Maryana Drach is the director of RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service.
Russia’s three-year all-out war has taken a huge toll on Ukrainian journalists, many of whom risk their lives to report on the truth. Among them are RFE/RL’s own reporters.
As the list of former Ukrainian officials in trouble with the law grows, the opposition and human rights activists say the law is being used randomly to punish or scare opponents of the government.
As the global economic crisis leads to thousands of layoffs across Europe, Czech officials are offering free air tickets and 500 euros in cash to jobless migrants to allow them to return home. Some Asian laborers are using the opportunity to return to their native countries, but many Ukrainian workers say they prefer to stay put.
The bigger you are, the harder you fall. But the longer-term effects of the current financial crisis are beginning to be felt in smaller countries as well. One such place is Ukraine, where the central bank this week took the controversial step of restricting lending and withdrawal limits.
A Ukrainian government official has called on the European Union to help Kyiv avoid a "security vacuum" like the one that led to the current conflict between Russia and Georgia.
Every summer for the past five years, the Ukrainian seaside resort of Yalta has played host to an upscale gathering of international officials who, it is hoped, leave with a sense of relaxation, enjoyment -- and determination that Ukraine should not be diverted from its path to the West.
