Fifty years ago hardly anybody was concerned about environmental problems. Industrial and economic development, progress and profit were more important. Now, more and more people are aware of environmental problems such as the pollution of the air, the exhaust fumes and factory chimneys, global warming, the pollution of the ocean and many others. Environmental protection has become a global concern.
Pollution is the contamination of the environment, including air, water and land with undesirable amounts of material or energy. Air pollution is especially severe in many of the heavily industrialized cities and towns of southeastern Ukraine, notably in Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk. Coal-using industries such as metallurgical coke-chemical plants, still mills and thermal power plants are major sources of high levels of uncontrolled emissions of sulfur dioxide, dust.
Almost all surface waters of Ukraine belong to the Black Sea and Sea of Azov basins. The high population density, heavy industrial development and relatively low freshwater endowment of those basins and the low governmental priority placed upon environmental protection until very recently have given rise to chronic and serious levels of water pollution throughout Ukraine.
Greenhouse effect is the phenomenon of the Earth’s atmosphere by which solar radiation trapped by the Earth and re-emitted from the surface is prevented from escaping by various gases in the air. The result is a rise in the Earth’s temperature. The main greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide, methane, and chlorofluorocarbons. The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is estimated to have risen by 25% since industrial revolution. Chlorofluorocarbon levels are rising by 5% a year.
Acid rain is an acidic precipitation thought to be caused principally by the release into the atmosphere of sulfur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen. Acid deposition occurs not only as wet precipitation. It also comes out of the atmosphere as dry particles is absorbed directly by lakes plants and masonry as gases. Acidic gases can travel over 500 km a day. Acid rain is linked with damage to and health of forests and lake organisms. It also results in damage to buildings and statues.
The main affect of acid rains is to damage the chemical balance of soil. Plants living in such soil suffer from mineral loss. Lakes and rivers suffer more direct damage as well because they become acidified by rainfall draining directly from their catchment. 22
We must take care of our nature. That’s why we must not drop litter in street, we must improve traffic transport, use bicycles, create more parks. Also we should clean the air, we should protect animals, we must change people’s attitude towards the environment.
We have a lot of what to do yet… Let’s do it together!
HISTORY
The first identifiable groups to populate what is now Ukraine were Cimmerians, Scythians, Sarmatians, and Goths, among other nomadic peoples who arrived throughout the first millennium B.C. These peoples were well known to colonists and traders in the ancient world, including Greeks and Romans, who established trading outposts that eventually became city-states. Slavic tribes occupied central and eastern Ukraine in the sixth century A.D. and played an important role in the establishment of Kyiv. Kievan Rus Prince Volodymyr converted the Kievan nobility and most of the population to Christianity in 988. Situated on lucrative trade routes, Kyiv quickly prospered as the center of the powerful state of Kievan Rus. In the 11th century, Kievan Rus was, geographically, the largest state in Europe. Conflict among the feudal lords led to decline in the 12th century. Mongol raiders razed Kyiv in the 13th century.
Most of the territory of what is modern Ukraine was annexed by Poland and Lithuania in the 14th century, but during that time, Ukrainians began to conceive of themselves as a distinct people, a feeling that survived subsequent partitioning by greater powers over the next centuries. Ukrainian peasants who fled the Polish effort to force them into servitude came to be known as Cossacks and earned a reputation for their fierce martial spirit and love of freedom. In 1667, Ukraine was partitioned between Poland and Russia. In 1793, when Poland was partitioned, much of modern-day Ukraine was integrated into the Russian Empire.
The 19th century found the region largely agricultural, with a few cities and centers of trade and learning. The region was under the control of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the extreme west and the Russian Empire elsewhere. Ukrainian writers and intellectuals were inspired by the nationalistic spirit stirring other European peoples existing under other imperial governments and were determined to revive Ukrainian linguistic and cultural traditions and reestablish a Ukrainian state. Taras Shevchenko (1814-1861), national hero of Ukraine, presented the intellectual maturity of the Ukrainian language and culture through his work as a poet and artist. Imperial Russia, however, imposed strict limits on attempts to elevate Ukrainian culture, even banning the use and study of the Ukrainian language.
