TORONTO — Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky used his first trip to Canada to assure Western partners that Ukraine is “ready to surprise the world.” Grand promises were made of a sweeping anti-corruption drive, contrasting with the much more modest record of success in stamping out graft in the last years.
On the first day of the Ukraine Reform Conference, hosted until July 4, the words “oligarchs” and “corruption” were used as frequently as the word “reform.”
But Zelensky struck a positive note, announcing that Canada and Ukraine had reached an agreement to expand Canadian film and television access to Ukraine. The two leaders also declared a mutual interest in improving student exchanges and youth work permits between the two countries.
During the press conference with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Zelensky also hinted that his government had secured an agreement with Canada for the purchase of armored vehicles.
“We also had an agreement with … Canada, and now we can discuss it very openly, yes, I guess there is an agreement about supply of armed vehicles to Ukraine,” Zelensky said in Ukrainian. However, while both leaders discussed a number of issues, there was no signed agreement about sending military vehicles to Ukraine, a Canadian official said after the meeting. Canadian Foreign Minister Chrytsia Freeland declined to answer a question about the vehicles.
The three-day event brought together representatives from 37 countries, including foreign ministers, heads of international organizations, parliamentarians, business, civil society as well as members of the Ukrainian Canadian community.
Zelensky showed his comic side as well.
“Yesterday when we arrived in Toronto, I almost felt like I’m in Ukraine. There are Ukrainian monuments here. People are smiling at you. Then we went to the restaurant and when I saw the bill I thought, no, I’m not in Ukraine, it’s cheaper here,” Zelenskiy joked about his experience of dining in Toronto, where the average bill for a dinner for two in even a mid-range restaurant can reach $80. The same meal could be at least three times cheaper in Ukraine by comparison.
Painful lessons
Most of Ukraine’s Western partners were unanimous in their assessment of what hurts the country’s prospects the most: Weak judicial system and institutions captured in the old oligarch structures.
While addressing the media, the U.S. special envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker said Ukraine “has a judiciary that has been subject to political influences from various directions for a long time.”
David Lipton, the first deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund, expressed concerns about the lack of what he called a “legal certainty” in Ukraine. He said that Western investors were not yet sure Ukraine would remain stable despite the efforts of President Petro Poroshenko’s five years in office, which ended when Zelensky took power on May 20 after his landslide election victory over the former president on April 21. At the same time, Swedish Deputy Prime Minister Margot Wallstrom predicted Ukraine’ success as a democracy if it confronts oligarchs, builds new institutions and creates a more inclusive society.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon said Western partners, and the United Kingdom in particular, can offer training.
As Ukraine is fighting on numerous frontlines right now, he said, reform is the best line of defense.
Ukraine has successfully stabilized its macroeconomic situation and started overhauling a corrupt banking sector over the past five years, but still remains on the slow-growth track. The World Bank’s Ukraine Growth Study suggests that at current growth rates, it will take Ukraine decades to achieve high-income country status.
“What a German worker produces in 17 days, a Ukrainian produces in a year,” said Cyrill Muller, the World Bank representative. Muller advised the new government to keep macroeconomic stability, create competitive markets and strengthen the rule of law as well as the new anti-corruption architecture. Ukraine is getting ready for snap parliamentary elections on July 21 and Zelensky said he is confident that a majority of lawmakers will support him.
Helpful friend
Since 2014, the year that brought President Viktor Yanukovych down amid the EuroMaidan Revolution, Canada has committed more than $785 million in aid to Ukraine, including a broad range of financial, development, security and non-lethal military assistance to help defend against Russia’s war to dismember the country. The Kremlin’s aggression, now in its sixth year, has killed 13,000 Ukrainians.
Assistance will keep coming, Freeland ensured.
On July 2, Canada announced $45 million in support for Ukraine, including $25 million to help the country promote inclusivity, especially among women. Freeland is encouraged by respect for minority rights in Ukraine, citing the Equality March on June 23 in Kyiv, which attracted a record crowd of 8,000 people supporting LGBTQ rights.
Canada will also contribute $5 million to a mobile service delivery project in Ukraine which aims to bring public services to the most vulnerable citizens affected by Russia’s war. Canadian partners will also station up to 45 local police advisers and trainers to serve in Ukraine until 2021.
Trudeau promised Canada’s support against Russia’s war and condemned the Kremlin’s decision to issue Russian passports to Ukrainian citizens in the Donbas. These passports cannot be used to travel to Canada.
