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Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
'Architect of Yanukovych's corrupt system' — Who was Andriy Portnov, a Ukrainian ex-official killed in Spain
Andriy Portnov had been no stranger to controversy. He was the architect of Ukraine's judiciary, corrupt and unreformed, and had been known to attack everyone who dared to speak out. Portnov was the epitome of a Kremlin-friendly Ukraine of President Viktor Yanukovych, where fair trial was a luxury and civil liberties were a dream. "It doesn't matter to us whether he was a useful idiot or a paid agent," Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, a lawmaker from the liberal Holos party, told the Kyiv Independent. "But he undoubtedly acted in Russia's interests." "He was an architect of Yanukovych's corrupt system and personally influenced the appointment of judges," Mykhailo Zhernakov, head of judicial watchdog Dejure, told the Kyiv Independent. His life ended in a way that symbolized that long-gone system — killed without a trial. Until his last days, Portnov was reportedly wielding immense influence on the judiciary and interfering with the courts despite being absent from Ukraine for years. Portnov has denied the accusations of acting in the Kremlin's interests and illegally interfering in the judiciary, suing news outlets that dared to make that statement. Fighting with journalists, businessmen, politicians, and everyone else, the list of Portnov's enemies was immense. As such, the case in itself will be a complicated endeavor, as finding the perpetrators would be an uneasy task. Read also: Controversial Ukrainian ex-official Portnov shot dead in Madrid, source says Portnov, born in now-occupied Luhansk in 1973, had a law degree from the city's East Ukrainian National University. In the 1990s and 2000s, he worked as a private lawyer and an official at the State Securities and Stock Market Commission. From 2005 to 2010, Portnov was an ally of then-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and a lawmaker representing her party in parliament. After Tymoshenko lost the 2010 presidential election to Yanukovych, Portnov switched to the latter and became his deputy chief of staff responsible for the judiciary. Tymoshenko, Yanukovych's main political opponent, was jailed in a politically motivated case at the same time as Portnov ran the judicial system in Yanykovych's interests. Portnov also led the development of Ukraine's Criminal Procedure Code, which was adopted in 2012 and was later criticized for creating obstacles for a fair trial and obstructing the investigation of corruption. Yurchyshyn said that, under Yanukovych, Portnov spearheaded the subordination of the judiciary to the presidential administration. The Ukrainian judiciary's current problems and challenges partially stem from Portnov's activities, he added. In 2019, a judiciary source told journalists that would later found the Kyiv Independent that Portnov and Andriy Bohdan, who would later become President Volodymyr Zelensky's chief of staff, had pressured Petro Stetsyuk, a judge of the Constitutional Court, to issue a ruling to help Yanukovych monopolize power. In 2010, a Constitutional Court ruling allowed lawmakers to switch parties, allowing dozens of lawmakers to leave Tymoshenko's party and join that of Yanukovych. Soon, the parliament was under Yanukovych's full control. Bohdan did not respond to requests for comment. After Yanukovych was ousted by the EuroMaidan Revolution in 2014, Portnov left Ukraine and moved to Vienna. He also bought real estate in Moscow and its vicinity, according to the Schemes investigative journalism project. Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office charged Portnov with embezzlement and abuse of power in 2014, but the case was later closed. In 2018, the Security Service of Ukraine also opened a treason case against Portnov over his alleged participation in Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea. However, he was not officially charged, and the case was closed in 2019. Portnov was also sanctioned by the EU along with other top Yanukovych associates in 2014 but the sanctions were lifted in 2016 due to a lack of evidence in the criminal cases against him. He kept his influence in Ukraine even after the EuroMaidan Revolution and owned the pro-Russian TV channel NewsOne in 2018. Read also: Ukraine's tainted judges get a helping hand from law enforcement to stay in office After Zelensky was elected president in 2019, Portnov returned to Ukraine and reportedly increased his influence on the political system and law enforcement. Bohdan, who was Zelensky's chief of staff from 2019 to 2020, said then that he had been friends with Portnov for many years. He had also been an aide to Portnov from 2007 to 2009. Another Portnov associate, Oleh Tatarov, was appointed Zelensky's deputy chief of