When World War I and the Russian revolution shattered the Habsburg and Russian empires, Ukrainians declared independent statehood. In 1917 the Central Rada proclaimed Ukrainian autonomy and in 1918, following the Bolshevik seizure of power in Petrograd, the Ukrainian National Republic declared independence under President Mykhaylo Hrushevsky. After three years of conflict and civil war, however, the western part of Ukrainian territory was incorporated into Poland, while the larger, central and eastern regions were incorporated into the Soviet Union in 1922 as the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.
The Ukrainian national idea persevered during the twenties, but with Stalin’s rise to power and the campaign of forced collectivization, the Soviet leadership imposed a campaign of terror that ravaged the intellectual class. The Soviet government under Stalin also created an artificial famine (called Holodomor in Ukrainian) as part of his forced collectivization policies, which killed millions of previously independent peasants and others throughout the country. Estimates of deaths from the 1932-33 Holodomor alone range from 3 million to 7 million.
When the Nazis invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, some Ukrainians, particularly in the west, welcomed what they saw as liberation from Communist rule, but this did not last as they quickly came to understand the nature of Nazi rule. Nazi brutality was directed principally against Ukraine’s Jews (of whom an estimated 1 million were killed), but also against many other Ukrainians. Babyn Yar in Kyiv was the site of one of the most horrific Nazi massacres of Ukrainian Jews, ethnic Ukrainians, and many others. Kyiv and other parts of the country were heavily damaged.
After the Nazi and Soviet invasions of Poland in 1939, the western Ukrainian regions were incorporated into the Soviet Union. Armed resistance against Soviet authority continued as late as the 1950s. During periods of relative liberalization–as under Nikita Khrushchev from 1955 to 1964 and during the period of “perestroika” under Mikhail Gorbachev–Ukrainian communists pursued nationalist objectives. The 1986 explosion at the Chornobyl (Chernobyl in Russian) nuclear power plant, located in the Ukrainian SSR, and the Soviet Government’s initial efforts to conceal the extent of the catastrophe from its own people and the world, was a watershed for many Ukrainians in exposing the severe problems of the Soviet system. Ukraine became an independent state on August 24, 1991, and was a co-founder of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, although it has not officially joined the organization.
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS
Ukraine has a parliamentary-presidential system of government with separate executive, judicial, and legislative branches. The president nominates the defense and foreign ministers, and the Prosecutor General and Chief of the State Security Service (SBU), each of whom must be confirmed by the parliament. Beginning in 2006, a majority of deputies in the 450-member unicameral parliament (Supreme Rada) forms a coalition, which then names the prime minister, who in turn nominates other ministers. The Supreme Rada initiates legislation, ratifies international agreements, and approves the budget. Its members are elected to five-year terms. Following free elections held on December 1, 1991, Leonid M. Kravchuk, former chairman of the Ukrainian Rada, was elected to a five-year term, and became Ukraine’s first president. At the same time, a referendum on independence was approved by more than 90% of the voters.
Shortly after becoming independent, Ukraine named a parliamentary commission to prepare a new constitution, adopted a multi-party system, and adopted legislative guarantees of civil and political rights for national minorities. A new, democratic constitution was adopted on June 28, 1996, which mandates a pluralistic political system with protection of basic human rights and liberties. Amendments that took effect January 1, 2006, shifted significant powers from the president to the prime minister and Supreme Rada.
Freedom of religion is guaranteed by law, although religious organizations are required to register with local authorities and with the central government. There is no formal state religion. Minority rights are respected in accordance with a 1991 law guaranteeing ethnic minorities the right to schools and cultural facilities and the use of national languages in conducting personal business. According to the constitution, Ukrainian is the only official state language. In Crimea and some parts of eastern Ukraine–areas with substantial ethnic Russian minorities–local and regional governments permit Russian as a language for local official correspondence.
