Let’s start with the positives of 2018: Ukraine’s economy grew. The nation averted an all-out war from Russia and held its defenses. Politicians summoned the will to get the International Monetary Fund and other Western lending programs back on track. Ukrainians can travel more freely than ever before. Ukrainian Orthodox churches united and are breaking the 300-year-long dependency on the Moscow church — another important step away from Russia. The battered hryvnia held its own and stayed in the vicinity of 28, rather than sinking to 30, to the dollar as many feared at the start of 2018. Ukraine also continued to dazzle on the world stage in sports, music, film and other endeavors.
But like it happens with people, Ukraine didn’t fulfill many of its New Year resolutions for 2018. We started the year by writing a “wish list” for Ukraine of reforms and other improvements needed. Looking back, we see most of the goals will have to be carried forward to 2019. For instance, the Ukrainian parliament didn’t lift the ban on the farmlands sale or create an anti-corruption court or punish anybody for corruption. Another item on our wish list was deoligarchization. Not only did it not happen, but an old one had his hand strengthened — Viktor Medvedchuk, a friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In the first editorial of 2018, we predicted that the year “will either mark a complete end of the course for change or bring the country’s leadership to the belated realization that their business-as-usual approach must end.” As the year ends, we don’t see such a realization dawning on the current leadership.
This makes 2019 all the more crucial for Ukraine. Two elections, the presidential in March and parliamentary in October, can either reboot the country or put a miserable end to the period of the promised change ushered in by the 100-day EuroMaidan Revolution that kicked the kleptocratic Viktor Yanokovych from power in 2014.
We in the Kyiv Post are optimists about Ukraine. We are not optimists about the country’s leadership or its political class in general, but we are optimistic about Ukrainians and their desire to elect leaders who they believe will change their lives and fates for the better.
