not swing eastward," which if successful, the signing of the Association Agreement can be postponed to the spring of 2014.[4] In the meantime, Berlin's close allies in the Ukraine have begun protest demonstrations to force the Ukrainian government to sign the Association Agreement.[5] The German media is already referring to a "battle for the Ukraine."[6] The power struggle between Berlin, Brussels, Kiev and Moscow has not yet been decided.

All the Way to the Pacific?
Beyond the power struggle for the Ukraine, German foreign policy specialists have already turned their attention to the period after the summit in Vilnius. Even if the Association Agreement is signed, the EU will be really put to the test, according to a paper published by the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP). The necessary reforms must be carried out in the countries of the "Eastern Partnership," their implementation supervised. The implementation of the Association Agreement calls for "stringent and, in part, very painful social adjustment measures," predicts the DGAP. Then, one could, in the long run, approach integrating even Moscow into the European treaty system, for example within a "common free trade zone."[7] This would open up the perspective for German companies of an uninhibited economic expansion not only up to the Urals, but even all the way to the Pacific. However, these plans have now been dealt a serious setback. Through the Ukraine's refusal to sign the EU's Association Agreement, the expansion of Berlin's hegemonic system has for the first time suffered a serious throttle.


Other reports and background information on German policy toward the Ukraine can be found here: Between Moscow and Berlin, The Boxer's Punch, Between Moscow and Berlin (III), Between Moscow and Berlin (IV), Fatherland and Freedom and Battle for the Ukraine.

[1] Theo Sommer: Ein neuer Eiserner Vorhang? http://www.zeit.de 25.11.2013. See also Europas Werte
[2] see also Kampf um die Pipelines and Battle for the Ukraine
[3] Ukraine durchbricht das russische Erdgasmonopol; Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 20.11.2013
[4] Letzte Station Straßburg; Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 16.11.2013
[5] see also Protestbündnis für Europa
[6] Die Schlacht um die Ukraine; Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung 24.11.2013
[7] Andrzej Olechowski, Adam D. Rotfeld, Rainder Steenblock, Rita Süssmuth, Karsten Voigt: Über Vilnius hinaus denken: Polen und Deutschland müssen die EU-Ostpolitik vorantreiben, DGAPstandpunkt No. 8, November 2013

[David Guyatt]

Problems of Eastward Expansion
2013/11/27

KIEV/VILNIUS/BERLIN
(Own report) - In the run-up of the EU's "Eastern Partnership" summit scheduled to begin tomorrow in Vilnius, Berlin's expansion project is threatened to fail.

It failed the last time they tried that too...

[Magda Hassan]

[Magda Hassan]

Who'd have thunk? A cult formed around nazi collaborators...::

A Broad-Based Anti-Russian Alliance

2013/12/03

KIEV/LVIV/BERLIN
(Own report) - The German government is encouraging the protest demonstrations being staged in the Ukraine by the "pro-European" alliance of conservative and ultra-rightwing parties. The "pro-Europe rallies" in Kiev and other cities of the country are transmitting "a very clear message", according to a government spokesperson in Berlin: "Hopefully" the Ukrainian president "will heed this message," meaning sign the EU's Association Agreement, which Kiev had refused to do last week, in spite of massive German pressure. To gain influence in the country, Germany has for years been supporting the "pro-European" alliance in the Ukraine. The alliance includes not only conservative parties, but also forces from the extreme right - because of their strength, particularly in western Ukraine, where a cult around former Nazi collaborators is manifesting itself. The All-Ukrainian Union "Svoboda" party is particularly embedded in the national-chauvinist milieu, under the influence of this cult. Over the past few days, the party's leader has called for a "revolution" in Kiev.


"General Strike and Revolution"
Oleh Tiahnybok, the leader of the ultra-rightwing Svoboda (Freedom) party is quoted saying "a revolution is beginning in the Ukraine." Tiahnybok made this proclamation in Kiev during the current protest demonstrations. On the weekend, approx. 100,000 people took to the streets protesting against the current government's foreign policy course, and calling for the country to become associated with the EU. During their continuing - and increasingly violent - demonstrations, protesters are calling on the government to stop refusing to sign the Association Agreement with the EU. According to media reports, numerous activists from ultra-rightwing organizations are participating in the demonstrations, particularly activists from Svoboda. The party's leader Tiahnybok is basking in the attention he is receiving from the international press. He is planning a general strike to accomplish the "revolution" he announced last weekend.[1] He can rely on ultra-rightwing forces, whose influence has grown over the past few years.

