© Sputnik/ Alexei Nikolsky
Aaron Korwea, Atlantic Council: What Will 2016 Mean for Ukraine?
In 2015, Ukraine proved it wasn't a pushover. The country united in the face of Russian aggression and Russian President Vladimir Putin learned that if he wanted his Novorossiya project, it was going to cost him more than a few little green men.
Notably, the war in Ukraine was completely absent from Putin's December 2015 address to the Russian Federal Assembly, in contrast to the one he gave in 2014, where it was the main subject. Of course, that may be part of a plan to ensure that Ukraine disappears from the world's attention. The fact that Putin didn't mind admitting in his annual press conference that there was indeed a Russian military presence in Ukraine shows that he senses fatigue in the West with the conflict.
WNU Editor: Aaron Korwea is trying to put a positive spin on what is happening in Ukraine .... but the situation on the ground in Ukraine is anything but. The EU trade agreement with Ukraine will not come close to replacing the loss of Russian markets, doubly so with the loss of easy Russian credits and favourable trade conditions. Ukraine's GDP and employment cratered in 2015 .... the situation will be the same for 2016. 2 million people have left the country in the past two years .... changing EU immigration and visa rules will only expedite this loss of citizens. Ukraine and Ukrainian-Russian animosities continue, and Ukrainian President Poroshenko has shown zero interest in pursuing any policy of reconciliation. Corruption, political infighting, the rise of the oligarchs .... nothing has changed .... and in fact one can make the argument that it has gotten worse. And while it is easy to blame Russia for this mess .... and Russian President Putin does deserve some of the blame .... the majority of the blame should rest on the shoulders of the politicians who have been running the place since the spring of 2014 .... starting with President Poroshenko at the top.