HURI: Re-examining Western support for reforms in Ukraine

Roman Waschuk, former ambassador of Canada to Ukraine (2014-2019) and Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia (2011-2014) speaks on Sept. 16.

Billions of dollars in macro-financial support and hundreds of millions in technical assistance were provided to Ukraine following the EuroMaidan Revolution that ousted Viktor Yanukovych and the onset of Russian aggression in 2014. In 2019, the president and parliamentary parties associated with five years of Western-backed reforms were swept away in an electoral landslide.

While primary responsibilities for the missteps and outcomes of policy and politics lies with Ukrainians themselves, what role did Western assistance end up playing? What are the lessons learned for international reform support efforts in crisis-affected states, both in terms of policy substance and of the sustainability of public acceptance and political viability?

Waschuk joined the Canadian Foreign Service in 1987, serving abroad in Moscow, Kyiv, and Berlin, and at HQ in policy planning and post-conflict stabilization/reconstruction units. He was ambassador in Belgrade (2011-14, with concurrent accreditation to Montenegro and North Macedonia) and in Kyiv (2014-2019). He retired from the Foreign Service in December 2019.

Organized by HURI’s Temerty Contemporary Ukraine Program; Co-sponsored by the Canadian Institute for Ukrainian Studies.