OP-ED

Melinda Haring: Ukraine’s future is being made outside Kyiv

By Melinda Haring.

Published May 23, 2021 at 6:07 am

Demonstrators burn smoke bombs in the yellow-blue colors of the Ukrainian flag during a protest action of representatives of different Ukrainian political parties and movements outside the Constitutional Court building in Kyiv on Nov. 3, 2020. Days earlier, on Oct. 30, the court blocked a number of anti-corruption laws including on free public access to officials' declarations, a significant rollback of Ukraine's anti-corruption reforms. (AFP)

Photo by AFP

They could not be more different but both young businessmen are making waves in Ukraine. Andriy Stavnitser’s easy laugh precedes him as he walks into a room and instantly charms his guest in English, Russian or German, while Yuriy Fylyuk smiles shyly as he oversees one of the most ambitious business projects in the country.