Freedom of speech and press are guaranteed by law and the constitution, and authorities generally respect these rights. Prior to the “Orange Revolution,” however, authorities sometimes interfered with the news media through intimidation and other forms of pressure. In particular, the failure of the government to conduct a thorough, credible, and transparent investigation into the 2000 disappearance and murder of independent journalist Heorhiy Gongadze, in which then-government officials have been credibly implicated, negatively affected Ukraine’s international image. Three police officers were convicted and received prison sentences in March 2008; a fourth suspect, a senior police official, remains a fugitive. Freedom of the media and respect for citizens’ rights have increased markedly since the government of President Yushchenko took office in January 2005.
The Crimean peninsula is home to a number of pro-Russian political organizations that advocate secession of Crimea from Ukraine and annexation to Russia. Crimea was ceded by the RFSSR to the Ukrainian SSR in 1954, in recognition of historic links and for economic convenience, to mark the 300th anniversary of Ukraine’s union with Russia. In July 1992, the Crimean and Ukrainian parliaments determined that Crimea would remain under Ukrainian jurisdiction while retaining significant political, economic, and cultural autonomy.
The campaign leading to the October 31, 2004 presidential election was characterized by widespread violations of democratic norms, including government intimidation of the opposition and of independent media, abuse of state administrative resources, highly skewed media coverage, and numerous provocations. The two major candidates–Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych and opposition leader (and former Prime Minister) Viktor Yushchenko–each garnered between 39% and 40% of the vote and proceeded to a winner-take-all second round. The November 21 runoff election was marred by credible reports of widespread and significant violations, including illegal expulsion of opposition representatives from election commissions, multiple voting by busloads of people, abuse of absentee ballots, reports of coercion of votes in schools and prisons, and an abnormally high number of (easily manipulated) mobile ballot box votes. Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of Kyiv and other cities to protest electoral fraud and express support for Yushchenko, and conducted ongoing peaceful demonstrations during what came to be known as the “Orange Revolution.”
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) International Election Observation Mission found that the November 21 run-off election “did not meet a considerable number of OSCE commitments and Council of Europe and other European standards for democratic elections.” Other independent observers were similarly critical. On November 24, the Central Election Commission (CEC) declared Yanukovych the winner with 49.46% compared to 46.61% for Yushchenko. The U.S. and Europe refused to accept the result as legitimate due to the numerous, uninvestigated reports of fraud. On November 27, Ukraine’s Supreme Rada passed a resolution declaring that the election results as announced did not represent the will of the people. On December 1, the Rada passed a vote of “no confidence” in the government. On December 3, Ukraine’s Supreme Court invalidated the CEC’s announced results and mandated a repeat of the second round vote to take place on December 26. An agreement mediated by European leaders resulted in new legislation being passed by the Rada and signed by the President December 8. The electoral law was reformed to close loopholes that had permitted pervasive electoral fraud. The constitution was amended to transfer power, especially with respect to appointment of ministers, from the president to the prime minister.
The December 26 re-vote took place in an atmosphere of calm. While irregularities were noted, observers found no systemic or massive fraud. The OSCE Mission noted that “Ukraine’s elections have moved substantially closer to meeting OSCE and other European standards.” On January 10, 2005, after the CEC and the Supreme Court had considered and rejected numerous complaints and appeals filed by the Yanukovych campaign, the CEC certified the results: Yushchenko had won 51.99% of the votes, with 44.20% for Yanukovych. President Yushchenko was inaugurated January 23, 2005.
Ukraine held parliamentary and local elections on March 26, 2006. International observers noted that conduct of the Rada election was in line with international standards for democratic elections, making this the most free and fair in Ukraine’s history. Unlike the first rounds of the 2004 presidential election, candidates and parties were able to express themselves freely in a lively press and assembled without hindrance. There was no systemic abuse of administrative resources as there had been under the previous regime. The Party of Regions and the bloc of former Prime Minster Tymoshenko (BYuT), whose government the President dismissed in September 2005, finished ahead of the pro-presidential Our Ukraine bloc. Other parties passing the 3% threshold to enter parliament were the Socialist Party of Ukraine and the Communist Party of Ukraine. No party held the majority of Rada seats needed to form a government. Following four months of difficult negotiations, the Anti-Crisis Coalition was formed by Party of Regions, the Socialists, and the Communists. The new coalition formed a government, confirmed August 4, 2006, led by Prime Minister Yanukovych. This, the first government formed after the extensive constitutional amendments brokered as part of the Orange Revolution, saw the Prime Minister’s influence and power growing, often at the expense of the President.
