On Dec. 9, the U.S. imposed sanctions on Oleksandr Tupytsky, head of Ukraine’s Constitutional Court, and Andriy Portnov, ex-deputy chief of staff for pro-Kremlin ex-President Viktor Yanukovych. Both stand accused of corruption and obstructing reforms. That was surely a great push for Ukrainian reforms and a massive blow
The World Bank on Dec. 17 approved a 300 million euro loan to Ukraine to support reforms and help mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Economic Recovery Development Policy Loan aims to support the de-monopolization of the economy, strengthen anti-corruption institutions, improve land and credit markets, including access
The State Investigation Bureau tried to hand a summons to ex-President Petro Poroshenko in a case into treason and aiding terrorist groups in Russian-occupied areas of the Donbas. The bureau said detectives had attempted to give him the summons in front of the Verkhovna Rada on Dec. 17 but he
Artem Sytnyk, head of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), was appointed in 2015 to achieve a breakthrough in Ukraine’s long fight against elite corruption. Sytnyk’s term expires in April 2022, which means that the time has come to assess the achievements of his tenure. The Kyiv
Yuriy Zontov, the brother of Ukraine’s most notorious judge, has been released from detention on Hr 7.6 million ($280,000) bail, the anti-corruption prosecutor’s office said on Dec. 15. Zontov is a former employee of the Foreign Intelligence Service. His brother is Pavlo Vovk, widely seen as
A Belarusian court on Dec. 14 sentenced opposition leader and popular blogger Sergei Tikhanovsky to 18 years in a high-security prison. Five other suspects in the Tikhanovsky case were jailed for 14 to 16 years. The verdict is a new low in what has been described as the biggest wave
Western diplomats urged Ukraine to complete key anti-corruption and judicial reforms in a quick, fair and transparent way at the “Seven Years of Anti-Corruption Reforms” conference in Kyiv on Dec. 9. The event was co-hosted by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), the National Agency for Corruption Prevention (NACP)
The U.S. imposed sanctions on Oleksandr Tupytskyi, chairman of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, and Andriy Portnov, a former ally of pro-Kremlin Ex-President Viktor Yanukovych, on Dec. 9. Both were accused of engaging in corrupt practices including bribery, illicit influence over reforms and the judiciary, and misappropriation of assets.
The ambassadors of European Union countries on Dec. 8 adopted sanctions against the Wagner Group, a Kremlin-backed military contractor, Rikard Jozwiak, an editor at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, wrote on Twitter. The sanctions apply to individuals who have fought in Ukraine, Syria, and Libya. Wagner mercenaries have been used
The selection of an anti-corruption prosecutor has started to move forward following months of delay. On Dec. 7, the selection panel announced its scores for the written test of two finalists. Oleksandr Klymenko, a detective of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU), scored higher than prosecutor Andriy Synyuk. Klymenko scored 18
Ukraine has had mixed results with its rule of law reforms in recent weeks. On the one hand, a crucial judicial reform appears to be moving forward after years of delay. On the other hand, the success of that reform is far from guaranteed. Moreover, President Volodymyr Zelensky has appointed
Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova said late on Dec. 2 she would step up more than 200 criminal cases against “the owner of several well-known television channels, coal companies, and energy companies.” Although Venediktova did not refer to him by name, this appeared to be a veiled reference to oligarch Rinat
The Group of Seven (G7) most industrialized nations on Dec. 2 urged Ukraine not to delay the selection of the chief anti-corruption prosecutor. The joint statement followed months of unexplained delays in convening the panel that will choose the prosecutor. Anti-corruption watchdogs have blamed disruptions from the President’s Office
President Volodymyr Zelensky on Dec. 1 appointed 28 judges nominated by the High Council of Justice, the judiciary’s highest governing body. The appointments formally seek to resolve the problem of a shortage of judges. However, anti-corruption and legal watchdogs have lambasted the move because most of the judges have
Several thousand protesters gathered in central Kyiv on the evening of Dec. 1 to demand President Volodymyr Zelensky’s resignation over what they see as his concessions to the Kremlin. The protesters zeroed in on Zelensky’s statement earlier the same day that he’s not afraid of direct negotiations
The court’s Nov. 30 decision may alleviate concerns by judicial watchdogs and Western experts about the court’s legitimacy. But President Volodymyr Zelensky said he’s concerned by the delay and sees it as an attempt to promote discredited judges’ interests. The Constitutional Court has been in crisis for
