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It's not the first year that the Kremlin has been declaring the expansion of the "geography of challenges" for Russia, including from the collective West. And Russia intends to confront these "challenges", as is almost always the case, with the help of its army and weapons. UNIAN was figuring out whether Ukraine would become an arena for such confrontation, given the high risks that are out there.

Ukraine's former Foreign Minister Volodymyr Ohryzko sat down with UNIAN to explain why Ukraine will have to sacrifice "good relations" with Belarus, whether it is possible that the scenario of Roman Protasevich's "detention" was written in Moscow, and why the collective West needs to apply harsh sanctions against the dictator over his actions.

House arrest of Viktor Medvedchuk does not contribute to his work as one of the leaders of the Rada's second-largest faction, "Opposition Platform – For Life" (OPZZh). UNIAN asked to what extent the high treason charges pressed against Medvedchuk will affect the OPZZh disposition, the ratings of this political force, and the sympathies of its voters.

U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Binken will pay a working visit to Ukraine on May 5-6. UNIAN has polled Ukrainian experts on possible topics set to be discussed at meetings with Ukrainian officials and representatives of civil society, as well as on what Ukraine should focus on.

From time to time, officials and politicians remind of what every Ukrainian is subconsciously aware – not all Ukrainian citizens have single citizenship. Many times, the authorities undertook to address the issue, but so far nothing has been done in this regard. Now they launched a new attempt to fix things.

UNIAN has sat down with an expert on international law Bohdan Bernatsky, who is part of the Office of Simple Solutions and Results, an NGO preparing proposals for the President, as well as members of the National Reform Council, to find out how sanctions against specific individuals differ from sectoral ones, why hasn't Ukraine yet applied the latter to Russia, and how come violators of the sanctions regime are not held to account.

The world is entering the new year facing a host of problems – from needing to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic to tackling new digital challenges. Against this background, it seems that Ukraine cannot count on any special support on the part of its partners in confrontation with Russia.

Is the new Maidan broiling to erupt in November? This is no rhetorical question. The skirmish that various branches of government entered into following a scandalous ruling by the Constitutional Court of Ukraine "to abolish asset declarations" for officials is not only fraught with street protests, it also poses a threat to statehood.

Crimea hasn't been forgotten, Donbas issue must finally be settled, no nepotism preached in personnel policies, while second presidential term is yet to be considered – that's what President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke of at a press conference marking his first year in office.

The Dutch court held the first two hearings in the MH17 case and adjourned until March 23. Meanwhile, the Kremlin leaders have never been so close to the dock.

Foreign Minister of Ukraine Vadym Prystaiko sat down with UNIAN to tell us about the outcome of the summit of Normandy Four leaders, impressions from Zelensky's first meeting with Putin, whether it is possible to "redraw" Minsk agreements, and why no one should be afraid of the "Steinmeier formula" in Ukrainian legislation.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg's speech from the rostrum of the Ukrainian parliament lasted a little over ten minutes, met with several rounds of applause from people's deputies. UNIAN made a short "summary" of his recommendations for Ukraine.

The main intrigue of the next month is what the new government will be like and who will lead it. The fate of the format of the Cabinet of Ministers is exclusively in the hands of the Servant of the People party that won in the early parliamentary elections. And it depends on the "government" decisions of this political force whether Ukraine can finally become economically strong.

Russia is further upping the stakes on the issue of releasing Ukrainian POWs. The latest episode in the dramatic story is the extension of custody term for Ukrainian sailors captured near the Kerch Strait on Nov 25, 2018.

Last week, the cruel sentence of the Italian court for the Ukrainian National Guard, ATO veteran Vitaly Markiv, caused a real shock wave. He received 24 years of imprisonment instead of 17 for ... possible complicity in the murder of the Italian photo reporter Andrea Rocchelli in Donbas. The verdict to the Ukrainian military will be appealed, but the Markiv case is not the only trial initiated against the Ukrainian military abroad.

Long before the official proclamation of the results of presidential elections, the Verkhovna Rada began talking about its possible dissolution by the new head of state. Will Volodymyr Zelensky be able to sack people's deputies ahead of schedule, and is it an advantageous step for him today?

Recently it became known that the Prosecutor’s Office of Hungary opened 370 criminal cases against Ukrainians who had obtained Hungarian citizenship. The first targets of the investigation were those seeking Hungarian pensions. Meanwhile, mediators in Ukraine didn’t blink an eye and further help future Hungarian pensioners get citizenship.

On Thursday, February 7, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine leveled out the “achievements” of the fugitive ex-President Viktor Yanukovych, enshrining in the Constitution of Ukraine the country's strategic course toward the EU and NATO. What do these changes mean and is it possible that Ukraine will one day make another U-turn toward Russia?

Nearly five years after ex-President Viktor Yanukovych fled from Ukraine, the court finally handed down a verdict in his high treason case. After eight hours of an almost continuous reading of the full text, the Obolonsky District Court of Kyiv sentenced Yanukovych in absentia to 13 years in prison for high treason and 12 years for complicity in war. But can Yanukovych be held accountable to the fullest?

On Tuesday, December 11, the Kyiv District Administrative Court reinstated Roman Nasirov, chairman of the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine, who had been dismissed by the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers of January 31. Unfortunately, such a return of odious officials to positions through the courts is quite a common thing for Ukraine.