President Yushchenko dissolved the Rada on April 3, 2007 and called for preterm elections. Months of political stalemate followed, with the Anti-Crisis Coalition continuing to hold Rada sessions, even after opposition parties Our Ukraine and BYuT resigned their seats and deprived the parliament of a constitutional quorum. On May 27, President Yushchenko, Prime Minister Yanukovych, and Rada Speaker Olexandr Moroz reached a political agreement on new elections that were held on September 30, 2007. International observers judged this vote to be in line with international democratic standards in an open and competitive environment. Party of Regions finished in first place with 34.3%, and ByuT came in second with 30.7%. BYuT and Our Ukraine, which came in a distant third (14.1%), garnered enough votes to form a thin three-seat majority. The Communist Party and Bloc Lytvyn, headed by Rada Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn, also crossed the 3% threshold.
The new coalition formed on December 18, 2007 nominated Yuliya Tymoshenko as Prime Minister; she was confirmed December 18, 2007. The cabinet was split 50-50 between representatives from BYuT and Our Ukraine (which is now called Our Ukraine-People’s Self Defense. For most of February 2008, there was a deadlock within the Rada due to objections by opposition leader Viktor Yanukovych and his Party of Regions to Ukraine’s request for a NATO Membership Action Plan (MAP). The Rada experienced a deadlock again during summer 2008 due to the defection of two BYuT members of parliament (MPs), resulting in the party’s loss of the majority. In July, Yuliya Tymoshenko’s government survived a vote of no confidence. In September 2008, the coalition between Tymoshenko and Yushchenko’s parties collapsed. A new coalition was formed between the former Orange allies, along with the Lytvyn Bloc, at the beginning of December; however, this new coalition has not resolved disagreements between the President and Prime Minister. The Rada voted to have presidential elections on October 25, 2009, but the Constitutional Court ruled this date unconstitutional.
After independence, Ukraine established its own military forces of about 780,000 from the troops and equipment inherited from the Soviet Union. Security forces are controlled by the president, although they are subject to investigation by a permanent parliamentary commission. Surveillance is permitted for reasons of national security. Under defense reform legislation passed in 2004, Ukraine is strengthening civilian control of the military, professionalizing its non-commissioned officer (NCO) corps, modernizing force structure to improve interoperability with NATO, and reducing troop numbers, all with an eye toward achieving NATO standards. Current force levels are approximately 150,000 (plus 50,000 civilian workers in the Ministry of Defense). Ukraine’s stated national policy is Euro-Atlantic integration, including with both NATO and the European Union (EU). NATO offered Ukraine an “Intensified Dialogue on Membership Issues” in April 2005. Ukraine had previously signed an agreement with NATO on using Ukraine’s strategic airlift capabilities and has been an active participant in Partnership for Peace exercises, in Balkans peacekeeping, and Coalition operations in Iraq. Ukrainian units have been serving in the U.S. sector in Kosovo, and served in the Polish-led division in Iraq and in Afghanistan. Currently, Ukraine participates in six United Nations peacekeeping missions and has up to 50 troops serving in supporting roles in Iraq. In January 2008 Ukraine formally requested a NATO Membership Action Plan, noting that a final decision on membership would be determined by a national referendum. In April 2008, NATO allies stated that Ukraine would eventually become a member of the alliance and that its request for MAP would be considered at some point in the future.
ECONOMY
With rich farmlands, a well-developed industrial base, highly trained labor, and a good education system, Ukraine has the potential to become a major European economy. After a robust expansion beginning in 2000, Ukraine’s economy experienced a sharp slowdown in late 2008, continuing into 2009. Real GDP growth dropped from 7.7% in 2007 to 2.1% in 2008, and the economy is expected to contract significantly in 2009.
