Foreign Policy: The West is fed up with corruption in Kyiv. Ukraine's worst enemy is its own leaders
Despite the seriousness of the threat from the east, Moscow is not the worst enemy of the Ukrainians. Given the corruption that plagues business and government, Ukraine's worst enemy is its own leaders.
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Askold Krushelnitsky , a well-known journalist of Galician origin, writes about this in an article for the influential Western publication Foreign Policy .
Krushelnitsky criticized the Ukrainian authorities for the lack of progress in the fight against corruption and warned that this could lead to serious consequences for the country in relations with the West.
“A rigid kleptocracy has been created in the country, in which a tiny and invulnerable elite gains power, which hinders the development of a normal economy. It has distorted society, destroying everything from the education and health care systems to law enforcement and the judicial system. This is a system where the son of an oligarch can walk free if he accidentally runs over an ordinary citizen in a drunk car.
After the revolution, however, the new authorities in Kyiv remain unresponsive to the demands of the people,” states Askold Krushelnitsky.
“The most important thing is that they also decided to ignore the sincere calls of their closest foreign friends. US Vice President Joe Biden spent the previous year urging Ukrainian authorities to send at least one corrupt oligarch to prison to send a message. At least one. But even his requests were not heard. “Kyiv’s neglect of problems that the international community largely wants solutions to is an extremely alarming sign that could cost Ukraine support from abroad, precisely at a time when it needs it most,” the journalist complains. .
Despite complaints in some quarters that the US has done too little to help Kiev in the fight against Russian proxies, the fact remains that Washington plays an important role in supporting international diplomatic, financial and military assistance to Ukraine, while maintaining pressure on its European allies regarding extension of economic sanctions against Moscow.
Unfortunately, Ukraine's leadership appears to have made a dangerous miscalculation in suggesting that the West views the country as its representative in a confrontation with an aggressively resurgent Russia. So they assume they can count on support in Western capitals no matter what happens. One politician described the official position as follows: “They believe that Ukraine is too important to America and the European Union to allow it to fail. I think this is a complete illusion. I think that Ukraine has this year to show real results. The US and other friends of Ukraine are losing patience.”
This former minister is right. Concerns about “Ukraine fatigue” are circulating among many of the country's Western supporters. After a visit to Kiev in April, former US Ambassador to Ukraine Steven Pifer noted in his blog: “Sometimes there is a feeling that the Ukrainian elite has an inflated sense of the geopolitical importance of the country (in the confrontation - ed.) between the West and Russia, that they consider their country too important to fail, and that no matter what the Ukrainian leadership does, the West will side with Kyiv for fear that it might otherwise defect to Moscow. This could be a mistake."
Political and business consultant Brian Mefford, who has lived in Kyiv for the past 17 years, said Ukraine faces the difficult job of convincing the new US president that it is serious about reform. “There are three key things Kyiv can do to ensure that Ukraine fatigue does not set in,” he said. — The first thing is to fight corruption. Secondly, the fight against corruption. Third, fight corruption.”
But the problem is getting more complex—and it starts at the top. This month, Sergei Leshchenko, a people's deputy from President Petro Poroshenko's party (BPP - ed.), wrote a devastating article accusing Poroshenko of creating a “clan” of his supporters and oligarchs around himself, just like his corrupt predecessor, Viktor Yanukovych, did. .
People's Deputy Arkady Kornatsky, also a member of the president's party, told the author of the article that his experience in government showed him the degree of corruption of the system. “All parties in parliament, including the one of which I am a member, were created and financed by oligarchs, and they protect each other’s interests,” he said. “I want to believe that the president himself is honest, but I don’t see a serious fight against corruption on his part.” Biden is naive if he thinks that an oligarch will put a fellow oligarch in prison. This government will delay reforms unless the US puts pressure.”
Kornatsky argues that there is evidence that the Ukrainian authorities are stealing most of the money provided by Western countries and the IMF. He believes frustration with ongoing corruption will lead to protests and even local separatist movements.
The Ukrainian presidential administration did not respond to queries about why reforms are moving so slowly.
Katerina Smagliy of the Kennan Institute in Kyiv notes that the country's leadership is right to proceed cautiously - this is a matter of implementing far-reaching structural reforms. “Market reforms require huge cuts to unnecessary and government-funded jobs. For example, 10 to 20 thousand people who currently work in unvisited Soviet-era museums across Ukraine will lose their jobs. What are they all going to do, put up tents on the trading floors?”
She also stresses that the process by which many of the country's assets were privatized back in the 1990s cannot withstand legal scrutiny - meaning the issue of ownership could cause enormous chaos. “Every businessman created his initial capital illegally,” she notes. - But if, like Robespierre, you cut off everyone’s head, who will continue, who will provide jobs? And without proper, thorough changes in legislation, Ukraine can be accused of selective justice.”
Fair. But, nevertheless, it is obvious: something must change. The patience of the military, still fighting an oppressive war against Russian-sponsored separatists in the East, is wearing thin. During trips to the front line, one hears warnings that battle-hardened veterans will not always tolerate corruption, and may try to overthrow the government, either by starting a new wave of mass protests or by an armed coup (note that in Ukraine, people who know the situation on front, such forecasts are called Kremlin propaganda and they are not considered to be real - ed.). Needless to say, this can lead to disastrous consequences.
If the government and the president cannot clearly demonstrate significant reforms in practice (not least by putting obvious criminals behind bars), they will be guilty of missing out on a precious chance to build a decent democratic and prosperous future for their country - despite the sacrifices and bloodshed thousands of its best citizens. If they think that such a betrayal will pass without any consequences, they are truly in an illusion.
“And the next time they turn to the West for help, they may find that they are truly alone,” the author of the article summarizes.
English version :: Read in English Foreign Policy: The West is fed up with corruption in Kyiv. Ukraine's worst enemy is its own leaders.