"National Liberation Movement"
The resurgence of the cult around the former Ukrainian Nazi collaborators, since the mid-1980s, has helped ultra-rightwing forces to enlarge their influence in western Ukraine and in Kiev. This cult focuses particularly on Stepan Bandera, a leader of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN). The OUN joined forces with the Nazis during the invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941. "Along with German units, our militias are making numerous arrests of Jews," wrote the OUN's propaganda unit following the invasion of Lviv: "Before their liquidation, the Jews had used every method to defend themselves."[2] While Lviv's Jewish population was falling prey to pogroms and massacres in the city, Bandera was proclaiming the establishment of a Ukrainian nation.[3] One specialist explained in reference to Bandera's attempt to proclaim a nation, that today, Bandera and the OUN play a "very important" role in the "ethnic self-identity" of West Ukrainians. The OUN is seen "less as a fascist party" than "as the climax of a national liberation movement, or a fraternity of courageous heroes in Ukrainian national history."[4] Since the beginning of the 1990s, numerous monuments to Bandera have been erected throughout the country. One such monument crowns the "Boulevard Stapan Bandera" in Lviv's center.[5] According to analyses, a, "for the most part, informally functioning nationalist civil society" has been created around the Bandera cult, particularly in West Ukraine.[6]

Collaborationist Traditions
As far back as the 1990s, this milieu has produced various ultra-rightwing organizations. In 1990, the UNA Party ("Ukrainian National Assembly") was founded, forming a paramilitary wing (the "Ukrainian National Self-Defense" - UNSO) in 1991. Yuri Shukhevych, the son of Roman Shukhevych, a Nazi collaborator, was one of its first leaders. Soon the "Congress of Ukrainian Nationalists" (CUN) followed, which elected the former OUN activist Slava Stetsko to the Ukrainian Parliament in 1997. As President by Seniority, Stetsko had the honor of delivering the opening address at the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian Parliament) after the 1998 elections. After 1945, Stetsko had continued to pursue her Ukrainian activities from her exile in Munich. It was also in Munich that, since 1948, the "Ukrainian National Council" had held its meetings - in the physical and political proximity of German and US intelligence services. The National Council considered itself to be the "core of the Ukrainian state in exile."[7] Already in 1998, the CUN received - in electoral alliances with other parties - 9.7 percent of the votes in Lviv, 20.9 percent in Ternopil and 23.8 percent in Ivano-Frankivsk. At the time, the "Social National Party of the Ukraine" (SNPU), which was co-founded in Lviv in 1991 by Oleh Tiahnybok and had violent neo-Nazi members, was not yet successful in elections. In 1998 Tiahnybok was voted into the Ukrainian parliament with a direct mandate. Only after the SNPU changed its name to the "All-Ukrainian Union 'Svoboda' ('Freedom') in 2004, did it become more successful in elections and the leader of Ukraine's ultra-rightwing forces.

Heroes of the Ukraine
At the time, politicians, who had been closely cooperating with Berlin, particularly Viktor Yushchenko (Ukrainian President 2005-2010), had been engaged in activities aimed at forming a broad anti-Russian alliance to integrate the Ukraine into the German hegemonic sphere - thereby strengthening the ultra-rightwing forces. For the elections in 2002 and 2006, Yushchenko's electoral platform "Our Ukraine" cooperated with CUN and enabled that organization to win three seats in the national parliament in both elections. Oleh Tiahnybok (Svoboda) had temporarily been a member of the "Our Ukraine" parliamentary group. He was excluded in the summer of 2004, following his speech at the grave of a Nazi collaborator, in which he ranted against the "Jewish mafia in Moscow." That same year, Yushchenko announced that, if elected, he would officially declare Bandera "Hero of the Ukraine." This did not impede Berlin's support. With the "Orange Revolution," Berlin also helped him to ultimately be elected President. Yushchenko declared Nazi collaborator Roman Shukhevych on October 12, 2007, and Bandera on January 22, 2010 "Heroes of the Ukraine" - as a favor to the broad anti-Russian Alliance. At that time, Svoboda had just received its first major electoral success: In the March 15 regional parliamentary elections in Ternopil, with 34.7 percent and 50 out of 120 parliamentarians, including the president of parliament, it emerged the strongest party.

