Euan MacDonald

Editor-At-Large, NV English

MA Artificial Intelligence and Linguistics (Edinburgh), MSc Information Technology (Glasgow)

Twenty-seven-year career in journalism in Ukraine as editor at Eastern Economist, Kyiv Post, Interfax Ukraine, UNIAN, Novoye Vremya. Correspondent for BBC local radio, RTE. Writer and content creator.

Likes cats, playing guitar and piano, and geolocating things.


Energy independence /
UK announces aid to Ukraine to ‘reduce reliance on Russian energy supplies’

The United Kingdom will provide Ukraine with £88 million in financial aid to support stable governance in the country and “reduce Ukraine’s reliance on Russian energy supplies,” the UK government said in a press release issued on Feb. 1.
1 February 2022, 11:06 AM 177
Nation

Silver screen /
US Sundance film festival awards go to two Ukraine-produced movies

Ukrainian director Maryna Er Gorbach has won an award for the film “Klondike” in the World Feature Film (Drama) category at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, according to the Ukrainian State Film Agency. 
1 February 2022, 05:19 AM 349
Life

A big thankyou /
Ukrainians rally on Kyiv’s central square to thank Western nations for aid – photo report

More than 200 people rallied on Kyiv central square Maidan Nezalezhnosti on Jan. 30 to show their gratitude to the nations that have sent Ukraine weapons and other aid, with the country facing the threat of further aggression from Russia. 
31 January 2022, 06:09 PM 252
Nation

Fake riots, fake blood /
Ukraine’s Interior Ministry claims to have foiled plot to orchestrate public unrest

Ukrainian police have detained two suspects charged with “intending to orchestrate mass unrest” in the city of Kyiv and four Ukrainian oblasts, Ukraine’s Interior Ministry announced at a briefing in Kyiv on Jan. 31. 
31 January 2022, 05:51 PM 344
Nation

'Nowhere to hide' /
UK foreign secretary announces widening of sanctions targeting Russia’s oligarchs

British sanctions against Russia may be soon be widened, UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss told the UK’s Sky News television channel on Jan. 30, as a huge buildup of Russian troops on the Ukrainian border continued.
31 January 2022, 03:28 PM 217
Nation

Slow motion annexation /
Ukraine protests slow creep of Russian state into non-government-controlled Donbas

Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry in a statement on Jan. 29 decried plans by Russia to simplify welfare benefit procedures for the population of the non-government-controlled part of Ukraine’s Donbas region.
31 January 2022, 02:32 PM 144
Nation

On your own /
NATO’s Stoltenberg denies alliance plans to deploy combat troops in Ukraine if Russia invades

NATO has no plans to deploy combat troops in Ukraine if Russia invades more Ukrainian territory, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in an interview with BBC News on Jan. 30.
31 January 2022, 01:23 PM 143
Nation

Discussions continue /
European Commission chief says ‘nothing is off the table’ when it comes to Russian sanctions

The European Union is actively discussing possible sanctions against Moscow should it invade Ukraine, in particular, removing Russia from the SWIFT international payment system and killing the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told U.S. news channel CNN in an interview late on Jan. 27.
28 January 2022, 03:28 PM 170
Nation

Invasion fears /
US urges Beijing to use its influence with Moscow to de-escalate situation in Ukraine

The United States is calling on Beijing to use its influence with Moscow to de-escalate the situation in Ukraine amid Russia’s military buildup and ongoing threat of invasion, Victoria Nuland, the U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, said during a press briefing on Jan. 27.
28 January 2022, 02:10 PM 108
Nation

Record broken again /
Daily number of COVID-19 cases exceeds 34,000 for the first time since beginning of pandemic

Over the past day, 34,408 Ukrainians have been diagnosed with COVID-19, a total of 144 deaths were recorded, and 6,142 patients recovered from the disease, according to official data from the Ukrainian Ministry of Health as of the morning of Jan. 28.
28 January 2022, 01:16 PM 48
Nation

‘Stand up for Ukraine!’ /
Virgin’s Branson weighs in on Ukraine-Russia conflict

UK billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson has shared his thoughts on the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine in a blog post published on Jan. 27, calling on world business elites to “come together” in defense of Ukraine’s sovereignty.
28 January 2022, 12:29 PM 176
Nation

'Back to the USSR' /
Kyiv mayor says Russia seeks to restore the Soviet Union

Russia is an aggressor with very specific geopolitical aims, and currently it is striving to recreate the empire of the Soviet Union, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko told Germany’s Deutsche Welle public broadcaster in an interview on Jan. 27.
28 January 2022, 12:01 PM 287
Nation

Keep talking /
Normandy Four meeting ends with tentative agreement on follow-up talks in Berlin

At least they’re still talking.
27 January 2022, 12:01 AM 260
Nation

All down on paper /
NATO Chief Jens Stoltenberg gives press conference after West delivers written response to Russia

Watch NATO Secretary give a press conference on Ukraine's situation after the alliance delivers written proposals on security guarantees in Europe. 
26 January 2022, 08:24 PM 845
Nation

Deal breaker? /
EBA says government’s food price caps violate Ukraine’s agreements with IMF

The European Business Association (EBA) has called on Ukraine’s government to scrap plans for price caps on a range of food products, saying the move would violate the country’s agreements with a crucial financial backer – the International Monetary Fund.
21 January 2022, 11:23 AM 78
Business

Keep calm and carry on /
President Zelensky urges calm in face of potential Russian invasion of Ukraine

Downplaying recent fears of a renewed Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video address on Jan. 19 that he believes the risk of a potential Russian invasion is not any greater than it has been in the past eight years, but that people seem to be panicking more in this instance. 
20 January 2022, 11:47 AM 165
Nation

Change of mind, or bluff? /
‘No risk of large-scale war in Europe’ claims Russia’s deputy foreign minister

There is no risk of a large-scale war in Europe, the Russian news agency Interfax quoted Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying on Jan. 19 – even as Russia continued its ominous military buildup near the borders of Ukraine.
20 January 2022, 11:16 AM 134
Nation

Pandemic surge /
Coronavirus spike of 18,000 new cases reported in Ukraine

A dramatic surge in COVID-19 cases was reported on Jan. 20, with Ukraine’s Ministry of Health stating that 18,000 new COVID-19 cases were identified the previous day. Meanwhile, another 131 people perished from the disease, while nearly 4,500 recovered.
20 January 2022, 11:06 AM 121
Nation

Weaponized gas /
Russian gas transit through Ukraine falls to a four-year low, no additional transit booked for February

The transit of Russian gas to Europe through Ukraine fell to its lowest level in four years in the first half of January, Serhiy Makohon, the chairman of Ukraine’s Gas Transmission System Operator, said in a post on Facebook on Jan. 19.
20 January 2022, 07:56 AM 261
Business

Sharp growth /
Number of new COVID-19 cases per day rises rapidly in Ukraine to almost 13,000

As the new Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 novel coronavirus continues to sweep across Europe, since mid-January, Ukraine has seen a steep rise in the number of cases of the COVID-19 disease reported every day. 
19 January 2022, 09:32 PM 76
Nation