Inside Ukraine

March 20, 2015 № 45 Content

The Government Policy...... 1 The potential for conflict escalation in Donbas...... 1 Officers demand changes in the General Staff...... 2 Delay with the appointment of the Head of Anticorruption Bureau...... 3

Economic situation...... 5 The impact of a new IMF bailout program on financial system...... 5 The salvation of «Naftogaz» as an example of anti-reforms...... 7

Political Competition...... 9 The preconditions for the government restructuring...... 9 The potential competitors of “Opposition bloc”...... 10

Inside Ukraine 45 The Government Policy The Government Policy

The militants’ disregard of the Minsk agreements, vation and military discipline in the army -requires the concentration of their armed forces along the an immediate response from the authorities. front line and the need for a symbolic victory on At the same time, the competition for the head the eve of May 9 indicate an increased likelihood of of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau is about the deterioration of the situation in Donbas in the to be completed. Although the selection process coming weeks. was transparent and public, the authorities are now Taking this into consideration, the criticism from trying to influence the results because they do not military officers who demand changes in the General consider any of the candidates to be loyal enough. Staff - namely the optimization of staff, the career ad- Such approaches undermine the credibility of the vancement of commanders who have distinguished Ukrainian authorities among domestic society and themselves in combat and an improvement in moti- foreign partners. The potential for conflict escalation in Donbas

Ukraine continues to adhere to the Minsk agree- on the principle “all for all” within five days after the ments unilaterally, while the militants’ actions are withdrawal of weapons. According to Petro Porosh- aimed at simulation rather than the actual with- enko, as of March 15, 2015, militants have violated drawal of heavy weapons. Not only does the capture the “ceasefire” regime more than 1,100 times. of Debaltseve after the Militants simulate These factors indicate the probability of an ceasefire reflect the mili- the withdrawal aggravation of the situation in Donbas in the tants’ deliberate ignoring coming weeks. The additional arguments for this of the Minsk-2 agree- of heavy weapons. scenario are: ments but also the disregard of provisions including • The increase of militant groups along the front the withdrawal of heavy weapons within 14 days af- line (according to experts’ estimates, there are ter the ceasefire, the OSCE’s inability to use drones 35-40 thousand militants in Donbas now, of to verify the process, the exchange of hostages based which 10 thousand are Russian militaries);

Inside Ukraine 45 1 The Government Policy

• The vigorous actions in Mariupol, Donetsk and • The improvement of conditions for sabotage Luhansk areas (frequent shelling of Shyrokino, operations with the arrival of spring (green Avdiivka and Stanytsia Luhanska); forests greatly increased the efficiency • The Kremlin’s pursuit to raise stakes in the of Russian commandos at the beginning confrontation with the West (a propaganda film of the conflict last year). “Crimea. Back home”, The Kremlin The recent attack of pro-Russian militants Vladimir Putin’s order continues to raise in Stanytsia Luhanska, Foreign Minister Sergii to put on full combat stakes in the con­ Lavrov’s disapproval of the changes to the law alert the Northern frontation­ “On special order of local government in cer- Fleet and certain units tain districts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions” with the West. of the Western Military and the statements of the Russian Federation District from March 16, 2015); President’s Press Secretary Dmytro Peskov that • The Kremlin’s understanding of the propaganda DPR/LPR signal on the failure of the Minsk importance of the 70th anniversary of Victory agreements are other proofs that this scenario Day symbolism; is possible. Officers demand changes in the General Staff

