Reform Watch
OP-ED
Taras Kuzio: Money still rules Ukraine
Dmytro Firtash (L), one of Ukraine's most influential oligarchs, attends a court hearing on April 30 in Vienna, Austria, at which a judge refused an extradition request from the United States. Firtash is accused of bribery by U.S. prosecutors, charges that he denies. Firtash hosted a meeting in Vienna earlier this year with Petro Poroshenko and Vitali Klitschko, who later got elected president and mayor, respectively. The meeting prompted speculation that a deal was struck in which the two politicians would block any criminal investigations in Ukraine against Firtash in exchange for his support, accusations that both Poroshenko and Klitschko have denied.
A few weeks ago, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko published an article in the Wall Street Journal trumpeting his achievements in office. First and foremost among them was his claim that his government has made progress in combating the legacy of “more than 20 years of Soviet-style governance, endemic corruption, cronyism and inefficient policy.” He cited efforts to launch a new police force that will, it is hoped, be free of entrenched corruption. He described efforts to reform the judiciary, long riddled with graft, and boasted about his success in recruiting “young reformers” from outside the country to bring “new faces” into the government.
