But we are skeptical that Biden’s fifth trip to Ukraine as vice president (we almost forget about the 2009 visit with then-President Viktor Yushchenko), will lead to a moral awakening and action against corruption.

First of all, Poroshenko has effectively told his American allies to forget about persuading him to fire Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin, the justice obstructor-in-chief. But let’s not overly personalize it.

What Poroshenko doesn’t want is to let go of political control of the prosecutors or judges. Hence, Ukraine has not delivered any justice against big financial crimes or murders during Poroshenko’s presidency. Yatsenyuk is not much better, with his political ally and Interior Minister Arsen Avakov not delivering the criminal investigations needed. The prime minister remains tainted by the alleged corrupt schemes of his other allies.

They have calculated that they don’t need to do much because American officials have already made it clear that they don’t see a better alternative to the Poroshenko-Yatsenyuk team.

The moral and financial toll for Ukrainians, meanwhile, continues to rise. Next year’s proposed budget counts on recovering $1.4 billion in assets stolen allegedly by ex-President Viktor Yanukovych. Shokin has taken no action, insisting he needs a special confiscation law passed by parliament whose lawmakers have not acted. Do such excuses and inaction sound familiar?

Some also think that Biden’s moral high ground is undercut by his son Hunter Biden’s involvement with Burisma, an energy company owned by ex-Ukrainian Ecology Minister Mykola Zlochesky. British authorities froze $23 million in Burisma accounts on suspicion of money laundering, but unblocked the assets earlier this year after Ukrainian authorities told Zlochevskyh’s lawyers that they have nothing incriminating on him.

It looks bad, but it does not undercut Biden’s message to Ukraine’s leaders. The truth is that the U.S. has severe limits on its ability to prod Ukraine’s leaders to do the right thing. This anti-corruption fight is one in which Ukrainians will have to take the lead. Foreigners are left biding time.