Socially Acceptable
To secure the broadest possible base for their anti-Russian policy, the so-called pro-European Ukrainian parties are still cooperating with ultra rightwing forces. "Batkivschyna" (Fatherland), the party of imprisoned opposition politician Yulia Tymoshenko has entered an electoral alliance with Svoboda in the run-up to the last elections. Thanks to this alliance, Svoboda was able to obtain 10.4 percent of the votes and twelve direct mandates and is now represented in the Verkhovna Rada with 37 parliamentarians. A firm opposition coalition was formed, which included Svoboda, Batkivschyna and Vitaly Klitschko's "UDAR" party. This coalition is not only closely cooperating in the Ukrainian parliament but also in the current protest demonstrations on the streets. Batkivschyna has "significantly aided Svoboda to become socially acceptable," according to an expert, but it cannot be ruled out that it thereby also "dug its own grave." Already at the 2012 elections, Tymoshenko's party lost some of its "voters to the radical nationalists" because of its cooperation with Svoboda.[8] The dynamic of radicalization of the current protests could invigorate this development - aided by Berlin's active encouragement.

Party Cell Munich
With its growing strength, Svoboda is also gaining influence on a European level. Since the 1990s, the party has systematically developed contacts to various ultra-rightwing parties in other European countries. For quite a while, it had been cooperating closely with the French Front National until the FN began to cultivate a "more moderate" image. Up to the beginning of this year, Svoboda had participated in a network that also included the "British National Party" and Hungary's "Jobbik." It has been seeking closer ties to the neo-fascist "Forza Nuova" in Italy and the German NPD.[9] But, it is also establishing its own party structures in other European countries. Last August, it founded a party cell in Munich chaired by a Svoboda city council member from Ivano-Frankivsk, who is currently studying in the Bavarian capital. Following its foundation ceremony, the new party cell visited the Munich Waldfriedhof, indicating a traditional link between Munich and the Ukraine: the two OUN leaders Jaroslav Stetsko and Stepan Bandera are buried in this cemetery. In a press release, the party's new cell announced that the visit had been made "in honor of those, who had died for the independence of the Ukraine."[10] Subsequent to their unsuccessful Nazi-collaboration, both had continued their struggle for Ukraine's secession from the Soviet Union and integration into the German Federal Republic's hegemonic sphere of influence. (german-foreign-policy.com reported.[11])

[1] Tausende versperren der Regierung den Weg; http://www.n24.de 02.12.2013
[2] Franziska Bruder: "Den ukrainischen Staat erkämpfen oder sterben!" Die Organisation Ukrainischer Nationalisten (OUN) 1929-1948, Berlin 2007
[3] see also Zwischen Moskau und Berlin (IV)
[4] Andreas Umland: Eine typische Spielart von europäischem Rechtsradikalismus? ukraine-nachrichten.de 28.05.2013
[5] see also Fatherland and Freedom
[6] Andreas Umland: Eine typische Spielart von europäischem Rechtsradikalismus? ukraine-nachrichten.de 28.05.2013
[7] see also Zwischen Moskau und Berlin (V)
[8] Andreas Umland: Eine typische Spielart von europäischem Rechtsradikalismus? ukraine-nachrichten.de 28.05.2013
[9] Anton Shekhovtsov: The old and new European friends of Ukraine's far-right Svoboda party; http://www.searchlightmagazine.com 02.09.2013
[10] 25. August 2013; http://www.aida-archiv.de
[11] see also Zwischen Moskau und Berlin (V)

http://www.german-foreign-policy.com/en/fulltext/58701

[David Guyatt]

I've been wondering what the back story was...

