The so-called "Crimean administration" and some Russian officials are coming to the newly occupied territories to secure this sphere of influence through public relations and possibly divert attention from the problems in the regions now assigned to them.

The local self-government system that Ukraine has been thoroughly building over the past six years is now undergoing by far the most serious resilience test. It is not even about the condition of local self-governance at the end of war, or several months or years later. The resilience capacity built by the reform is enduring enough to quickly replicate best practices of decentralization and good governance models, even after the disruption of the entire system. Today, the key question is abou...

Last week, a summit of CSTO member states took place. Following the event, one may conclude that russia failed to get the allies on board in the war on Ukraine. The meeting also showed that the member countries do not have any shared vision for the organization's development which undermines its effectiveness. Another important track from last week was the change of russian public position on prospective NATO membership for Sweden and France. Now, russia claims they do not see any problem abo...

On the evening of May 18, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky signed a bill adopted by parliament №7269, which regulates the work of local authorities during martial law. To what extent does the law regulate the positions of territorial communities in various situations - occupation, front line, rear? Do local governments feel threatened by limiting their powers in favor of military administrations? OPORA experts and guests spoke about this during the traditional weekly stream OPORA LIVE.

Expectations for putin's sharp statements during the May 9 parade fell short – Russian authorities avoided any public stake-raising in the war on Ukraine. Statements of russian officials showed that the aggressor state still hoped for the new global agreement and searched for leverage for bargaining. In particular, last week, “discussions" started between russian officials and their proxies in the temporarily occupied territories about the future of the Kherson region. Volodymyr Zelensky reje...

The “rising cost of services” of government media has not been random since today government-controlled media make the dominant source of information in the russian federation. In the context of the reinforced positions of government-supported media companies, independent media virtually suffer the destruction. Some of them have been blocked before the war in Ukraine, others were banned shortly after the onset of the purported “special operation.” In March, the roskomnadzor also blocked acces...

Many consider putin's speech on May 9 gray and toothless, but it is somewhat cautious not to take responsibility because military achievements are not as significant as expected. However, Putin is not going to admit defeat by agreeing to talks. Especially when other countries try to persuade Ukraine to leave the "golden bridge" to save putin's face. OPORA analysts Oleksandr Kliuzhev and Oleksandr Neberykut spoke about this during Friday's live broadcast of War Speeches on May 13. The guest wa...

What does Russia mean when it demands the "denazification of Ukraine," and how different is it from the historical interpretation of the concept of "denazification" in Nazi Germany? Experts agree that denazification means de-Ukrainization, including harsh methods that contain war crimes. They also believe that this concept is a product more for the domestic consumer and has not been well developed by ideologues. That was the main topic of the online discussion "Denazification: the propaganda ...