Ukraine reforms being resisted by oligarchs and Russian agents, Kvien says

The Ukrainian government’s reforms are being resisted
by those who are most affected, the acting U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Kristina
Kvien told a “Dialogues on Reforms” conference on Nov. 18, as reported by the
liga.net news site. “Oligarchs continue to call members of the Rada, judges and
other officials to undermine the president’s agenda. The system worked for
their benefit,” she said, likely referring to the scandalous Oct. 27 ruling of
the Constitution Court. Russia is waging war against Ukraine on various fronts
in order to undermine its Euro-Atlantic integration efforts, she said. Besides
the illegal annexation of Crimea and armed conflict in Donbas, Russia is
organizing cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns with the help of its
“puppets, a part of which currently sit in the Verkhovna Rada,” she said,
referring to the parliament.

The disinformation is based on narratives spread by
media holdings and social networks alleging that Ukraine’s Western partners are
trying to manage Ukraine’s domestic affairs. “This narrative is dishonest and
turns reality up on its head,” she said, adding that disinformation is being
out of personal interests of enrichment, as well as disrupting Euro-Atlantic
integration. Ukrainian President Zelensky has achieved certain successes,
including the removal of political immunity for MPs and leading the approval of
banking and land reforms. The U.S. will continue to work with President
Zelensky on Euro-Atlantic integration, she said.

Zenon Zawada: These are
among the first political comments made by Kvien, who has served as the charge
d’affaires ad interim of the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine since May 2019. They are
mostly accurate, though there is some truth to the claims that the West is
managing Ukraine’s affairs. In order to resist Russia, Ukraine needs loans from
the IMF, which is asking for domestic reforms in exchange. And just as Kvien
refers to certain Ukrainians as Russian puppets, the Russophiles accuse certain
Ukrainians of being Western or IMF puppets.

Though the U.S. Congress is currently considering
candidates for Ukrainian ambassador, we expect Kvien to remain in charge in
Kyiv for at least another three months as the election situation in the U.S.
grow tenser and party lines becoming more deeply drawn. Her remarks this week
indicate that she is ready to step into a more proactive role in helping
Ukraine resist Russian aggression.