staff in charge of law enforcement in 2020. Tatarov had defended Portnov's interests as a lawyer after the EuroMaidan Revolution. Tatarov also gained notoriety after being charged with bribery in 2020, although the case against him was dropped by law enforcement and closed the following year. For anti-corruption activists, he has become a symbol of Zelensky's tolerance for graft. Under Zelensky, Portnov initiated several criminal cases against ex-President Petro Poroshenko, Zelensky's main political opponent. Portnov also maintained links with Ukraine's most controversial judge, Pavlo Vovk. Vovk has become a symbol of lawlessness and corruption in Ukraine. He has been charged in several cases for alleged obstruction of justice and corruption, sanctioned by the U.S. in 2022 and eventually fired in 2025. In 2019, Portnov, Bohdan, and Vovk allegedly discussed appointing Oleksandr Tupytsky as chairman of the Constitutional Court, according to audio recordings cited by news outlets Slidstvo, Censor, and the Kyiv Post at the time. Tupytsky became the court's head the same year, and under his leadership, the Constitutional Court undermined several anti-corruption reforms, including by destroying the online asset declaration system for top officials. Tupytsky was fired and charged in several criminal cases in 2021. He fled Ukraine and moved to Vienna in 2022. Yurchyshyn argued that, through Tupytsky's court, Portnov undermined Ukrainian reforms in the interests of Russia since they jeopardized the country's European integration. Both Portnov and Tupytsky were sanctioned by the U.S. in 2019. The U.S. Treasury Department said that "in mid-2019, Portnov colluded with a high-ranking Ukrainian government official to shape the country's higher legal institutions to their advantage and influence Ukraine's Constitutional Court." The department also said that Portnov "took steps to control the Ukrainian judiciary, influence associated legislation, sought to place loyal officials in senior judiciary positions, and purchase court decisions" in 2019. Portnov and Vovk also influenced the appointment of Bohdan Monich as head of Ukraine's Council of Judges, a self-regulation body, in 2019, according to audio recordings cited by Slidstvo. Monich did not respond to a request for comment. The Council of Judges regulates the daily work of the country's judiciary, the control of which allegedly gave Portnov once again vast powers over the country's unreformed court system. After Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Portnov left Ukraine in June 2022, according to the Schemes news outlet. While abroad, Portnov has been eager to whitewash his reputation, tainted in Ukraine. He routinely filed libel lawsuits against independent media that criticized him, reportedly using his influence over the judiciary to win cases. One of the lawsuits was filed against several media outlets and Olga Rudenko, the chief editor of the Kyiv Independent, over an article in which he was referenced as being "pro-Russian." The lawsuit concerned a story by Glib Kanievskyi, then a Ukrainian journalist and currently a defense ministry official, published in several news outlets, including the Kyiv Independent, in September 2023. A Kyiv court ruled in Portnov's favor in September 2024. In a separate case, Portnov published the detailed information about journalists investigating him, including a car license and a home address adding that the journalists should be 'careful' driving at night. "It was systematic work aimed at hampering the functioning of independent media," Yurchyshyn said. Read also: Ukraine's judicial reform relaunch shows mixed results so far Portnov, whose location wasn't known to the wider public, was shot dead by unidentified attackers outside the American School in Madrid on May 21. The shooting took place at around 9:15 a.m. local time, with Portnov being shot at five times and suffering at least three wounds to his head and torso, Spanish newspaper El Pais reported, citing undisclosed police sources. The shot to the head proved fatal, the outlet wrote. Two or three people are believed to be involved in the attack, though no arrests have been made so far. The newspaper's sources suggested debt issues as a possible motive. Criminal proceedings are underway. Read also: Ukraine imposes sanctions on petty pro-Russian politicians, yet ignores most high-profile ones We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
'Trump doesn't know how to deal with gangsters' — US lets Ukraine down, once again
