Stephen Cohen joined The John Batchelor Show earlier this week to discuss Ukraine’s political and economic stability, or lack thereof. President Poroshenko’s recent address to the new parliament of Ukraine is revealing, Cohen says, because Poroshenko “strikes a triumphal note,” claiming victory in the midst of war “because at last Ukraine is united.”

“The only way you could claim that it was now united,” Cohen argues, “is if you had given up on the eastern part of the country as a legitimate part of the country.”

—Jessica McKenzie