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DW: As of June 11, Ukrainians can travel into the EU without a visa. But could the EU reverse that decision using the "suspension mechanism" if, for example, Ukraine stopped implementing reforms and also halted the fight against corruption?

Hugues Mingarelli: The suspension mechanism is mainly related to security issues. But it's clear that Ukraine will have to fulfill all the conditions which have been spelled out in the visa-liberalization action plan.

This will not be an easy task because in some areas - like the fight against corruption, the rule of law -we know that there are a number of people in Ukraine who do their best to backtrack on what has been achieved.

Therefore, it will be necessary for the Ukrainian authorities to be extremely vigilant. On our side, with the assistance of the vibrant civil society, we will try to make sure that Ukrainian authorities stick to their commitments.

The European Parliament ratified the Association Agreement in 2014 with unanimous support. However, the implementation of its various sections has been slow

Ukraine wants to exclude citizens in the occupied territories and in annexed Crimea from visa-free travel. Is that in accordance with how the EU reads the arrangement?

For the EU the situation is absolutely clear: all Ukrainian citizens holding a bio-metric passport can benefit from visa-free travel, including citizens residing in Crimea and in Luhansk and Donetsk, which are not under the control of the government.

Let's take a look at the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement. Many observers call it a "historical"document. Can you sum up why it's so important?

It is one of the most advanced agreements that the EU has ever developed with a neighboring partner country.

In addition to political dialogue, which is enshrined in this agreement, you have a deep and comprehensive trade agreement which should allow Ukraine to adopt all our laws, norms and standards.

"No nation has ever paid such a high price to become Europeans," Ukraine President Poroshenko said at the time

That means, after a few years Ukraine will progressively move into our single market -which will be extremely important for Ukraine because the ultimate objective of the country should be to improve the living conditions of itsinhabitants.

Could the agreement prepare the political ground for Ukraine eventually joining the EU?

This issue is not on our agenda, frankly. And I don't see that it would render any service to anybody to raise this question. Today our challenge as the European Union is to assist the reform process, to modernize the country, to establish the rule of law, to get an efficient state apparatus through reform of the administration and the decentralization process

but this might disappoint many people in Ukraine

We have to do anything possible to help Ukraine organize its political life according to EU standards to get our norms in all sectors economic and social life. This will take several years of very hard and serious work, and we should focus on that. All other issues shouldn't even be raised because it will just create illusions on the Ukrainian side and difficulties on the EU side.

Fighting in eastern Ukraine has left the country in a political and economic limbo

Critics of the agreement claim that it alienates Russia from Ukraine and Ukraine from Russia -with severe consequences for politics and for the economy. What's yourreply to that allegation?

The EU objective has always been to develop the best possible relations with the Russian Federation and to ensure that Ukraine keeps strong political and economic relations with Russiafor obvious historic, geographical and economic reasons.

It would not make any sense to try to create a distance between Ukraine and Russia.

At the same time, we have to respect the sovereignty of Ukraineand the choice of the Ukrainian people to get closer to the EU. But Ukraine can move closer to the EU perfectly well and keep extremely strong relations with Russia -provided that the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine is respected. And thatis the red line!

Hugues Mingarelli became the EU's ambassador to Ukraine in August 2016. Among the many posts he has held in theEuropean Commission, he served as its director for eastern Europe from 2002 to 2007.

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Difficult journey awaits Ukraine despite visa-free travel to EU - Deutsche Welle

WARSAW, PolandThe Ukrainian parliament has voted to restore NATO membership as the countrys strategic foreign policy objective.

The Verkhovna Rada passed a bill to amend the Ukrainian laws on national security and internal and foreign policies. The new laws hereby enact Ukraines commitment to achieve NATO membership strategically by having made it legally binding, the parliament said in a statement on June 8.

Passed by a majority of 276 MPs out of the 450 elected lawmakers, the bill represents a shift from Ukraines previous non-aligned policy. The move is expected to stimulate increased military cooperation between Ukraine and NATO allies. It is also likely to foster procurements of Western-made weapons and military equipment to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and spur partnerships between Ukraines defense industry and foreign players.