In what is now a semi-regular occurrence, the workings of U.S.-led global diplomacy has cast a dark shadow over Ukraine. U.S. President Donald Trump spoke with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, on May 19 in the latest attempt to broker a ceasefire in Ukraine. The call came just days after a U.S.-backed but largely inconclusive negotiation between Kyiv and Moscow, where Russia sent a delegation of low-level officials and reiterated sweeping territorial demands. Following the call, Trump told reporters that he trusts Putin, will not sanction Russia, but will abandon Ukraine peace efforts if progress is not made. In a follow-up call between Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky, the latter had to remind his U.S. counterpart that negotiations with Russia are already underway and that Moscow has been stalling all efforts to impose a ceasefire. "It is obvious that Russia is trying to buy time to continue the war and occupation," Zelensky later wrote on X. Yet the tone coming from the White House after the call suggested that at least to one man, it wasn't that obvious at all. "Nothing good is expected," Yelyzaveta Yasko, a lawmaker from the governing Servant of the People party, told the Kyiv Independent when asked for her initial reaction to the phone conversations. Despite the U.S. president claiming "it went very well," that "some progress was made," and that the "tone and spirit of the conversation was excellent," Ukraine and its European allies were stunned by the outcome of Trump's call with Putin. Trump also claimed that Putin had agreed to "immediately start negotiations towards a ceasefire," seemingly forgetting that he himself has been demanding one since March 11, and that direct negotiations between Ukraine and Russia are already underway. According to Axios, when Trump told Zelesnky and other European leaders about the results of the call, he was met with a stunned silence. Once this had passed, Zelensky had to gently remind Trump that it had been his idea all along to start the peace talks with an immediate 30-day ceasefire. "Putin has humiliated him in public several times in a row, and the U.S. president doesn't want to recognize that and doesn't know what to do." In addition, Russia once again refused to agree to the ceasefire, instead saying it was prepared to negotiate a "memorandum regarding a potential future peace treaty." Neither Trump nor Putin discussed a deadline for a ceasefire, and the U.S. president once again threatened to walk away if Ukraine and Russia could not negotiate a peace between themselves, effectively giving Putin free rein to continue waging war against Ukraine. In Kyiv, the news was met with a now familiar mix of resignation, disappointment, and increasing unease over Trump's continuing appeasement of Putin's position. "The main conclusion of the latest phone conversation between Trump and Putin is that Trump doesn't know how to deal with real gangsters," Andrii Osadchuk, a lawmaker from the Holos faction, told the Kyiv Independent. "Putin has humiliated him in public several times in a row, and the U.S. president doesn't want to recognize that and doesn't know what to do." Of particular concern is the idea that future negotiations should be conducted solely between Russia and Ukraine, without a mediator, and that Trump appears to perceive his attempts at brokering a peace as bearing fruit, despite Russia not having budged from the demands it set way back in 2022. "The fact that Americans believe that peace can be achieved through direct conversations is a dangerous sign," Inna Sovsun, a lawmaker from the Holos faction, told the Kyiv Independent. "The Russians are only willing to negotiate and compromise if there is some pressure on them that they feel." Any hopes of the U.S. placing its first real pressure on the Kremlin since Trump took office was swiftly quashed by the U.S. president — immediately after the call he told reporters at the White House that he will not impose further sanctions against Russia "because there's a chance" of progress towards a ceasefire. The view from Ukraine, however, is very different. "Ukraine, through years of dealing with Russia, has learned one very clear lesson: Putin constantly lies," Halyna Yanchenko, a lawmaker from the Servant of the People party, told the Kyiv Independent. "Today, he continues to use the same tactic — trying to blind Donald Trump, stall for time, and use any pause to seize even more Ukrainian territory," she added. Underpinning the intense feeling of frustration in Ukraine is a fact that appears obvious to almost everyone except Trump — that after 119 days, Putin has not made a single concession that suggests he is truly interested in peace. "This phone call hasn't changed anything at all," Oleksandr Merezhko, a Ukrainian lawmaker and chair of the parliament's foreign affairs committee, told the Kyiv Independent. "Putin continues to insist on his ultimatums and maximalist demands, and keeps rejecting ceasefire proposals." At the May 15 Istanbul talks, Russia sent a delegation of low-level officials and reiterated maximalist demands, including that Ukraine accept the loss of occupied Crimea and four oblasts in their entirety despite Russia not fully controlling any of