The possibility of the conflict’s escalation and President written by commanders of the units who full-scale hostilities again shows the need for the retreated from Debaltseve was published in the me- improvement of Ukraine’s defense capacity and an dia, in which they wrote about the inaction of head- analysis of previous mistakes made by the military quarters in preparation for this operation. command of the country. The fact that, during anti- Major elements of their criticism included the terrorist operation (ATO), 65 % of Ukrainian losses low competence of the Officers draw in armored vehicles and General Staff and opera- Most of Ukrainian attention to the 70% of Ukrainian losses tional headquarters, insuf- incompetence of in artillery were a result losses in vehicles ficient work with hu­man of pockets near Izvarino, and artillery resources, which means the General Staff. Illovaisk and Debaltseve were caused by no promotion possibilities for the most talented proves that the military “pockets”. commanders, a lack of motivation for military command - not the mili- men to stay in the army and the sporadic work of tary units - is to be blamed. These encirclements military prosecutors that does not ensure disci- led to considerable human losses. Recently, military pline in the troops. prosecutors published their conclusions, according Military headquarters continue functioning as to which 360 Ukrainian soldiers died, 180 people if there is no war. They have an excessively large were missing and more than 500 were wounded as staff, a complicated structure and extremely bu- a result of the Illovaisk pocket. Most of these losses reaucratic procedures. Military command does took place on August 29, 2014, when there was an not use intelligence enough, is unaware of the real order to retreat through the corridor provided by situation on the front line and often cedes initia- the Russian troops. tive to the separatists. The actions of the General Staff are criticized not A complex manage- A complicated only by public experts, but also by combatants. On ment system can be ex- management March 11, 2015, the media published an interview of plained with high num- sys­tem is explained Colonel Viktor Pokusa, who analyzes mistakes of the bers of senior officers with excessive command and gives recommendations how to avoid who are to be employed at numbers of generals them in future. On March 12, 2015, an address to the respective positions. Ac- in Ukraine.

2 Inside Ukraine 45 The Government Policy cording to the army reform supported by the Presi- An increase in army size and an improvement in its dent, there is an initiative to create several more morale are directly related to increased motivation, in- headquarters and increase the number of general- cluding of a financial nature. After a year in the ATO level positions from 121 to 151. Combatants em- zone many units return home for demobilization. It is phasize that the staff of headquarters should be de- necessary to use these officers at least to transfer their creased by 3-4 times and all the officers employed experience to new conscripts who have just started there should go through the ATO zone first in order their training at the firing ground. Currently the gov- to understand the specific nature of current hostili- ernment uses only administrative methods – the presi- ties. Further, this would revive the soldiers’ trust in dential administration offered to oblige demobilized the General Staff. people to serve in the military reserve. Another way to return trust to headquarters and The officers have specific recommendations increase their efficiency is through the promotion of how to improve management in the army. Military commanders who have proved their efficiency in mili- command will show their tary operations. It is also important to work more with maturity if they consider Criticism should be conscripts whose appointment to higher positions is such remarks without try- considered, blocked due to the resistance of career officers. ing to deny any criticism. not denied. Delay with the appointment of the Head of Anticorruption Bureau

On February 7, 2015, Petro Poroshenko stated of Justice, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry that the Head of the National Anticorruption Bu- of Healthcare and the State Fiscal Service. reau (NAB) would be appointed within the follow- The commission granted the strongest sup- ing week. Since then, six weeks have passed, but port to Viktor Chumak, MP from “Bloc of Petro no one knows who will head the new agency deal- Poroshenko” and deputy head of the anticorrup- ing with the fight against corruption. The problem tion committee at the Verkhovna Rada (7 votes), is that both the President and the Prime Minister Artem Sytnyk, lawyer and former prosecutor from lack confidence in the loyalty of the candidates se- Kirovohrad (6 votes), Mykola Siryi, former depu- lected by the respective commission. ty head of the State Committee in Entrepreneur- The competition is the first case in modern ship and member of the Ukrainian Association of Ukrainian history in which candidates for the po- Lawyers (5 votes), and Yakiv Varichev, lawyer and sition of the head of a key state agency were se- former investigator at the the Prosecutor-General lected by a jury of opinion leaders and the process Office in the times of the USSR (5 votes). was public and transparent. However, over the last two weeks, there were The selection commission consists of nine mem- at least two attempts by the Ukrainian officials to bers, appointed by the President, the government influence the competition and broaden the list of and the Parliament. 200 candidates submitted candidates presented to the President. their application for the call, and 21 people were On March 5, 2015, several MPs of “Bloc of Pet- shortlisted for a public interview with the same ro Poroshenko” and “People’s Front” registered the set of questions. Out of this number, on March 6, draft bill No. 2339, under which it was proposed to 2015, the selection commission chose 4 candidates cancel the age limit for the dismissal of the NAB for the President to make a final choice. Currently, Head (65 years). It will be considered this week. these candidates are un- If it is supported by a parliamentary majority, the dertaking a special verifi- The selection of competition will be prolonged and new candidates cation of documents con- the NAB Head has will be able to submit their documents within 14 ducted by the Ministry of reached its final days. Giovanni Kessler, member of the selection the Interior, the Ministry stage. commission, already stated that “attempts of the