Any aggression from Russia against Ukraine would trigger “serious consequences,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Nov. 30. Blinken told a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Riga that Russia is combining military movements along Ukraine’s border with internal efforts to destabilize the country. NATO Secretary-General
Why is the reform needed? Ukraine’s judiciary remains corrupt, dysfunctional and politicized. Its governing bodies — the High Council of Justice and the High Qualification Commission — are discredited because they have protected tainted judges. The previous High Qualification Commission was disbanded in 2019 by a law introduced by President Volodymyr
Zelensky said he had appointed Oksana Hryshchuk and Oleksandr Petryshyn as Constitutional Court judges. They are supposed to replace Constitutional Court chairman Oleksandr Tupytsky and judge Oleksandr Kasminin. Tupytsky has been charged with bribing a witness, and both Tupytsky and Kasminin were later fired by Zelensky as a “threat to
Civil society groups on Nov. 25 urged President Volodymyr Zelensky not to appoint judges who do not meet ethics and integrity standards. The groups include DEJURE, the Anti-Corruption Action Center, AutoMaidan and others. On Nov. 18, the High Council of Justice, the judiciary’s main governing body, nominated 135 candidates
President Volodymyr Zelensky again broke his election year promise to not use state residences, Ukrainska Pravda reported on Nov. 24. Zelensky attended the birthday party of his chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, at the presidential residence Synyiohora in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast. Both reportedly flew there on Nov. 19 and returned to
On Nov. 24, pro-Kremlin lawmaker Vadym Novynsky said that he had paid Odesa Mayor Hennady Trukhanov’s bail of $1.1 million. In October the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine brought organized crime and abuse of power charges against Trukhanov and Vladimir Galanternik, the mayor’s former ally and an
German Green Party co-leader Annalena Baerbock, who is a vocal opponent of Russia’s Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, will become her country’s foreign minister, according to a coalition deal finalized on Nov. 24. The coalition government, which is composed of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), the Green Party
This very important seat has been vacant since August 2020, when the previous top anti-corruption prosecutor Nazar Kholodnytsky resigned. Attempts to replace him have been repeatedly delayed and sabotaged by officials. The next meeting of the panel choosing the chief anti-corruption prosecutor is scheduled for Nov. 25. Here’s what
Ukrainska Pravda quoted anonymous ex-employees of the Dom TV channel saying that their editors instructed them to include positive mentions of President Volodymyr Zelensky in their news coverage. The journalists also said they were told to avoid mentioning ex-President Petro Poroshenko, Zelensky’s opponent. The Dom TV channel was launched
The Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office announced that it finalized the investigation and brought bribery charges against Yury Zontov, the brother of infamous judge Pavlo Vovk, on Nov. 19. The case is now expected to be sent to trial. In April, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) arrested Zontov,
What is happening in Georgia? Ex-Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, a Ukrainian citizen, returned to Georgia on Oct. 1. He was arrested upon arrival and jailed on what he says are trumped-up charges. He has been on a hunger strike since his arrest. On Nov. 18, he was transferred to an
Former President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili has been transferred to an intensive care unit after falling unconscious in a Georgian jail, a Georgian news agency reported on Nov. 18. Saakashvili is a Ukrainian citizen and the head of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s Executive Committee for Reform. Saakashvili arrived in Georgia
The border encampments that housed Middle Eastern migrants had been cleared out by the Belarusian government as of the morning of Nov. 18, the New York Times reported. Some people were moved to a government warehouse. However, Western officials remain concerned that the crisis may not be over. Since July,
The American and his alleged Ukrainian accomplice were arrested and charged with attempted murder, Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky said at a press briefing on Nov. 18. At the briefing, Agriculture Minister Roman Leshchenko alleged that the duo wanted to kill him over a business conflict from 2018, before he became
Ukraine’s military intelligence conducted an unsuccessful sting operation to capture 33 Kremlin-backed Wagner Group mercenaries in July 2020, the Bellingcat investigative project reported on Nov. 17. According to the investigation, the operation failed after President Volodymyr Zelensky's chief of staff Andriy Yermak told intelligence officials to delay the mercenaries’
What is happening in Belarus? Since July, Belarusian authorities have allowed thousands of refugees from the Middle East to come to Belarus and cross the country’s borders with Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. Many of them have tried to break through using force — 11 people have been killed as a
