Most of the headlines about Ukraine right now concern how the country is being pulled in two directions by the EU and Russia. But a reminder of how oddly Ukraine would sit in the European fold can be found in the story of the meteoric rise of one Serhiy Kurchenko.
A year ago, no one had heard of the fresh-faced 27-year-old trader of gas. Now Kurchenko is a household name, having in the space of a year acquired a big oil refinery, a major football club, industrial and financial assets, as well as the media outlets that brought him to the attention of the public in the first place. His youth, unknown origins and apparently bottomless wealth have turned him into a major newsmaker. But none of the coverage of Kurchenko's mysterious and meteoric rise has found convincing answers to the main questions: who is Serhiy Kurchenko - the man dubbed Ukraine's "Wizard of Gaz" – and who is behind him?