them. "I will continue to resist even if Crimea remains part of Russia, because Crimea was and is Ukraine, regardless of political decisions." Attacks against civilians have only escalated since Trump took office, and on May 18, Russia carried out its largest drone attack since the start of its full-scale invasion. Trump, the author of "The Art of the Deal," once again trumpeted his alleged negotiating skills when telling reporters on May 19 about his call with Putin. "My whole life is like deals — one big deal," he said. In the context of his failed peace process in Ukraine so far, the claim rang hollow. "The stance of the EU and the U.S. was to step up pressure on Russia if it rejects a ceasefire," Olena Halushka, a board member at the Anti-Corruption Action Centre (AntAC), told the Kyiv Independent. "It rejected it, so now it's time to act — step up sanctions and military aid, and confiscate frozen Russian assets. Russia doesn't want peace, it wants Ukraine," she added. On May 20, the EU kept up its side of the bargain, formally approving its 17th package of sanctions imposed on Russia over aggression in Ukraine, including measures against almost 200 shadow fleet vessels. To date, Trump has not taken a single concrete action to place any pressure on the Kremlin. While phone calls, negotiations, and Truth Social posts play out on the global stage, those with perhaps the most at stake — Ukrainians living under Russian occupation — watch on. "I am worried that as a result of the negotiations, Crimea may be left under Russian control," a woman currently living in occupied Crimea, whose name is being withheld for security reasons, told the Kyiv Independent on May 19. She is an activist with the Yellow Ribbon resistance movement, fighting back against Russian occupation because she wants the "world to see that Ukrainians here have not surrendered." "I will continue to resist even if Crimea remains under Russian rule, because Crimea was and is Ukraine, regardless of political decisions," she added. Read also: As Russia's fiber optic drones flood the battlefield, Ukraine is racing to catch up We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump says direct Russia-Ukraine talks to ‘begin immediately'
President Trump on Monday said that Russia and Ukraine will immediately begin negotiations on a ceasefire, following phone calls with the leaders of each country. He also noted the Vatican has offered to host the talks. The White House said Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin for about two hours, after speaking with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier in the day. Trump has been pushing for a 30-day ceasefire in the war, and the White House said before Monday's calls that he was frustrated with both sides. The president called for a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine before entering office, and more than two months of direct diplomacy has failed to get Putin to agree to even basic terms. The announcement of direct negotiations comes after Putin last week skipped appearing at direct talks in Istanbul that he proposed. While Zelensky traveled to Turkey in a bid to entice Putin, the Russian leader sent a low-level delegation to meet with the Ukrainian team. Agreement on a ceasefire was not reached, but the two sides agreed on a swap of 1,000 prisoners and committed to keep talking. On Monday, Trump described the tone and spirit of his conversation with Putin as 'excellent.' 'If it wasn't, I would say so now, rather than later,' he wrote in a post on his social media site, Truth Social. Trump said he agreed with Putin that 'largescale TRADE' can happen between Russia and the U.S. 'when this catastrophic 'bloodbath' is over.' It's not clear if Trump is quoting himself or Putin describing the war in Ukraine as a bloodbath, which Russia initiated with a full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022. 'There is a tremendous opportunity for Russia to create massive amounts of jobs and wealth. Its potential is UNLIMITED,' Trump wrote in his post. Trump also said Ukraine can be a great 'beneficiary on Trade, in the process of rebuilding its Country.' Trump said he spoke with the leaders of the European Union, France, Italy, Germany and Finland immediately after his call with Putin and said the Vatican 'would be very interested in hosting the negotiations. Let the process begin!' Putin, in remarks reported by Russian state media, said Russia was ready to work with Ukraine on a memorandum on a future peace treaty. But Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov downplayed expectations of quick agreement, saying ending the Ukraine war would require 'rather painstaking and, perhaps, prolonged work,' Russian state media reported. Zelensky's office did not immediately provide a readout of the call with Trump. Kira Rudik, head of the Ukrainian opposition party Holos, said Putin's statements 'mean nothing.' 