Inside Ukraine 45 3 The Government Policy

Verkhovna Rada to change the rules at the end of Both for the Ukrainian society and international the competition threaten the independence of the partners, the selection of the NAB Head is an indicator commission decision”. of whether the Ukrainian government is serious in its According to another scenario, out of 4 can- intentions to fight corruption. The selection process has didates only one person will be able to pass the been public and transpar- Interference in the special inspection, which is a mere verification of ent thus far. Any attempts selection of the NAB document authenticity. According to anticorrup- of the officials to manipu- tion legislation, the President has to get at least late the selection results Head undermines two candidates for a final decision to be made. will breed mistrust in the trust to Ukrainian Thus, the selection commission will have to revise capacity of the government officials as regards the selection results. to implement reforms. reforms.

4 Inside Ukraine 45 Economic situation

The IMF decision to provide Ukraine with a loan and its banking sector in particular are an impor- has had no impact on the FX rate as of yet. Howev- tant aspect of the IMF’s financial assistance. er, it may have positive repercussions in a mid-term The lack of progress on a comprehensive reform- perspective. For the time being, the hryvnia value ing of “Naftogaz of Ukraine” PJSC adds to insta- is kept at the same level due to the NBU’s manage- bility in the energy market and will eventually re- ment of the FX market. However, in the mid-term sult in significant losses suffered by businesses and perspective, the NBU may use the IMF loan for cur- households. The government has tried to solve gas rency interventions, which will satisfy the pent-up problems by increasing the fiscal pressure on energy demand for FX. The IMF’s recommendations on the enterprises, reducing the heating season and hiking reforming of Ukraine’s financial market in general up tariffs for households. The impact of a new IMF bailout program on financial system

Over the last week, FX rates in the interbank In the current situation, importers cannot pur- FX market have been fluctuating between 22 and chase FX worth more than EUR 25,000 without the 23 UAH/USD. The main reason for the hryvnia’s sta- regulator’s permission. The NBU approved of only bilization has been the introduction of rather tough a small number of importers’ applications, thus in- NBU administrative restrictions. The balance be- creasing excess supply of FX. In fact, FX demand is tween currency demand and supply has been changed being artificially held back. It should be noted that due to banks’ inability to owing to the hryvnia’s instability and a lack of avail- The main reason purchase currency, ex- able alternative objects for storing and saving, for- porters’ obligations to sell for the hryvnia eign currency has become one of the main invest- 75% of currency receipts stabilization is NBU ment instruments in Ukraine, which accounts for and new changes in the administrative an increased demand for FX. As a result of recent monetary policy. restrictions. administrative measures, FX surplus was purchased

