Vitaly Klitschko retained his WBC heavyweight crown by defeating Cuban Juan Carlos Gomez on a technical knockout in the ninth round on Saturday. Klitschko, who retired in 2005 after a series of injuries before reclaiming the WBC title in October by beating Samuel Peter, had to work hard to beat the bloodied Gomez. The 37-year-old Ukrainian, 10cm taller than his opponent, who is 35...

Several high-level delegations of former U.S. officials have been in Moscow for meetings this month aimed at rejuvenating U.S.-Russian relations ahead of U.S. President Barack Obama's first meeting with his Russian counterpart in London on April 1. The so-called "wise men" are urging a pragmatic approach to relations that emphasizes shared interests such as preventing nuclear proliferation, reaching a new strategic arms agreement, and combating terrorism. However, there are concerns among some of Russia's neighbors that a new pragmatism will curtail their ambitions to integrate with the West...

Ukraine will overhaul its gas transit system, after a dispute with Russia led to a shutdown in supplies and left Europeans freezing this winter, EU and local officials said Friday. The European Union has outlined a $2.5 billion program for modernizing the ex-Soviet republic's sprawling pipeline network. EU customers get about 20 percent of their natural gas supplies from Russia through pipelines that cross Ukraine. Ukrainian and EU leaders plan on Monday to sign a joint declaration on implementing the EU program, under which Ukraine would reform its debt-ridden energy company Naftogaz...

Just five years ago Ukraine was the toast of pro-democracy politicians the world over. The Orange Revolution seemed to be the next strand of the thread going back to the 1989 Velvet and other peaceful European transitions. Despite the bullying of Moscow, the Ukrainians stood their ground and said they wanted to become another Euro-Atlantic nation. But now, like parents with a sulky, wayward child who just won't grow up, the world's democracies are turning their back on Ukraine. U.S. President Barack Obama will clink glasses with Russian and European leaders in London, Strasbourg and Prague and drop in to say hello to Turkey. But Ukraine, Turkey's Black Sea neighbor, is off his radar...

We, participants of the Public Hearing in the European Parliament "European Conscience and Crimes of Totalitarian Communism: 20 Years After", representatives of EU Institutions, EU Member States and non-governmental organizations dealing with totalitarian regimes of the 20th century, are convinced that the totalitarian past of many European countries forms an integral part of our common history, whole commemorating this historical experience is an important educational tool for the promotion of human dignity, human rights, fundamental freedoms and other values that Europe is based on...

I received the shocking news in September of last year: My best friend was diagnosed with terminal cancer. He was dead within two months. It was a harsh blow, coming on the heels of the death of my beloved mother-in-law. My mother would also die several weeks later—from cancer as well. Unlike my mother and mother-in-law, however, who battled cancer over many torturous years, his death was quick, sudden and stunning...

Ukraine and Ukrainians will be tested over the course of 2009. The global financial and economic crisis already has provoked a deep recession and falling living standards. Kyiv will need to make a real effort to strike a balance between integration into Europe and the Euro-Atlantic community and maintaining stable relations with Russia. Doing so will not be easy, as Russia regards Ukraine’s pro-Western policy as inimical to Russian interests, and Ukraine’s politics are subject to influence from Moscow. In particular, Ukraine must address its energy security situation...

Under the pretense of local self-government, Donetsk authorities killed the initiative to rename a university in the late dissident’s honor. The rector of Donetsk University, Volodymyr Shevchenko, was nearly stripped of his honorary title of Hero of Ukraine, the highest honor in the country. Opponents called for this to happen, but it didn’t, although the actual attempt is significant. The whole scandal started...

As NATO prepares to mark its 60th anniversary next month, France's defense minister, Herve Morin, has made what some observers might regard as some counterintuitive suggestions: Consult Russia before any further expansion of the alliance, and abandon any idea that NATO's role could become global, rather than Eurocentric. Is this the right vision for a military alliance that was created to confront the once-growing sphere of the Soviet Union? Or is it a capitulation to Moscow? RFE/RL discussed France's vision of NATO's future with two veteran observers of international security affairs...

A Russian opposition activist, who says he was confined against his will to a mental hospital, will remain in the facility after a St. Petersburg court ruled in favor of his compulsory treatment Saturday. According to the ZAKS.ru online newspaper (Rus), Vadim Charushev is well known as the creator of several political web-resources and social networking groups. According to Charushev’s attorney, Viktor Grozovsky, the activist was detained by police...