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The American with Ukrainian roots, Jim Kovpak, sat down with UNIAN to talk about his will to join the Ukrainian army, the differences between the Ukrainian and U.S. military, and the problems he faced on the path to achieving his goal in Ukraine.

A number of Ukraine’s political forces saw a half-criminal, half-medical drama around the detention of chief taxman Roman Nasirov as an opportunity to show off. Logistical blockade in Donbas became bilateral, also being aggravated by the establishment of the "external management" over 43 Ukrainian companies located in the militant-occupied areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. MP Nadiia Savchenko achieved no success in liberating Ukrainian prisoners held captive by Russian proxies in eastern Ukraine. 

Donbas blockade saw an unexpected development on the other side of the contact line, further escalating the absurdity effect. Ukraine and the rest of the world remembered the annexation of Crimea. European institutions granted visa-free travel to Georgian citizens and set a date of a similar privilege to be granted to Ukrainians. Donald Trump told U.S. Congress, how actually he was going to make America great again. Heads of three European foreign ministries paid visits to Kyiv.

The tragedy at Stepova coal mine in Lviv region, which took eight lives; the steelmakers’ statement on possible large-scale losses of over a blockade of Donbas coal; as well as the investigation against the urgently hospitalized chief taxman Roman Nasirov – these are the main events of the week.

The so-called Anti-Maidan rallies which swept across several regions of Ukraine in the spring of 2014 were for the most part organized and headed by the Kremlin agents, with some outright scumbags among them. Perhaps, the most notorious of them was the man with nom de guerre "Motorola," who eventually got blown up in an elevator in Donetsk.  UNIAN figured out the fate of his lower profile fellow thugs.

The events dedicated to the Heavenly Hundred heroes this year were both filled with political overtones and stretched in time. Dmytro Firtash is unlikely to return to Ukraine anytime soon and neither is he in a hurry to be sent to the United States or Spain. The demand for the strategy of the return of uncontrolled territories to Ukraine is becoming increasingly apparent. MPs last week made great efforts in individual performances and team work.

Death of the Russian permanent representative to the UN was cynically used by Russian MFA in its attempts to manipulate the UNSC. Moscow has once again let Ukraine’s disgraced president Viktor Yanukovych speak up in media. Ukrainian tycoon Dmytro Firtash has become a game in big hunt of the U.S. and Spanish law enforcers. Lower House of the Dutch Parliament has supported the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement.

The Ukrainian Cabinet reports the negative consequences of the blockade of the occupied territories in Donbas, while the National Bank is even preparing, just in case, a package of anti-crisis measures in this regard; however the State Statistics Service shone some light this week reporting on a January growth of industrial output - these are the main economic news of the outgoing week.

Ukraine is included in the list of countries that fall under the U.S. General System of Preferences, which allows duty-free imports to the United States of 3,500 kinds of products. But Ukraine has used less than half of this advantage. UNIAN tried to understand the reasons.

The latest public row between Volodymyr Groysman and Yulia Tymoshenko predict an exciting political spring. The blockade of coal supplies in Donbas somehow took a stretch toward the corner of Instytutska and Bankova streets near the presidential administration headquarters downtown Kyiv. Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko has showered his subordinates with criticism and vowed problems to people’s servants.

The Ukrainian government introduced emergency measures in the power generation sector, Prime Minister Groysman reported on GDP growth in 2016, while the Prosecutor General's Office said it would audit the utility rates - these are the week’s main economic news.

Petro Poroshenko at the Munich security conference quoted Neville Chamberlain and emphasized that it would be useless to hold talks about Ukraine without Ukraine. Donald Trump is rapidly disappointing Russian leadership. Prime Minister of Moldova was welcomed at the highest level in Kyiv.

The resumption of the Verkhovna Rada’s plenary sessions did not add ranking points to most legislators. The death of Givi (“DPR” terrorist Mikhail Tolstykh) will not become a turning point in the Donbas conflict but it may adjust some positions. The new head of the National Police took office.

The European Union has promised Ukraine to imminently allocate the next tranche of its macro-financial assistance worth EUR 600 million; the IMF has confirmed that is in the final stage of the review of Ukrainian cooperation program; while the State Statistics Service reported on the acceleration of economic growth and inflation - these are the key economic news of the past week.

The latest interview of German Ambassador to Ernst Reichel provoked a lively reaction of the Ukrainian establishment. Volodymyr Groysman during his Brussels visit heard many encouraging words about Ukraine. Federica Mogherini flew across the Atlantic in search of balance in relations with Trump administration.

Finance Minister of Ukraine Oleksandr Danyliuk in an interview with UNIAN has spoken about the launch of the Financial Police, forecasts regarding asset return and privatization, the current sentiments of Ukraine’s international partners, and the ongoing litigation with the aggressor state in a London court.

Former Representative of Ukraine to the Council of Europe and now the country’s envoy to the EU, Ambassador Mykola Tochytskyi has spoken with UNIAN about the prospects of an Open Sky agreement for Ukraine, the issue of EU integration of Ukrainian electricity market, and the steps Ukraine can take in opposing Russian influence in the EU.

Vice Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze sat down with UNIAN to speak about the issue of Ukraine’s visa liberalization and the country’s  intention to facilitate the process of granting own visas to foreign nationals. She also explained why Ukraine needs a referendum on joining NATO and what lessons Britain could learn from the Ukrainian experience.

The escalation in Avdiyivka has become a serious challenge, not only for the military, but also for the Kyiv authorities and the general Ukrainian public. Petro Poroshenko sparked a lively discussion by mentioning an idea of holding a referendum on the country's accession to NATO. Leaders of Ukraine’s presidential ratings have sought to see favors from Donald Trump. Governor of the National Bank Valeria Gontareva significantly increased her media presence against the background of hryvnia stabilization.

The escalation in Avdiyivka sparked a wave of outrage around the world, which was different from what Russia had expected as it applied its massive media pressure. Petro Poroshenko during his Berlin visit held talks with Angela Merkel. Top officials in Poland have failed to find a better time to express concern about the influence of the historical contradictions on the current state of Polish-Ukrainian relations.