Ukraine’s economy remains burdened by excessive government regulation, corruption, and lack of law enforcement, and while the government has taken steps against corruption and small and medium enterprises have been largely privatized, much remains to be done to restructure and privatize key sectors such as energy and telecommunications and to allow the free sale of farmland.
Ukraine encourages foreign trade and investment. Foreigners have the right to purchase businesses and property, to repatriate revenue and profits, and to receive compensation in the event that property were to be nationalized by a future government. However, complex laws and regulations, poor corporate governance, weak enforcement of contract law by courts and particularly corruption have discouraged broad foreign direct investment in Ukraine. While there is a functioning stock market, the lack of protection for minority shareholder rights severely restricts portfolio investment from abroad. In 2008 the parliament adopted a new Joint Stock Company Law that, if implemented properly, should greatly strengthen corporate governance in Ukraine.
Ukraine abounds in natural resources and industrial production capacity. Although proven onshore and offshore oil and natural gas reserves are small, there is now petroleum exploration interest in the Ukrainian portion of the Black Sea. The country has important energy sources, such as coal, and large mineral deposits, and is one of the world’s leading energy transit countries, providing transportation of Russian and Caspian oil and gas across its territory. Ukraine imports almost 80% of its oil and 77% of its natural gas. Russia ranks as Ukraine’s principal supplier of oil and Russian firms now own and/or operate the majority of Ukraine’s refining capacity. Natural gas imports currently come from Russia, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan, which deliver the gas to Ukraine’s border through a pipeline system owned and controlled by Gazprom, Russia’s state-owned gas monopoly. Ukraine owns and operates the gas pipelines on its territory that are also used to transit Russian gas to Western Europe. Ukraine’s constitution forbids the sale of the gas pipeline network. The complex relationship between supplier, transporter, and consumer has led to intermittent bilateral tensions, including Russia’s decision to significantly reduce gas supplies in March 2008, and almost completely cut them off for approximately three weeks in January 2009.
While countries of the former Soviet Union remain important trading partners, especially Russia and Turkmenistan for energy imports, Ukraine’s trade is becoming more diversified. The EU accounts for about 30% of Ukraine’s trade, while CIS countries account for about 40%. Steel constitutes nearly 40% of exports. Ukraine has a major ferrous metal industry, producing cast iron, steel, and steel pipe, and its chemical industry produces coke, mineral fertilizers, and sulfuric acid. World demand for steel and chemicals, which make up about 40% of Ukraine’s exports, dropped sharply in the second half of 2008. Manufactured goods include airplanes, turbines, metallurgical equipment, diesel locomotives, and tractors. Ukraine is also a major producer of grain, sunflower seeds, and beet sugar and has a broad industrial base, including much of the former U.S.S.R.’s space and rocket industry.
In response to the sharp economic downturn in the country in late 2008, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a $16.4 billion Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) in November 2008, conditioned on reforms in the banking sector, as well as adjustments in fiscal and monetary policy. The World Bank has committed more than $5 billion to Ukraine since the country joined the Bank in 1992. Several projects are currently in the works, including a $750 million development policy loan, depending on continued commitment to the IMF program.
Ukraine is a member of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in May 2008. In 2008 Ukraine and the European Union launched negotiations on a free trade agreement. During the 12th EU-Ukraine Summit, held in Paris in September 2008, the EU presented Ukraine with an enhanced association agreement, including chapters on both political and trade relations. Some chapters, including trade, remain under negotiation.
Environmental Issues
Ukraine is interested in cooperating on regional environmental issues. Conservation of natural resources is a stated high priority, although implementation suffers from a lack of financial resources. Ukraine established its first nature preserve, Askania-Nova, in 1921 and has a program to breed endangered species.