Inside Ukraine 45 5 Economic situation by the NBU, which replenished its FX reserves first place, the IMF expects that the NBU will be by USD 1 bln. more independent from the government, especially Administrative restrictions may last for three as regards the financing of its expenditures. Also, months, starting from the moment of their introduc- the NBU will have to undergo a significant struc- tion. However, the NBU’s management does not ex- tural transformation. clude the possibility of the premature lifting of admin- One of the key NBU tasks is to step up control istrative measures provided the FX rate is stabilized, of the banking sector . In compliance with IMF especially in view of the fact that the IMF insists on the requirements, at the beginning of March, a law to temporary nature of the restrictions. In such a situa- increase the responsi- tion, it is extremely important to ensure that it is quali- bility of the final ben- The NBU should tative changes in the structure of supply and demand eficiaries and banks’step up control of the and the diminution in public anxiety that account for top management was banking sector. the hryvnia’s stabilization instead of exclusively artifi- adopted. Among other cial NBU-imposed restrictions on currency demand. provisions, the law stipulated that a sentence of 5 In case administrative restrictions are lifted, the years will be imposed for inflicting insolvency on pent-up demand for currency on the part of importers a financial institution for mercenary reasons (e.g., may lead to a new wave The pent-up demand insider lending). There are doubts as to whether this of hryvnia devaluation law can be fully implemented in light of the existing and capital outflowsmay cause a new corruption and abuse of office in the financial -sec from Ukraine . In such a wave of devaluation. tor. Changes in banking regulation also provide for situation, the IMF funds may help keep the situation a NBU loan register, international financial report- under the NBU’s control; the regulator may intervene ing standards to be adopted by banks by the second in the FX market and prevent a sharp devaluation of half of 2015 and the elaboration of the strategy for the hryvnia. It is noteworthy that out of the USD 5 bln. state banks supervision by September 2015. provided as the first IMF tranche, USD 2.5 bln was used It is expected that major banks will be screened to to replenish FX reserves. The provision of new tranches figure out the necessary amount of extra provisioning will be contingent upon the results of regular inspec- and capitalization. The NBU has somewhat relaxed tions by IMF representatives of the implementation of control on banks due to a sharp decline in the hryvnia’s necessary reforms (the execution of the so-called struc- value. Taking into account the current level of hryvnia tural indicators by Ukraine). devaluation, the necessary amount for extra capital- Developments in Ukraine’s embattled east are an ization of the Ukrainian banking system may reach important factor of the hryvnia’s value dynamics. The around UAH 150-250 bln. current stabilization in the currency market is also con- Also, the banking system will see further sani- ditioned by a cessation of hostilities in Donbas. In case tation of beleaguered financial institutions . The fi- of their resumption and a large offensive by pro-Rus- nancial sanitation pro- Further financial sian forces, public anxiety and FX demand may grow cedure will need to be and the hryvnia may keep depreciating. improved at the legal sanitation is expected. The implementation of IMF requirements may level, in particular as regards the restructuring of have a positive long-term impact on the develop- bad loans, the development of extrajudicial mecha- ment of the banking sector, the restoration of pub- nisms and the implementation of a memorandum lic trust аnd eventually the hryvnia’s stability. In the on the restructuring of FX mortgage loans.

6 Inside Ukraine 45 Economic situation The salvation of «Naftogaz» as an example of anti-reforms Despite government’s statements on the need to However, small companies are thereby deprived increase the economic efficiency of “Naftogaz” and of opportunities to streamline manufacturing and the government’s inter- “Naftogaz” reform increase gas production, while their foreign inves- national commitments tors have no other choice but to consider leaving the to energy sector reform, is again delayed. Ukrainian market. Due to an increase in rental pay- the state continues to solve the gas issue by increas- ments for gas extraction from 20 to 70%, companies ing fiscal pressure on energy enterprises, reducing such as “Poltava oil and gas company”, “Karpatygaz”, the heating season and imposing higher tariffs for “Geo-Alliance”, “Kub-Gas” and “Burisma” are close households. to shutting down their businesses. Consequently, While reporting on the government activities the investment environment becomes more unsta- in the energy sector, Energy Minister Volodymyr ble and Ukraine loses its business reputation. Demchyshyn focused on the need to lessen gas con- The situation with the tariffs is even more com- sumption to reduce expenditure. He expressed his plicated. Recently, private incomes have shrunk not hope that the terms of the so-called “summer” pack- only due to lower real wages, the freezing of wages age between the European Commission, Ukraine and pensions and high unemployment rates, but and Russia would be agreed upon to resolve the also as a result of the hryvnia’s devaluation, infla- issue of gas prices and gas transit. This indicates a tion, the introduction of additional taxes and, fi- situational approach to the settlement of strategic nally, a significant increase in tariffs. In 2014 alone, issues as regards the development of the gas sector an increase in gas and heating prices for end users and energy security. amounted to 56% and 40% respectively. Instead of restructuring “Naftogaz” under the In compliance with IMF requirements, Ukraine terms and conditions of the EU Third Energy Pack- must increase the retail gas price for households by age, which includes the removal of the “Naftogaz” an average of 285 % (UAH Ukraine will raise monopoly on gas production, transportation and 3,600 per 1,000 cm and gas prices for supply as well as the introduction of new approach- UAH 7,187 per 1,000 cm households by es to increasing profitability and streamlining cor- for the 1st and 2nd catego- 285%. porate management, the government continues to ries of consumers, respec- increase financial injections into “Naftogaz” and its tively) and the retail heating price for households by international debts. an average of 67% (UAH 625 per Gcal) from April Revenues from higher tax rates for gas producers 1, 2015. There are serious doubts about the ability of and tariffs for households will be the main finan- households to pay such great tariffs in view of the fact cial source to compensate for government expendi- that an average salary is equal to UAH 2,000-4,000. tures. In a time of economic instability and limited This means that there is a high likelihood of amass- capacity to attract loans in the domestic market, this ing debts to public utilities and the underfinancing of approach is perceived as the best option available, “Naftogaz”. In this case, subsidies to households may as both gas producers be considered as an indirect financing of “Naftogaz”. and households are the The government However, there is a question whether they will suffice most diligent tax pay- solves the problems to cover the deficit of the company and what source ers. Another argument through raising taxes the subsidies may come from. in favor of this decision for gas companies Despite the critical state of “Naftogaz” reform, is an attempt to reduce and tariffs – for Ukraine has promised the IMF to suspend state the income of profit- households. subsidies to the company only by 2017 and reduce able companies to the the combined deficit of the public management sec- benefit of the state and fix tariffs at a reasonable tor and “Naftogaz” from 10.3% of GDP in 2014 to price level. 7.4% of GDP in 2015 and to 2.6% of GDP by 2018.

