The U.S. State Department has said statements made by Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko about the U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch giving him a list of persons “not-to-prosecute” is inaccurate and is intended to besmirch the reputation of Ambassador Yovanovitch.
Ambassador Yovanovitch represents the U.S. president here in Ukraine, and America supports the ambassador and her statements. The statement by Ukraine’s Prosecutor General is inaccurate and is intended to besmirch the reputation of Ambassador Yovanovitch. Such accusations help only corrupt officials, an unnamed State Department official said in response written in Ukrainian to questions from the Kyiv-based Interfax-Ukraine news agency.
The State Department said Ukraine, like the United States, is a free country with a free press and …. politicians, experts and media have the right to share their opinions, which is part of the democratic process …. but this does not mean these statements are accurate.
Such attacks double our resolve to help Ukraine win in the war against corruption, the unnamed U.S. State Department official said.