Ukraine has significant environmental problems, especially those resulting from the Chornobyl nuclear power plant disaster in 1986 and from industrial pollution. In accordance with its agreement with the G7 and European Commission in 1995, Ukraine permanently closed the last operating reactor at the Chornobyl site on December 15, 2000. All urgent and required stabilization measures of the “sarcophagus”–the concrete shelter hastily built around the damaged reactor by the Soviet Union in the months following the disaster–including radiation and worker safety are complete. The contract for construction of a new shelter to be built around the sarcophagus was awarded in September 2007. Current activities are focused on starting construction for the new shelter in 2009 with the ultimate goal of its commissioning in 2012. The successful commissioning of the new shelter will provide a long-term, environmentally sound solution for the destroyed reactor. It should be noted that none of the 15 operating reactors in Ukraine, which generate about half of the country’s electricity, are of the Chornobyl design. The United States Government has provided significant assistance to enhance operational and nuclear safety of these reactors. Ukraine also has established a Ministry of Environment and has introduced a pollution fee system, which levies taxes on air and water emissions and solid waste disposal. The resulting revenues are channeled to environmental protection activities, but enforcement of this pollution fee system is lax. Ukraine ratified the Kyoto Protocol in April 2004.
Construction of a shipping canal through a UN-protected core biosphere reserve in the Danube Delta, which began in May 2004, is an environmental issue of international interest.
FOREIGN RELATIONS
The government has declared Euro-Atlantic integration to be its primary foreign policy objective and has sought to maintain good relations with Russia. Ukraine’s relations with the EU have been guided by the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) since 1998. In September 2008, the EU-Ukraine Summit decided to upgrade the framework of EU-Ukraine relations to an association agreement, negotiations on which are envisaged to be concluded by the end of 2009. In March 2009, the European Council endorsed the Eastern Partnership (EaP) initiative to help the EU’s Eastern neighbors (Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia) undertake political and economic reforms and to bring them closer to the EU. The EaP was launched in May 2009.
On January 31, 1992, Ukraine joined the then-Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (now the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe–OSCE), and on March 10, 1992, it became a member of the North Atlantic Cooperation Council. Ukraine signed a Charter Agreement with NATO in 1997, sent troops to Kosovo in close cooperation with NATO countries, signed an agreement for NATO use of Ukrainian strategic airlift assets, and has declared interest in eventual membership. It is the most active member of the Partnership for Peace (PfP). In April 2005, NATO offered an “Intensified Dialogue on Membership Issues” to Ukraine, and in January 2008 Ukraine requested a NATO Membership Action Plan. At the April 2008 summit in Bucharest, NATO allies decided to review Ukraine’s MAP request at a future date and affirmed that it would eventually become a member of the alliance. Russia continues to oppose Ukraine’s request to join NATO.
Ukraine’s relations with Russia have recently focused on several bilateral issues stemming from differing foreign policy priorities in the region, including energy dependence, natural gas payment arrears, disagreement over compliance with the 1997 agreement on the stationing of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol, and a dispute over bilateral boundaries in the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait. In January 2009 Gazprom, the Russian natural gas distributor, cut supplies to Ukraine. The cutoff developed into a crisis as both the gas supplies intended for consumption in Ukraine and those in transit to the rest of Europe were cut off for nearly a month. Ukraine was able to meet most of its domestic demand with reserves, but consumers in other European countries were left without gas for nearly three weeks. An agreement was signed with Russia on January 19, 2009, which called for market pricing for gas and transit and the elimination of intermediaries.
Ukraine maintains peaceful and constructive relations with all its neighbors, though there are some unresolved maritime issues along the Danube and in the Black Sea with Romania; it has especially close ties with Poland and Russia. Ukraine co-founded the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) on December 8, 1991, but in January 1993 it refused to endorse a draft charter strengthening political, economic, and defense ties among CIS members. Ukraine was a founding member of GUAM (Georgia-Ukraine-Azerbaijan-Moldova) and has taken the lead with Georgia to promote cooperation among emerging democracies in the Community for Democratic Choice, which held its first summit meeting December 1-2, 2005 in Kyiv. In February 2009, the office of the Organization for Democracy and Economic Development GUAM was opened in Kyiv. In 1999-2001, Ukraine served as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council. Soviet Ukraine joined the United Nations in 1945 as one of the original members following a Western compromise with the Soviet Union, which had asked for seats for all 15 of its union republics. Ukraine has consistently supported peaceful, negotiated settlements to disputes. It has participated in the five-sided (now “5+2″) talks on the conflict in Moldova, and under President Yushchenko it has actively boosted efforts to seek a resolution. Ukraine has also promoted a peaceful resolution to conflict in Georgia, with President Yushchenko vocally supporting Georgian territorial integrity during Georgia’s conflict with Russia in August 2008. Ukraine has also advocated a return to democracy in neighboring Belarus. Ukraine has made a substantial contribution to UN peacekeeping operations since 1992.