'We see absolutely no signs of peace, either on the ground or in the skies. The only thing I would trust is: he is ready to continue the war,' she wrote in a post on X. The Vatican has served as an important backdrop over the last few weeks of repaired ties between the U.S. and Ukraine that fractured at the end of February, during an explosive Oval Office meeting where Zelensky was chastised as being insufficiently grateful to U.S. support. On the sidelines of Pope Frances' funeral late last month, Trump and Zelensky huddled privately. The moment was captured in an extraordinary image showing the two men sitting in simple chairs face to face. Shortly after that meeting, Trump criticized Putin as not being interested in stopping the war. On Sunday, the Vatican again proved an important location for closer U.S. and Ukrainian coordination. Zelensky met in Rome with Vice President Vance and Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Marco Rubio, on the sidelines of the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV. Vance's account on X posted a photo of the Ukrainian leader and Vice President smiling, sitting around a glass table on a shaded patio with a manicured garden in the background. 'Our countries share the goal of ending unnecessary bloodshed in Ukraine, and we discussed updates on the ongoing negotiations for a ceasefire and lasting peace,' Vance wrote on X. 'Thank you to all American people for the support and leadership in saving lives,' Zelensky wrote in his post on X, and posting a similar photo. Still, Ukraine's supporters are likely to be disappointed with Trump's laudatory remarks of Putin and potential business deals. Bipartisan lawmakers in Congress have legislation imposing greater sanctions on Russia ready with a veto-proof majority, but have shown little signs that it will be brought to the floor for a vote, in deference to the White House. Republicans, while extremely hesitant to break with Trump, are speaking out that Putin cannot be trusted and is not a partner for peace and that only pressure will get him to halt the war in Ukraine. 'Putin has disrespected the US and the goodwill of our President,' Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) wrote last week, following Putin's no-show in Istanbul. On Monday, he re-posted Trump's social media post describing the call with Putin. This story was updated at 2:23 p.m. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
'Putin is laughing at Trump' — Ukraine in disbelief as Russia makes a mockery of US-led ceasefire attempts
ISTANBUL — Russian President Vladimir Putin had rebuffed President Volodymyr Zelensky, his European allies, and the U.S., and in response, Donald Trump simply went along with it, excusing his Russian counterpart for not attending the peace talks in Istanbul that Putin himself proposed. As the Russian and Ukrainian delegations emerged from the Istanbul palace on May 16 after just two hours, there were glimmers of hope, with both sides agreeing on what will be the largest prisoner swap yet. But as details of the meeting began to leak, one thing was clear — Russia has no appetite for a ceasefire, no intention of stopping the war in Ukraine, and months of Trump-led peace talks have done nothing to sate the Kremlin's maximalist demands first floated back in 2022 at the start of the invasion. "Putin is laughing at Trump in front of the whole world," a Ukrainian infantryman identified only by his callsign "Mamai" in accordance with military protocols, told the Kyiv Independent. "Based on the results of three years of war, in Putin's eyes, all the leaders of the Western world are weaklings and suckers." After a Day 1 that descended into a name-calling shambles without even delivering any talks, hopes were slightly higher on May 16 that the two delegations would meet, if only because this time they were both definitely in the same city from the get go. Delayed by an hour, the talks began at lunchtime and were over less than two hours later. On a positive note, Russia and Ukraine reached an agreement for the exchange of prisoners of war (POWs) on a 1,000-for-1,000 basis, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, who was leading Ukraine's delegation, told reporters after the talks. "We have experienced around 26 ceasefire agreements from 2014 till 2022 — none of them were taken seriously by the Russians." A source in the Ukrainian President's Office briefed on the talks told the Kyiv Independent that Kyiv also offered an immediate ceasefire, and to hold a face-to-face meeting between Zelensky and Putin. In return, the Russian delegation refused, instead insisting that Ukraine withdraw from Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson Oblasts, despite Russia not controlling any of them in their Kremlin illegally declared the annexation of the four oblasts following sham referenda in late 