"What we heard today is a unanimous support for Ukraine in such a difficult time. We highly evaluate our cooperation with NATO in all spheres. We are very grateful for the support," Groysman said February 9.

Meanwhile, Kievs strengthened commitment to joining NATO is also expected to further strain its relations with Moscow. Last March marked the third anniversary of Russias annexation of Ukraines Crimean peninsula that followed a military intervention.

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Ukraine parliament restores NATO membership as strategic target - DefenseNews.com

A combat training center that U.S. troops helped establish in Ukraine plans to host brigade-sized rotations beginning in 2018, officials said.

Building up the NATO-run, interoperable combat training center is part of an overall effort to boost Ukrainian forces in the face of Russian aggression.

The U.S. Army has steadily ratcheted up its activities across Europe in a bid to reassure Americas NATO allies since Russias invasion of Ukrainian territory in February 2014. One of the most visible efforts is Operation Atlantic Resolve, a series of exercises that has grown to span multiple countries including the three Baltic states, Poland, Romania and Bulgaria.

Another piece of the reassurance effort has been a near-constant rotation of U.S. troops into Ukraine to train that country's forces.

On Wednesday, Col. Nick Ducich, commander of the California National Guard's 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, spoke to reporters about his tenure as commander ofJoint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine and his soldiers' efforts to boost the combat training center and Ukrainian troops.

Ducich deployed to Ukraine in 2015 with 54 of his soldiers to train the Ukrainian Ground Forces near Yavoriv.

In the 14 months that Ducich was in charge of the JMTG-U, he said the defense capabilities of the Ukrainian forces grew.

I see the Ukraine Ground Forces getting stronger each day, he told reporters during a media round table at the Pentagon.

The California Guard soldiers joined troops from 6th Squadron, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division out of Fort Stewart, Georgia, and multinational partners from Canada, Lithuania, Poland and Britain.

Ducich said there were about 400 Ukrainians staffing the training center when he left in December, and the goal is to have it entirely manned by Ukrainians.

The center, developed in 2015 and still in its infant stages, can accommodate a battalion, he said. It cant be compared to training centers in the United States yet because it hasnt had a comparable amount of time or money put into it.

It will take a while to develop that same edge that U.S. training centers have with opposing forces, he said.

The colonel said the Ukrainian forces are playing catch-up when it comes to defense capabilities because theyve had many obstacles to overcome.

Theres been over 20-plus years of neglect as far as funding, not just soldiers but training and infrastructure and equipment, Ducich said.

Now Ukraine is mobilizing its defense industries, ramping up its capabilities and improving its output of military officers, he said, adding that Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said his goal is defense reform by 2020.

By 2018, the combat training center is projected to be able to accommodate a brigade-sized rotation with simulations and devices to mimic real-world scenarios, Ducich said.

The Ukrainian military is also working on retaining experienced combat soldiers.

Theyre starting to do that with pay scales, conditions of living, he said. What were seeing now is theyre taking some of those team leaders that have success and optimizing them as instructors [at the training center].

Originally posted here:
Amid Russia tensions, US Army continues to build up Ukrainian forces, training center - ArmyTimes.com

New York Times

Masquerading as Reporter, Assassin Hunted Putin Foes in Ukraine New York Times KIEV, Ukraine Ukrainians have long struggled with fake news from Russia, but last week, they discovered something even more insidious: a fake journalist. The man was tall and dapper. He wore a dark suit and spoke with a French accent. When he met ...

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Masquerading as Reporter, Assassin Hunted Putin Foes in Ukraine - New York Times

Ukraine Says Botched Killing Has Moscow's Fingerprints Wall Street Journal (subscription) KIEV, UkraineA botched assassination attempt in Kiev is providing a glimpse into what officials here say is a string of killings orchestrated by the Kremlin, exposing a deadly underside of Russia's intervention in Ukraine. Ukrainian authorities have ...

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Ukraine Says Botched Killing Has Moscow's Fingerprints - Wall Street Journal (subscription)