U.S.-UKRAINIAN RELATIONS
The dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991 brought an end to the Cold War and created an opportunity to build bilateral relations with the New Independent States (NIS) as they began a political and economic transformation. On December 25, 1991, the United States officially recognized the independence of Ukraine. It upgraded its consulate in the capital, Kyiv, to embassy status on January 21, 1992. The U.S. ambassador to Ukraine is William B. Taylor, the sixth U.S. ambassador since Ukrainian independence.
The United States attaches great importance to the success of Ukraine’s transition to a democratic state with a flourishing market economy. Following a period of economic decline characterized by high inflation and a continued reliance on state controls, the Ukrainian Government began taking steps in the fall of 1999 to reinvigorate economic reform. Ukraine’s democratic “Orange Revolution” has led to closer cooperation and more open dialogue between Ukraine and the United States. The United States granted Ukraine market economy status in February 2006. In March 2006, the United States terminated the application of the Jackson-Vanik amendment to the Trade Act of 1974 to Ukraine, providing Ukraine permanent normal trade relations status. The United States and Ukraine signed a new Trade and Investment Cooperation Agreement (TICA) on April 1, 2008. The TICA establishes a forum for discussion of bilateral trade and investment relations and will help deepen those relations. U.S. policy remains centered on realizing and strengthening a democratic, prosperous, and secure Ukraine more closely integrated into Europe and Euro-Atlantic structures. In December 2008, The United States signed the U.S.-Ukraine Charter on Strategic Partnership. The Charter highlights the importance of the bilateral relationship and outlines enhanced cooperation in the areas of defense, security, economics and trade, energy security, democracy, and cultural exchanges. The Charter also emphasizes the continued commitment of the United States to support enhanced engagement between NATO and Ukraine.
U.S. Assistance to Ukraine
A cornerstone for the continuing U.S. partnership with Ukraine and the other countries of the former Soviet Union has been the Freedom for Russia and Emerging Eurasian Democracies and Open Markets (FREEDOM) Support Act (FSA), enacted in October 1992. Ukraine has been a primary recipient of FSA assistance. Total U.S. assistance since independence has been more than $3.8 billion. U.S. assistance to Ukraine is targeted to promote political, security, and economic reform and to address urgent social and humanitarian needs. The U.S. has consistently encouraged Ukraine’s transition to a democratic society with a prosperous market-based economy. For more detailed information on these programs, please see the “Annual Report to Congress on U.S. Government Assistance to and Cooperative Activities with Eurasia,” which is available on the State Department’s website at the following address: http://www.state.gov/p/eur/ace/. Information is also available on USAID’s website at the address: http://www.usaid.gov.
In December 2006 Ukraine signed a $45 million Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Threshold Program agreement. This program, which began implementation in early 2007, aims to reduce corruption in the public sector through civil society monitoring and advocacy, judicial reform, increased government monitoring and enforcement of ethical and administrative standards, streamlining and enforcing regulations, and combating corruption in higher education. The Threshold Program is scheduled to end in 2009. Information is also available on the MCC website at the following address: http://www.mcc.gov/.
TRAVEL AND BUSINESS INFORMATION
The U.S. Department of State’s Consular Information Program advises Americans traveling and residing abroad through Country Specific Information, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings. Country Specific Information exists for all countries and includes information on entry and exit requirements, currency regulations, health conditions, safety and security, crime, political disturbances, and the addresses of the U.S. embassies and consulates abroad. Travel Alerts are issued to disseminate information quickly about terrorist threats and other relatively short-term conditions overseas that pose significant risks to the security of American travelers. Travel Warnings are issued when the State Department recommends that Americans avoid travel to a certain country because the situation is dangerous or unstable.