2022, incorporating them into Russia's constitution — a move that holds no weight internationally. "The Russians, as predicted, have demonstrated complete unreadiness for real negotiations," Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, a lawmaker from the Holos party, told the Kyiv Independent. The general view from Ukraine — forged by more than a decade of Russian aggression — is that Russia is simply stalling for time, preparing for more military offensives over the summer, a predictable continuation of the same motive that has driven the Kremlin since 2014 — the desire to take more Ukrainian land. "We have experienced around 26 ceasefire agreements from 2014 to 2022 — none of them were taken seriously by the Russians," Ukrainian lawmaker Mariia Mezentseva told the Kyiv Independent. "By again refusing a 30-day unconditional ceasefire, it means that Russian authorities are just playing everyone for fools and taking the time to regroup," she added. "In my home, Kharkiv Oblast, our soldiers already see their movements with an intention to occupy more territories."Multiple signs suggest it's more than just Kharkiv Oblast in Russian sights — for months, Ukraine has been warning of build-ups of Russian forces and intensifying assaults near Sumy Oblast. For millions of Ukrainians, Russian occupation is already a reality. The path the U.S.-led peace talks have taken thus far is compounding fears that occupation may become permanent. "I am afraid that the (possible) demarcation line will become a new Berlin Wall," a person currently living in Russian-occupied Hola Prystan, Kherson Oblast, their name withheld for security reasons, told the Kyiv Independent, in comments obtained with the assistance of the Helping to Leave organization. "I want to be able to talk to my family, who will be on both sides of this line, and to visit each other — I want to see Ukrainian flags fluttering in Ukrainian Hola Prystan. I want to live there," they added. "I am very afraid that these predators, Trump and Putin, will tear apart and plunder Ukraine, turn it into a colony, and turn us into slaves." The very fact Russia has resurrected the same demands it put forward in March and April of 2022, when Kyiv's ability to fight back with united Western support wasn't certain, is a damning indictment of the effect Trump's push for peace has had on Ukraine. "I am very afraid that these predators, Trump and Putin, will tear apart and plunder Ukraine, turn it into a colony, and turn us into slaves," a woman currently living in Russian-occupied Stara Zburivka, Kherson Oblast, told the Kyiv Independent "Is it possible to find words that could convey the grief of a mother who is burying her son? I gave my son and received a flag in memory of him," she added. "Mr. Trump, do not trade land and treasures that do not belong to you — I'm begging you to help us drive this ferocious Russian pack out of our country." "He is not ready to accept that Russia is cheating him and making him look like a fool." In Kyiv, lawmakers who spoke to the Kyiv Independent are wondering one thing: how long Trump will allow himself to be played by Putin. "He is not ready to accept that Russia is cheating him and making him look like a fool," Volodymyr Ariev, a Ukrainian lawmaker from the opposition European Solidarity party, told the Kyiv Independent. "In the current situation, Ukraine faces more months of war, Russia will continue the shelling of peaceful Ukrainian cities, and I think that real negotiations will only be possible next year." After the talks ended on May 16, Zelensky and several top European leaders held a phone call with Trump, the Ukrainian leader announced on Telegram. French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk joined Zelensky during the call. "Ukraine is ready to take the fastest possible steps for real peace, and it is important that the world holds strong positions," Zelensky wrote. But despite Russia now entering a third month of refusing to agree to Trump's original demand of a full, 30-day ceasefire, Trump has so far appeared happy to take what the Kremlin says at face value. Lamenting the differences in Western unity and the U.S. position on Russia under Presidents Trump and Joe Biden, Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksandr Merezhko told the Kyiv Independent the current White House's "illogical and inconsistent" approach meant Ukraine was now in a worse position than at any time since the early days of the full-scale invasion. "We lost this resolve and lost this consistency because of Trump," he said. After all the hype and expectations, the Istanbul meeting didn't deliver. Ukraine spent a lot of political capital trying to corner Putin, and, without U.S. support, it didn't work. The U.S. sent Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was sceptical to begin with, and who is likely leaving just as sceptical. Russia spent