Inside Ukraine 45 7 Economic situation

In view of these terms, a rapid reforming of “Naf- Today, the lack of progress on a comprehensive re- togaz” seems unlikely. forming of “Naftogaz” increases instability in the en- In the updated EU-Ukraine Association Agenda, ergy market and leads to great losses suffered by busi- which was approved on March 16, 2015 by the EU- nesses and the general population. A further delay Ukraine Cooperation Council, Ukraine reaffirmed in the resolution of the key problems of the company its commitment to comply with its obligations to threatens the functioning of the gas sector and may the EU in terms of the restructuring of “Naftogaz”. lead to a subsequent loss of positions in the sphere In particular, it discusses the adoption of laws on a of energy security, Delay with “Naftogaz” new regulator in the gas and electricity market as empty state coffers reform threatens well as the restructuring of state companies based and reduce social energy security. on the provisions of the Third Energy Package. welfare benefits.

8 Inside Ukraine 45 Political Competition Political Competition

Aft er the IMF’s fi nancial assistance has been re- primarily on the confl ict in Donbas and the Prime ceived, changes in the Ukrainian government are Minister’s actions. In this regard, the option of possible. Arsenii Yatseniuk has an annual immu- synchronizing early parliamentary elections with nity from resignation, but in case one of the co- local ones, which are scheduled for October 2015, alition members leaves the coalition, the Cabinet is discussed in political circles. may incur signifi cant personnel rotations. Petro Th e newly formed parliamentary group of Vi- Poroshenko seeks to strengthen control over the talii Khomutynnyk, “Renaissance”, intends to government while some coalition members are in- compete with “Opposition bloc” for the electoral terested in increasing their quota in state authori- heritage of the Party of Regions in the south-east- ties. Th e failure to keep to the coalition agreement ern regions of Ukraine. Th is parliamentary group and the lack of reforms may be seen as formal rea- is oriented towards Ihor Kolomoiskyi, who strives sons for the coalition’s dissolution. Th erefore, the to diversify his political infl uence in various re- scenarios of internal developments will depend gions of Ukraine. The preconditions for the government restructuring

Petro Poroshenko has managed to ensure politi- has been settled, the hryvnia has stabilized and the cal stability for at least the next three months. Ar- truce in Donbas, though fragile, is maintained. senii Yatseniuk’s manipulations and threats regard- Th e President is facing a diffi cult dilemma now: ing “People’s Front” leaving the ruling coalition will how to increase his political infl uence in the gov- not be as menacing for ernment without knocking down the fragile “gov- the President and “Bloc Poroshenko has ernment building”? of Petro Poroshenko”. Th e ensured political Th e drop of Arsenii Yatseniuk’s ratings, the lack issue of macroeconomic stability in the of real reforms and the willingness of other coali- support from the IMF near future. tion partners to increase the number of their rep-

