The move that spurred Ukraine forward

In the milestones that sealed Ukraine's Western march, allowing visa-free travel to Ukrainians on June 11, 2017, was a master stroke by Europe.

This is Kyiv Post chief editor Brian Bonner’s summary of the May 19, 2017 edition:

The newspaper is at the printer already. We've got a great issue. The highlights:

* I suppose, in one way or another, Ukraine has been waiting for this moment for nearly 26 years: The time when all Ukrainians could travel freely to Europe without the hated, humiliating, and costly expense of needing a visa. The time is here - or will be on June 11.

Great for Ukraine! This means the westward march will never be reversed, in my opinion, and Ukraine will become less insular. A recent survey, for example, found that 80 percent of Ukrainians have never traveled abroad in the last five years.

* We wrap up the stylish Eurovision Song Contest in style - everyone, it turns out, was satisfied.

* We're back at the war front with an excellent soldiers' story by Will Ponomarenko and Volodymyr Petrov.

* We publish excerpts of my interview with ex-U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

* World in Ukraine goes to Japan, one of my favorite places, looking at this nation's outsized role in helping transform Ukraine.

There's more, lots more, and more ahead. Coming up:

May 26 - Real Estate magazine.

June 9 - World in Ukraine: Sweden

June 16 - Doing Business in Ukraine magazine.

June 23 - World in Ukraine: Canada.

June 30 - Legal Quarterly (Interesting Lawyers-Part 2)

June 30 - World in Ukraine: USA.

So we have a lot of work to do - and you have much to look forward to, dear readers, subscribers, and advertisers.

Best wishes from the grateful Kyiv Post team.