Recent
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Opinions
Writing long, historically focused opinion pieces is an activity more characteristic of think tankers than heads of state, but Russian President Vladimir Putin is anything but conventional. Last week he published a 5,000-plusword article that reviews the last millennium to conclude that Russians, Belarusians and Ukrainians share a common history, faith and destiny.
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Society
Whether President Volodymyr Zelensky can deliver may set the tone for relations with the Biden administration. Ukraine’s gambit has added urgency as it tries to reset its standing in Washington after being center stage in the GOP’s unsuccessful dirt-digging efforts against then-candidate Joe Biden and his son Hunter.
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Society
On June 20, leaders of European Union member states declared their readiness not to recognize Russian passports issued to Ukrainians in Russia-occupied Donbas. The European Commission and the European External Action Service have this week sent EU member states and non-EU Schengen countries guidance on how to handle visa applications lodged by residents of the non-Government controlled areas of Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
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Society
Former Head of Zakarpattia Regional State Administration Hennadiy Moskal has said Ukraine should allow its citizens to have a second passport when it comes to citizenship of any of the EU countries, but not Russia. In his opinion, dual citizenship is “new opportunities for Ukraine,” he told the Ukrainian online news outlet Obozrevatel on October 1.
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Culture
A massive 19th century oil painting of Ivan the Terrible, the first czar of Russia, was returned to its rightful owners on Monday, after its disappearance from a Ukrainian museum more than 75 years ago during World War II. The Ukrainian ambassador to the U.S., Valeriy Chaly, accepted the painting on behalf of the people of Ukraine during a repatriation ceremony at a fine arts auction house outside of Washington, D.C.
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Business
Almost every Ukrainian is using something Japanese — at least, almost every Ukrainian with a smartphone. That’s because 97 percent of smartphone owners here, or about 40 million people, use the messaging app Viber, which is owned by Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten.
Viber might be the most well-known Japanese tech product in Ukraine, and it could help to break the ice for Japan and Ukraine to cooperate in the tech industry.