Akhmetov ally keeps pressure on Kyiv government

Donetsk Oblast Council Head Andriy Shyshatskiy issued a March 31 statement asking Ukraine’s parliament to take measures to stabilize the situation in the country, including amending the Constitution to enhance the authority of local governments, approving a local referendum law to create federal districts, and designating state status to the Russian language.

Zenon Zawada: Shyshatskiy can be considered a spokesman for Rinat Akhmetov, Ukraine’s biggest oligarch, who remains concerned about how his assets will be affected by the new government in Kyiv. We don’t think Akhmetov is truly interested in federalization, as many of his holdings are located outside of his native Donetsk Oblast. Instead, we see him playing a twofold game.

In imitating the Russian position, he is trying to ingratiate himself with the Kremlin, which has the ability to confiscate Crimea-based power distributor Krymenergo and the Vanco gas drilling rights in the Black Sea shelf. At the same time, he is pressuring Kyiv to refrain from encroaching on any of his properties. In particular, there is a risk that Akhmetov’s DTEK Holding will lose two big state mines, Sverdlovantratsyt and Rovenkyantratsyt, which it took into concession in 2011 in what’s widely viewed as a rigged state privatization.

Akhmetov is playing a dangerous game, considering the potential for a Russian military invasion. But in the long term, we expect him to support a unitary Ukrainian state and reach a deal with the new Ukrainian president.