Ukraine - Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Latest Ukraine News

Ukrainian Interior Minister Vitaliy Zakharchenko (file photo)

Man Held Over Attack On Kyiv Journalists

A man suspected of beating two journalists in Kyiv on May 18 has been arrested. More

Gay-rights activists are surrounded by police during a rally against homophobia in Kyiv on May 18.

Kyiv Mayor Urged To Ban Gay Parades

Sixty-one Ukrainian lawmakers have signed a petition urging Kyiv's mayor to ban a gay-pride parade in the Ukrainian capital scheduled for May 25. More

WATCH: Political opponents of President Viktor Yanukovych and his allies gathered in the Ukrainian capital on May 18 to express displeasure with the current government. (RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service)

Scuffles Amid Rival Ukraine Rallies

Pro- and antigovernment protesters square off in rival demonstrations in the Ukrainian capital soon after leaders of the three main opposition factions in the Ukrainian parliament agree to cooperate on backing a single candidate to oppose incumbent Viktor Yanukovych in presidential elections in 2015. More

Ukrainians protest antidiscrimination law

Ukraine Protests Delay Antidiscrimination Debate

Ukraine's lawmakers have postponed a debate over a new antidiscrimination law after demonstrators protested outside the parliament in Kyiv. More

Russian Nationalists Held Over Killings

Two members of a Russian ultranationalist group allegedly involved in high-profile killings have been arrested in Serbia and Ukraine. More

More Ukraine News

Latest Blog Posts

Hurley Hangs With Kadyrov In Grozny

For months now, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has been treating his numerous social media followers to a blow-by-blow account of his life. Besides posting posting pictures of mundane activities such as a trip to the dentist's, Kadyrov has used the Instagram photo-sharing service to display images of him hanging out in a bathrobe with Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas and chatting with French actor and tax exile Gerard Depardieu. Now he has added another luminary to his collection of pix. More

Eurovision Vote Theft Claims Roil Russia, Azerbaijan

Forget U.S. missile defense or Syria. What's really got Russia's foreign minister outraged is an alleged voting scandal at this year's Eurovision Song Contest. More

Blog Archive

Features & Commentary

Interview: EU's Enlargement Chief Finds Many Ways To Say ‘More Work Needed’

Stefan Fuele, the European Union commissioner for enlargement and neighborhood policy, has called on the EU-hopeful countries of the Eastern Partnership and the Western Balkans to do more to prove their commitment to democratic values. Correspondent Daisy Sindelar spoke to Fuele during his visit to RFE/RL headquarters in Prague on May 9.

Russian TV Host 'Sorry' For Ukrainian Massacre Joke

A popular Russian TV host has publicly apologized for joking about the Soviet-era massacre of Ukrainians during a cooking show. Ivan Urgant sparked furor in Ukraine by likening the chopping of vegetables to the slaughter of Ukrainian villagers by the Soviet security services.

"A huge problem with alcohol," is how the report

Low Life Expectancy Continues To Plague Former Soviet Countries

The dramatic drop in life expectancy in Russia and much of the former Soviet Union has yet to be reversed, according to a recent study.

Ukrainian-born jazz pianist Misha Alperin (photo: Pietro Bandini)

Interview: 'Creativity Is About The Unknown,' Says Jazz Pianist Misha Alperin

Misha Alperin is a jazz pianist and composer who was born in Kamenez Podolsky, Ukraine, in 1956. He lived and studied in Moldova and Russia. Since 1993 he has been an associate professor at the Norwegian Academy of Music. RFE/RL correspondent Lucian Stefanescu met with Alperin to discuss diversity, the avant-garde, poetry, and, of course, jazz from Soviet times to the present day.

Ukrainian immigrant Yelena Goltsman (right) with her partner Barbara in New York.

Coming To America: Ukrainian Mother Finds A New Beginning

It was 22 years ago that Yelena Goltsman and her family made the difficult decision to leave Soviet Ukraine and build a new life in the United States. Setting off with only $450 to their name, they lived hand-to-mouth for years. But the journey eventually ended in prosperity and, for Yelena, personal liberation.

Philippe Sands, professor of law and director of the Center of International Courts and Tribunals at University College London (file photo)

Interview: Does The Legal Concept Of Genocide Exacerbate Ethnic Conflicts?

What are the differences between the legal terms “crimes against humanity” and “genocide”? And are both equally useful in punishing mass crimes and facilitating closure. RFE/RL spoke with British lawyer Philippe Sands about his forthcoming book, which explores this issue. Sands is a professor of international law at University College London who frequently works on cases before international tribunals.

Timothy Garton Ash on Belarus, Moldova, Armenia, and Georgia: "These are countries that the more free they become, the more they will want to belong to the European Union."

Interview: British Historian Timothy Garton Ash On Europe's Future

British writer and historian Timothy Garton Ash was in Brussels on March 16 to take part in the German Marshall Fund's annual forum. He spoke to RFE/RL about the future of Europe.

U.S. software giant Microsoft has estimated that 70 percent of the software used in Ukraine

Ukraine's Trade Privileges On Line Over Intellectual-Piracy Concerns

Washington is due to decide next month whether to continue Ukraine's trade privileges, worth an estimated $50 million annually. The decision comes as a U.S. trade association is calling for the suspension of those privileges because Kyiv is doing too little to protect intellectual property.

Roya Rafiyeva with her son, Shakir, and the family cockatiel

'It's Really Hard': Working Mothers Talk, From Tajikistan To Czech Republic

The question of how women balance work and child care is a topic of intense debate worldwide. In honor of International Women's Day on March 8, we look at the lives of working mothers in Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Montenegro, Iraq, Ukraine, Tatarstan, and the Czech Republic.

The quality and independence of Ukraine's media as a whole is still limited, and RFE/RL's Radio Svoboda is the country's most popular and trusted international broadcaster. Radio Svoboda celebrated its 55th anniversary in 2009.