19 May 2014

‘Anyone who tells you Ukraine is a battle between Russia and the west is wrong. It is a lazy narrative told by ignorant people, but is helping create a genuine tragedy that we should all be concerned about.’ (Oliver Bullough, writing in the Guardian)

Some would have you believe that Yanukovych was a democratic, pro-Russian president driven out by western spies – yet he held his palaces and hunting estate via British shell companies, and his son's assets were owned through the Netherlands and Switzerland. Ukraine was a modern Prometheus, chained to the ground, while vultures of all geopolitical persuasions companionably pecked at its liver.

The corruption was obscene. Ukraine has Europe's second-highest HIV rate, with 230,000 Ukrainians infected with the virus, yet in 2012 and 2013 more than a fifth of the budget for anti-retrovirals was embezzled through rigged auctions. Anti-corruption campaigners estimate 30% of the annual procurement budget was stolen: that's $15bn a year, the same amount Ukraine is now begging from the IMF.

  The head of the Green Party of Ukraine, Denys Moskal, pointed out that Ukraine has a large number of technological structures that could result in environmental disaster if destroyed during fighting with Russian. He stated in press conference that, ‘it is unacceptable to conduct any kind of military action, let alone full-scale military actions, since our country is saturated with hazardous man-made structures: nuclear power plants, water reservoirs, international pipelines. Unless the conflict is deescalated, the consequences could be far worse than the Chornobyl catastrophe.”

Election Update:

There are about 36 million Ukrainians who are eligible to vote on May 25. Polls currently indicate that 80% of Ukrainians intend to vote, however there are fears of continuing violence in East of Ukraine will prevent citizens throughout Donetsk from voting.

After Saturday’s meetings in Kharkiv, Yatsenuik (Ukrainian acting prime minister) spoke of introducing special protections for the Russian language and a decentralization of power.

In other news, USA interests are making headlines again: Joe Biden's son has been appointed to the board of Ukrainian gas firm Burisma. It remains a mystery, however, of who actually owns this company.

The US has long had interests in Ukraine. In 2007, the US firm, Vanco, won a contract to extract gas from the Black Sea, a deal that was annulled by Tymoshenko. Yanukovych's government worked hard to win over US and multinational firms for oil and gas extraction in Ukraine, and in 2013, Yanukovych’s government signed a contract with the US-based Chevron to extract shale gas in the west of the country. Another deal with the energy giant ExxonMobil - for gas in the Black Sea area - was abandoned following opposition protests.

Ukrainian media reports about Burisma reveal an impenetrable web of companies, most of which are registered in Cyprus. One name, Mykola Slotshevski, appears more than once. The 47-year-old is thought to have been the original owner of the company - at least until recently.

A White House spokesman said that Hunter Biden (Joe Biden’s son) was a private citizen and that his job had no impact on US policy.

As if we are meant to believe that.