some political capital too, though, and there are only so many times Putin will be able to pull this off before the growing echoes of European discontent finally reach American ears. "What is interesting here," Ambassador Kurt Volker, a former U.S. special representative for Ukraine, told the Kyiv Independent, "is that the spotlight keeps getting brighter on Putin." "The U.S., Europe, and Ukraine all call for a ceasefire, Putin then says negotiate. The U.S. and Ukraine say OK, let's negotiate, and then Putin is a no-show. I don't know how much longer this can go on." Regardless, the U.S. position on the war in Ukraine hasn't quite evolved enough for the White House to start tightening the screws on the Kremlin. Not yet, anyway. At best, the Istanbul talks chipped away at American assumptions that Russia is an honest broker; at worst, Putin played for time, and left with the clock. Read also: 'It's all a farce' — Ukrainian soldiers on Russia's 'smokescreen' peace talks in Istanbul We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Klitschko's comments on giving up territory to Russia met with dismay by Ukrainian lawmakers
Comments from Kyiv's mayor Vitali Klitschko that Ukraine may be forced to temporarily give up some territories to Russia have been met with dismay by Ukrainian lawmakers who spoke to the Kyiv Independent. "No politician in Ukraine is authorized to change Ukraine's borders — this is the sovereign right of the Ukrainian people alone," Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, a lawmaker from the Holos party and chairman of the parliamentary committee on freedom of speech, said. "Therefore, such positions or proposals only play into the hands of the enemy, showing that pressure works and some concessions are possible," he added. In an interview with the BBC on April 25, Klitschko said that with ongoing U.S. efforts to end the war in Ukraine there are "a lot of conversations about a possible solution." "One of the scenarios is... to give up territory. It's not fair. But for peace, temporary peace, maybe it can be a solution. Temporary," Klitschko said in a released excerpt of the interview. He added that Ukrainians would "never accept occupation" by Russia. "I absolutely disagree with this statement," lawmaker and chair of the parliament's foreign affairs committee, Oleksandr Merezhko, told the Kyiv Independent. "Maybe he expressed his thoughts incorrectly and didn't mean it. The truth is, that Ukraine will never agree to any territorial concessions," he said. "Ukraine will always retain its sovereignty over temporarily occupied territories. The question is when these territories will be returned and by what means — military or diplomatic means?" Later on April 25, Klitschko in a post on Telegram sought to "clarify" his comments. "I said that Ukraine could be forced to make territorial concessions in exchange for ending the war. Unfortunately, as we see, such a scenario is quite possible," he said. "And many world politicians and media are talking about it today," he added, insisting he was not raising anything that hadn't already been raised. But Inna Sovsun, a Ukrainian lawmaker from the Holos political party, told the Kyiv Independent that the comments were "the first time I have heard such an idea from a Ukrainian politician." She expressed skepticism about the consequences of making territorial concessions to Russia in any form as part of any peace deal. "If you offer your arm to a tiger, don't be surprised when it takes your whole body," she said. Yurchyshyn suggested the idea of giving up territory to Russia was not widely shared among other Ukrainian lawmakers. "I have not observed any change in my colleagues' stance on the inadmissibility of recognizing the occupied territories as part of Russia," he said. The issue of territorial concessions became headline news earlier this week after it was reported the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump was considering giving de jure recognition of Russia's control of occupied Crimea. A copy of the peace proposal given to the U.S. by Ukrainian and European officials earlier this week shows the diverging viewpoints of the U.S. on one side, and Ukraine and its European allies on the other as they seek to end Russia's full-scale invasion. The document, reprinted in full by Reuters on April 25, includes "robust security guarantees" including from Washington, and no talks on territorial concessions until a "full and unconditional ceasefire in the sky, on land and at sea" has been implemented. "We have no right to abandon our people or our land—it would be a betrayal of those who gave their lives in the war and would render their sacrifice meaningless," Yurchyshyn said. Read also: Ukraine, Europe's ceasefire proposal includes US security guarantees, no recognition of Crimea, Reuters reports We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
