US Embassy calls for anti-corruption head to resign

The US embassy in Kyiv took to Twitter on Thursday,
July 26, to call for the head of Ukraine’s Anticorruption Committee, Nazar
Kholodnytskiy, to resign. The embassy wrote that, “In a modern democracy,
prosecutors who manipulate witnesses and impede justice, resign in order to
preserve the reputation of their institution and the rule of law”.

Ukrayinska Pravda reports that the statement comes
after the Prosecutor’s office of qualifications and discipline reprimanded but
failed to remove Kholodnytskiy from office despite evidence of him
communicating with witnesses, giving advice regarding testimony, interfering
with cases and going “beyond ethical norms in conversations with subordinates.”

James Hydzik: It is possible
that Kholodnytskiy will be pushed out as early as autumn, if the Poroshenko
government needs to make a body motion to prove its corruption-fighting stance.
However, we have little expectation that his replacement will be very
different.