For the latest security information, Americans living and traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs Internet web site at http://www.travel.state.gov, where the current Worldwide Caution, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings can be found. Consular Affairs Publications, which contain information on obtaining passports and planning a safe trip abroad, are also available at http://www.travel.state.gov. For additional information on international travel, see http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/Travel/International.shtml.
The Department of State encourages all U.S. citizens traveling or residing abroad to register via the State Department’s travel registration website or at the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate abroad. Registration will make your presence and whereabouts known in case it is necessary to contact you in an emergency and will enable you to receive up-to-date information on security conditions.
Emergency information concerning Americans traveling abroad may be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the U.S. and Canada or the regular toll line 1-202-501-4444 for callers outside the U.S. and Canada.
The National Passport Information Center (NPIC) is the U.S. Department of State’s single, centralized public contact center for U.S. passport information. Telephone: 1-877-4-USA-PPT (1-877-487-2778); TDD/TTY: 1-888-874-7793. Passport information is available 24 hours, 7 days a week. You may speak with a representative Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Eastern Time, excluding federal holidays.
Travelers can check the latest health information with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. A hotline at 800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636) and a web site at http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/default.aspx give the most recent health advisories, immunization recommendations or requirements, and advice on food and drinking water safety for regions and countries. The CDC publication “Health Information for International Travel” can be found at http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/contentYellowBook.aspx.
Further Electronic Information
Department of State Web Site. Available on the Internet at http://www.state.gov, the Department of State web site provides timely, global access to official U.S. foreign policy information, including Background Notes and daily press briefings along with the directory of key officers of Foreign Service posts and more. The Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) provides security information and regional news that impact U.S. companies working abroad through its website http://www.osac.gov
Export.gov provides a portal to all export-related assistance and market information offered by the federal government and provides trade leads, free export counseling, help with the export process, and more.
STAT-USA/Internet, a service of the U.S. Department of Commerce, provides authoritative economic, business, and international trade information from the Federal government. The site includes current and historical trade-related releases, international market research, trade opportunities, and country analysis and provides access to the National Trade Data Bank.
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3211.htm
statehood, be a sovereign among other free nations
ANPED Board of Directors
The friction and heat generated by cars on the road adds up to a lot of wasted energy. Scientists have toyed with the idea of special absorbent cells that could harness all that alternative energy for reuse. The only problem is a lack of feasibility: retrofitting roads with special cells is unlikely when our crumbling infrastructure is already in such a state of disrepair. And the wear-and-tear dilemma has yet to be resolved.
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
–––––––––––––––
Why I oppose the Kharkov Covenant:
1. The President, who had a 5 year mandate and support of just over 30% of the voters of the country had no right to unilaterally decide to lease from 2017 to 2042 years. This is a clear usurpation of power. Viktor Yanukovych kicked in Russia discount on gas for 10 years, but in 1932 deprived his country of its sovereignty and foreign policy of freedom
2. Cheating scheme combining two incompatible treaties. If Yanukovych had so wanted to take the money for the rent for 25 years ahead, it was necessary to conclude a separate agreement and transfer the money in the budget, and have the budget to subsidize the price of gas under specific certain obligations of gas consumers.
3. Ratification adopted in violation of parliamentary procedures and rules of democracy.
4. Kharkov Ukraine pact involves a long term within the scope of military influence of Russia, which casts some security risks and increases the tension in this delicate region of the Crimea.
5. Kharkov pact put Ukraine on the gas needle. Instead of moving industries operating in the domestic market, we continue to increase its reliance on export industries, which increases the risks to our economy, and that was the main cause of the collapse of GDP in 2008-09. Therefore, it does not meet the strategic interests of the Ukrainian economy.
6. Kharkov pact is the first step in putting the national interests and threatens the establishment of full control by Russia on the Ukrainian economy.