Like a high school kid stuck on a midterm project, Ukraine’s leadership has been delaying the implementation of reforms, looking for reasons to dodge responsibility.
It’s time to end that. With the new U.S president in office, Ukraine needs to cut the slacking and deliver results. If Ukraine wants to be treated as a reliable partner, worthy of foreign assistance, Ukraine needs to begin acting accordingly.
Ukraine’s pro-Western politicians and anti-corruption activists have at times been overly enthusiastic about the election of Joe Biden. It seems as if with Biden, as the new U.S. president, Ukraine will suddenly overcome its problems all at once.
Of course, the arrival of Biden is welcome — President Donald Trump had notoriously little sympathy for Ukraine.
However, Ukraine’s ongoing problems weren’t caused by Trump and it’s not up to Biden to fix them. Hoping that a foreign leader will come to Ukraine to fix the country’s corrupt judiciary is naïve and unfair.
Ukraine has its president, and he needs to start delivering on his promises.
It was President Volodymyr Zelensky, not Biden, who promised to target corruption, reform Ukraine’s judiciary and put checks on the country’s oligarchs.
These promises led Zelensky and his party to a landslide victory during the 2019 parliamentary elections.
Today, almost all top government officials are appointed by Zelensky. However, problems mount, while success looks bleak.
The Constitutional Court remains in the hands of dubious judges with questionable ties, who hold Ukraine hostage in their political games.
The prosecutor general, nominated by Zelensky, has been sabotaging anti-corruption cases, although she fiercely denies it.
Oligarchs keep fleecing the nation, while the medical procurement during a deadly pandemic is flagged as being both questionable and poorly executed.
Ukraine has a lot of work ahead. Zelensky needs to implement the much-needed judicial reform, his prosecutor general needs to start charging corrupt officials and businessmen, while the government needs to stop colluding with oligarchs and make accountability the number one priority for government officials.
This shouldn’t depend on the nametag in the Oval Office.
It’s not a priority for the new U.S. administration to clean up Ukraine’s mess. It should be Ukraine’s priority.
However, if Ukrainian politicians were looking for a sign to begin delivering on their promises, this shall be it. The U.S. will support democracy, human rights and reforms in Ukraine, yet it’s up to Ukraine to support them as well.
