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Ukraine’s president again comes under U.S. pressure — this time, for good reason

Rogue Valley

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Ukraine’s president again comes under U.S. pressure — this time, for good reason

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3/13/21
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY, the Ukrainian president whose phone call with President Donald Trump led to Mr. Trump’s first impeachment, has yet to receive a call from President Biden. But the delay has nothing to do with Mr. Trump’s corrupt attempt to force Mr. Zelensky to dig up dirt on Mr. Biden. Instead, the new U.S. administration is seeking to induce Mr. Zelensky to tackle his own country’s endemic corruption — something that is vital to stabilizing its economy and preserving its fragile independence from Russia. Mr. Zelensky, a former actor and political neophyte, was elected in 2019 on a promise to take on the oligarchs, dirty judges and mafia networks that have plagued Ukraine since it gained independence from the Soviet Union. But last year he retreated, firing reformers in his cabinet and the central bank president, and stalling on judicial reforms and action against oligarchs. In particular, Mr. Zelensky waffled on taking on Ihor Kolomoisky, the tycoon whose television network propelled him to the presidency. The backsliding has caused the International Monetary Fund to withhold disbursements on a $5 billion loan deal, without which Ukraine may be unable to make debt payments later this year. Mr. Biden was a strong supporter of Ukraine’s independence as vice president, visiting the country and demanding the dismissal of a corrupt state prosecutor.

The new administration is renewing that pro-reform policy: In a phone call to Mr. Zelensky’s foreign minister last month, Secretary of State Antony Blinken “highlighted the importance of Ukraine maintaining progress on fighting corruption and implementing rule of law and economic reforms,” according to an official statement. Last week, the administration followed up by sanctioning Mr. Kolomoisky on grounds of corruption, sending an unmistakable message about its expectations. Mr. Zelensky, who rightly resisted Mr. Trump’s pressure for political favors, seems to be trying to respond to Mr. Biden. He took action against one powerful, pro-Russian oligarch, shutting down television networks the oligarch controlled. He has tried to push a crucial judicial reform through parliament. And authorities opened criminal cases against three former officials at a bank Mr. Kolomoisky once controlled from which $5.5 billion was allegedly looted. He should press for judicial reforms, restore independence to the central bank and rule out any move to weaken the National Anti-Corruption Bureau. He should break unequivocally with Mr. Kolomoisky and support criminal charges against him. Mr. Zelensky now has the opportunity to forge a partnership with Mr. Biden that could decisively advance Ukraine’s attempt to break free from Russia and join the democratic West. He should seize on it.


I knew Zelenskyy had given up the quest to battle internal corruption when he fired his reformist Prime Minister, Oleksiy Honcharuk, in March 2020.

Zelensky just doesn't have the stamina, integrity, and dedication to do this job. He's a populist who says one thing to collect votes and does the opposite to please the oligarchs.

Just as he did as Obama's VP, President Joe Biden should keep increasing US pressure on Zelenskyy to force meaningful changes in Kyiv.
 
Ukraine’s president again comes under U.S. pressure — this time, for good reason

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I knew Zelenskyy had given up the quest to battle internal corruption when he fired his reformist Prime Minister, Oleksiy Honcharuk, in March 2020.

Zelensky just doesn't have the stamina, integrity, and dedication to do this job. He's a populist who says one thing to collect votes and does the opposite to please the oligarchs.

Just as he did as Obama's VP, President Joe Biden should keep increasing US pressure on Zelenskyy to force meaningful changes in Kyiv.
So...how much money is the Biden administration going to withhold from Ukraine this time...if they don't toe Obama's line?
 
So...how much money is the Biden administration going to withhold from Ukraine this time...if they don't toe Obama's line?


I prefer that Trumpers educate themselves on Ukraine subject matter.
 
I prefer that Trumpers educate themselves on Ukraine subject matter.
Do you deny that the Obama administration...by the actions of Biden...threatened to withhold money from Ukraine if they didn't do what Obama/Biden wanted?
 
Do you deny that the Obama administration...by the actions of Biden...threatened to withhold money from Ukraine if they didn't do what Obama/Biden wanted?

Your predicate is erroneous and without the proper context.

The IMF, the EU, and the US collectively threatened to withhold all additional funding until the corrupt Prosecutor General — Viktor Shokin — was removed.

In March 2016 the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada) voted overwhelmingly to remove Shokin.

 
To say that the Ukrainian people disliked the corrupt Shokin would be an understatement.

 
President Trump's mistake was to show how Biden and his son plundered Ukraine. It turned out that the americans do not care about how american capitalists rob some aborigines overseas, as long as they pay taxes on this money, so that the americans can receive welfare checks
 
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