Ukraine: NATO's Eastern Prize

by Wayne Madsen

VOLTAIRE NETWORK | 16 DECEMBER 2013

Ever since the democracy manipulation efforts of international hedge fund brigand George Soros were joined with the artificial street revolution tactics of CIA tactician Gene Sharp to form the core strategy of the U.S. neo-conservative goal of imposing a «New American Century» on the entire world, Ukraine has served as the prize of America's interventionist foreign policy. And the neocons are still alive and active as ever inside Secretary of State John Kerry's State Department.Instructions for protesters on Tahrir and Maidan in Arabic and Ukrainian languages are identical. The source is evidently the same.(Find here the original U.S. colored revolution user manual for Egypt).In the wake of what has been called the «Orange Revolution II» [1] in Ukraine, Kerry's Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, Victoria Nuland, who previously served as Hillary Clinton's State Department mouthpiece, threatened sanctions against Ukraine's government led by President Viktor Yanukovych. Gazing over protesters in central Kyiv from his hotel window, Arizona's fanatical Republican Senator John McCain was licking his chops over the prospect of an anti-Russian Ukraine coming into being. McCain is a Cold War throwback and someone who remains mentally-unbalanced between flashbacks from a prisoner of war cell in Hanoi and to present-day reality.Ukraine, which resisted efforts by the European Union to integrate it into Europe's banker-led federation of austerity and poverty, came into the EU's cross hairs after it abandoned an «Association Agreement» pact with the EU. Instead, Kyiv opted for a more lucrative economic union with Russia. That move triggered off a mass street uprising in Kyiv's Maidan (Independence) Square that demanded the resignation of Ukraine's democratically-elected President and government.The connections between the Kyiv uprising and the EU outside manipulators are so apparent, the Kyiv square that has become the «Tahrir Square» of Ukraine is called «Euromaidan.» The initial Tahrir Square uprising in Cairo, which overthrew Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, was partly manipulated by Soros-financed and Sharp-influenced street demonstrators who took their cues from professional political agitators hastily flown into Egypt from the United States and Europe.The latest professionally-agitated spectacle in Kyiv's was spearheaded by the same Soros/Sharp/National Endowment for Democracy/CIA hydra that saw the overthrow of Ukraine's government in 2004 in the so-called Orange Revolution. This time, not only is Ukrainian President Yanukovych, but ultimately Russian President Vladimir Putin, are the targets… [2]Nuland, who is married to the neocon Robert Kagan, handed out snacks to protesters on Maidan Square. Imagine the reaction of the United States had a second-tier official of either the Russian or Chinese foreign ministry handed out food to Occupy Wall Street protesters in Washington and urged them to overthrow, by force if necessary, President Obama. Yet, that is exactly the scenario Nuland engaged in by supporting protesters in Maidan. Furthermore, she reprimanded Yanokovych for the heavy security presence in Maidan. Nuland and Kerry, who also upbraided Yanukovych, forgot the acts of police brutality committed by U.S. cops against occupy protesters, as well as a plan by the FBI to use snipers to assassinate the leaders of the group.Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland dispensing biscuits to Euromaidan protesters in Kiev.And Nuland and Kerry were very quiet when the Turkish government set loose riot police on peaceful protesters in Taksim Square in Istanbul earlier this year. After all, Turkey is a member of NATO and Ukraine, for the time being, is not.For Gene Sharp and his two NGO «babies,» OTPOR and the Center for Applied Nonviolent Action and Strategies (CANVAS), vanguard organizations for organizing «rent-a-riot» anti-government protests around the globe, only nations resistant to the «New World Order» designs of Wall Street and the Pentagon are fair game for receiving cash, pamphlets, i-Pads and i-Phones, snacks, «themed revolution» placards and banners, restored national flags from times past, and other propaganda support [3]. Recently, it was discovered, through leaked emails, that CANVAS founder Srdja Popovic was collaborating with the CIA- and Pentagon-linked intelligence firm STRATFOR, founded by George Friedman, whose ties to the U.S. and Israeli military-intelligence establishments are well known [4].The «Orange Revolution II» in Kyiv has also received favorable press in central and eastern Europe and other parts of the world thanks to the auspices of various Soros press entities, including the Center for Advanced Media in Prague, a contrivance of the Media Development Loan Fund, a project of Soros' Open Society Institute.And as with all fake «themed» revolutions, an «embattled martyr» is needed to rally the «rent-a-mob» to action. For the Ukrainian demonstrator, the «Maiden of Maidan» is Yulia Tymoshenko, the former Prime Minister who was imprisoned for corruption. Tymoshenko, who is now held at a clinic in Kharkiv, has become the «Aung San Suu Kyi» of Ukraine. But for many Ukrainians, the former Prime Minister is a shameless attention seeker whose trademark braided hair coif is derided by many Ukrainians as a «bagel» on top of her head.For Orange Revolution II, the new «heroes» are ex-boxer and UDAR opposition leader Vitali Klitschko and far-right nationalist Oleh Tyahnybok. Their playbooks are written in Soros boiler shops in Prague, London, Washington, and New York and not in Kyiv.In the first round of themed revolutions sponsored by Soros and his U.S. government collaborators and adhering to the Gene Sharp playbook, New World Order template governments were installed in Ukraine and Georgia. Headed by Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Tymoshenko in Ukraine and Mikheil Saakashvili in Georgia, the pro-NATO and EU governments, installed amid a flurry of «pro-democracy» fanfare, soon descended into corrupt and nepotistic regimes. Tymoshenko and Saakashvili soon were associated with the mafia and corrupt business moguls. Tymoshenko's one-time business partner, former Ukrainian Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko, began serving a prison term in California for money laundering, corruption, and fraud. Meanwhile, Saakashvili became entangled with the mysterious «Golden Fleece» charity in Cyprus.The neo-cons never recovered from the end of the Yushchenko-Tymoshenko regime because Soros and the themed revolution agitators had invested so much in the inserted government in anticipation of its NATO and EU membership. Yushchenko's wife, Kateryna Chumachenko Yushchenko, served in the Ronald Reagan White House. Chumachenko also worked in the White House Public Liaison Office where she conducted outreach to various right-wing and anti-communist exile groups in the United States, including the other bastion of the neo-cons, the Heritage Foundation [5]Now, «Responsibility to Protect» interventionists in the Obama administration are trying to turn back the calendar to 2004 and bring about another non-democratic ouster of an elected government in Ukraine.Across Ukraine, Moldova, Russia, Belarus, Romania, and other countries of eastern and central Europe, the new generation of Soros agitators and provocateurs are trying to launch another series of «themed revolutions.» This time the goal is, once again, prying Ukraine away from Russia and into the EU and NATO.

Wayne Madsen

Source
Strategic Culture Foundation (Rusia)

From Voltaire.net

[Magda Hassan]

Our Man in Kiev
2013/12/10

KIEV/BERLIN
(Own report) - According to press reports, the German government would like to have boxing champion Vitali Klitschko run for president and bring him to power in the Ukraine. It would like to enhance the popularity of the opposition's politician by staging, for example, joint public appearances with the German foreign minister. For this purpose, a meeting is also planned for Klitschko with Chancellor Merkel at the next EU summit in mid-December. The Konrad Adenauer Foundation is, in fact, not only massively supporting Klitschko and his UDAR party. According to a CDU politician, the UDAR Party was founded in 2010 on the direct orders of the CDU foundation. Reports on the foundation's activities for the development of Klitschko's party give an indication of how Germans are influencing the Ukraine's domestic affairs via UDAR. Berlin's use of Poland in its policy toward the Ukraine is also increasing. Berlin and Warsaw are cooperating with the Ukrainian ultra right-wing Svoboda ("Liberty") party, which stands in the tradition of Nazi collaborators, who massacred 100,000 Christian and Jewish Poles during WW II.


On Behalf of the Adenauer Foundation
Vitali Klitschko - the man, who, if the German government has its way, should conquer the power in Kiev and lead his country into the German-European hegemonic sphere - is not only a political ally, but - in his current role - even a product of Berlin's foreign policy. As the CDU politician, Werner Jostmeier, reported about two years ago, Klitschko had been "instructed by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation" to establish "a Christian conservative party in the Ukraine."[1] UDAR ("Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reforms") was founded on April 24, 2010 and the CDU affiliated Konrad Adenauer Foundation's assistance for its development began immediately. Klitschko, spoke of his three day visit to Berlin in January 2011, remarking that the talks were "of great help" to the party's development: "We had many questions and found the answers" in Berlin. The foundation organized another working visit in Thuringia that fall, offering the boxing champion instructions on the implementation of local policies. Following supplementary assistance, Klitschko "explicitly" thanked the Adenauer Foundation and the CDU for their help in setting up the party.[2]

Ways of Influencing
The Konrad Adenauer Foundation's support for UDAR continues. Last June, it gave the UDAR party youth hints on "increasing their membership" and on electoral strategies. Four weeks ago, it organized a seminar on the EU Association Agreement, which clearly demonstrates how, at a lower level, the German government is using UDAR as an instrument for gaining influence in the Ukraine's political development. According to a report, the foundation "informed" young activists at the seminar, who, as "multipliers," should be spreading "the knowledge they had been receiving" from the German organization. At the same time, they were given the opportunity to "expand their political networks."[3] In late November, an UDAR delegation visited Germany, to inform itself on the means and methods of parliamentary work. The CDU organization explained that "advising the party also on its work as a parliamentary group," is "an important concern of the Adenauer Foundation." After all "relevant laws concerning the country's integration into the EU" must be introduced in the Verkhovna Rada by the end of the year.[4] It is in Germany's interest that the Ukrainian system of norms can successfully be adapted to the German-European system ("EU integration").

The Foreign Ministry's Candidate
Berlin's government authorities have been promoting contacts with Vitali Klitschko from the very beginning. In the prelude to Klitschko's early 2011 working visit to Berlin, the Adenauer Foundation had already announced that the world champion boxer would meet with "high ranking officials of the Chancellery and Foreign Ministry."[5] Since then Klitschko has even been meeting the German Foreign Minister on a regular basis. The foreign ministry has documented such official encounters, usually also with photos, in November 2012, June 2013 and October 2013. Last week Guido Westerwelle appeared in public with Kiev's opposition politician. Recent media reports show that these meetings not only serve for coordinating political maneuvers - bypassing the Ukraine's elected government - but also for public relations. The German chancellor would like to position Vitali Klitschko "as the leader of the opposition and rival candidate to incumbent President Viktor Yanukovych" and strengthen his standing "with joint public appearances." This is why the UDAR chairman should appear at the next EU summit meeting on December 19 and 20 and have highly publicized "consultations with Chancellor Merkel."[6] According to a report, the Adenauer Foundation's man in Kiev needs additional tutoring. He "still lacks rhetorical agility and political experience for waging a presidential electoral campaign."

Anti-Trade Union Violence
In addition to Berlins efforts to groom Vlitali Klitschko into a presidential candidate and eventually get him elected as Kiev's ruler, leading German politicians are also continuing their coordination with the extreme rightwing Svoboda Party. While, during his visit to Kiev last week, Germany's Foreign Minister Westerwelle was avoiding being photographed near the leader of the Svoboda Party, Oleh Tjahnybok to allude PR problems, Helga Schmid, the German assistant to the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton, was busy negotiating with the head of that extremist rightwing party.[7] The fact that its followers have become violent, will not dampen the German-EU cooperation with Svoboda. Over the weekend, Svoboda followers destroyed a statue of Lenin and threw smoke bombs. It is now being reported that they have even assaulted members of the left. According to reports, "Svoboda followers, in plain view of one or their parliamentarians, recently demolished the tent of the independent trade union federation, wounding its activists with blows and pepper spray."[8]

German-Polish Cooperation
In its efforts to overthrow the government in Kiev, Berlin is implicating Polish foreign policy to a growing extent. According to a paper published in mid-November by the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), "Berlin and Warsaw" must be "the main initiators" in the EU's Ostpolitik. Within the framework of a German-Polish "Partnership for Europe" a "close German-Polish cooperation is essential" - particularly in relationship to the Ukraine.[9] In their "common declaration" issued in late November, the foreign ministers of the two countries declared that they are "solidly on the side of the people of the Ukraine," who "could still benefit from the extensive European offer of a close political and economic cooperation" - referring to the EU Association Agreement.[10] In the course of their common initiatives for the Ukraine. Polish diplomats have met on various occasions, with Svoboda representatives. The Svoboda Party sees itself as standing in the traditions of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) Nazi collaborators and their Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA). In mid-October, the party celebrated - allegedly with 20,000 participants - the UPA's founding October 14, 1942. In World War II, the UPA slaughtered up to 100,000 Poles - both Christian and Jewish - which is why Poland still officially registers it a "criminal organization."[11]

Other reports and background information on the current German policy toward the Ukraine can be found here: Problems of Eastward Expansion, A Broad-Based Anti-Russian Alliance and Expansive Ambitions.

[1] Jostmeier trifft Klitschko; http://www.jostmeier.de 12.12.2011
[2] see also The Boxer's Punch
[3] Seminar mit der politischen Partei UDAR von Vitali Klitschko; http://www.kas.de
[4] Studien- und Dialogprogramm für Parlamentsabgeordnete der Fraktion UDAR aus der Ukraine; http://www.kas.de 28.11.2013
[5] see also The Boxer's Punch
[6] Merkel kämpft für Klitschko; http://www.spiegel.de 08.12.2013
[7] see also Zukunftspläne für die Ukraine
[8] Reinhard Lauterbach: Braune Schläger in Kiew; http://www.jungewelt.de 09.12.2013
[9] Andrzej Olechowski, Adam D. Rotfeld, Rainder Steenblock, Rita Süssmuth, Karsten Voigt: Über Vilnius hinaus denken: Polen und Deutschland müssen die EU-Ostpolitik vorantreiben, DGAPstandpunkt No. 8, November 2013
[10] Deutsch-polnische Erklärung zur Ukraine; http://www.auswaertiges-amt.de 26.11.2013
[11] see also [URL="http://www.german-foreign-policy.com/en/fulltext/58309"]Between Moscow and Berlin (IV)

http://www.german-foreign-policy.com/en/fulltext/58705
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