Inside Ukraine 45 9 Political Competition resentatives in the authorities provide objective Natalia Yaresko is optimal both for the President and factors for changes in the government. The explicit the West, which requires guarantees of transparency military rhetoric of the Prime Minister annoys not of the IMF’s finances. It is worth mentioning that the only most of the political establishment, but also Finance Minister has become quite active in HR pol- the public. The President also does not like the fact icy – all deputy ministers have been substituted by that the Prime Minister controls the police and people from the business. Obviously, the assignment access to financial channels as well as tries to in- of a first deputy of “Bloc of Petro Poroshenko”, Ihor fluence foreign policy. The information campaign Kononenko, to the position of Deputy Prime Min- against Arsenii Yatseniuk ister may become the first step to wield the political regarding the inability of Domestic political influence of the President in the government. the current government preconditions It is not clear how Arsenii Yatseniuk will react to implement reforms has for restructuring after the possible coalition collapse – that is, wheth- been launched on one of the government. er he will resign or work until a new coalition is the central channels. formed. However, the President will have the op- On March 15, 2015, a congress of the Radical tion of forming a “technocratic government” with- party of Oleh Liashko was held, which questioned out politicians. This A technocratic the need to stay in the coalition. As a result, it was format of the apolitical government is the decided that the party would leave the coalition if government will be the most appropriate the coalition agreement were violated. Such state- most appropriate un- option in times of war. ments are similar to the rhetoric of Yulia Tymosh- der crisis and war. enko, the leader of “Batkivshchyna”, who publicly Nevertheless, the most significant factor that will criticizes the government for the lack of decentral- affect the stability of the government is the problem ization reforms. of conflict settlement in Donbas. The further escala- Interestingly, “Bloomberg” presented Natalia tion of the conflict and the threat posed by an exter- Yaresko to the Western world as a promising Ukrai- nal enemy could somewhat slow down the competi- nian politician in one of the articles. The candidacy of tion for power and resources. The potential competitors of “Opposition bloc”

The group “Renaissance”, which consists of 22 political party “Renaissance” The party majoritarian members mainly people from Odes- was registered in 2004. At that “Renaissance” sa and Kharkiv regions plans to develop the party time it was headed by for- is represented structure and branches in all regions of Ukraine. mer CEO of “Ukrzaliznytsia” In the nearest future, in all the local councils where Georgii Kyrpa, who died un- in local councils there are “Renaissance” representatives, there are der strange circumstances after the second round plans to create separate parliamentary groups that of the 2004 presidential election. It should be noted will work on project promotion in the regions. that the party had its own parliamentary faction The party “Renais- The deputy group and representation in regional and local councils in sance” will play with “Renaissance” is a rival 2005. As a result of the 2010 local elections, small “Opposition Bloc” to “Opposition bloc” deputy groups and factions were created in Kharkiv, on one electoral field Transcarpathian, Zaporizhia, Chernivtsi and Odes- in local and parlia- for the electorate sa regions. In other regions, small deputy corps are mentary elections. in South and East. represented in the village and town councils. Viktor Ostapchuk, MP, member of the same Thus, this project still retains agitators and a group and a long-time associate of Vitalii Khomu- party network, which is mainly comprised of rep- tynnyk, heads this political force. Interestingly, the resentatives of railway, automobile trade unions

10 Inside Ukraine 45 Political Competition and other associations of transportation workers. Odessa region remains one of the key regions The party plans to hold party congresses and con- for Ihor Kolomoisky, as his partner Ihor Palytsia ferences in the near future. is a Head of the regional administration there. It is forecasted that the group “Renaissance” Odessa region is represented by the biggest num- will get the largest support in Kharkiv and Odessa ber of influential MPs, among which there are regions, where the party gained 0.8%-2% of the Vitaliy Barvinenko, Vasyl Hulyayev, Anton Kisse vote in 2006, 2007 and 2012. and Leonid Klimov. It was Leonid Klimov that ac- In the 2014 early elections, the co-chairs of the “Re- tively developed branches of Party of the Regions naissance” group Vitalii Khomutynnyk, Valerii Pysa- in Odessa region in 2004-2007. Besides, Yevhen renko and the nominal party leader Viktor Ostap- Heller (he used to be head of the budget commit- chuk were elected in majoritarian districts in Kharkiv tee of the parliament and the head of financial region. Another co-chair of the group, Viktor Bon- control department at Party of the Regions), An- dar, was a chairman of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional ton Yatsenko and Hennadiy Bobov will also take State Administration in 2007-2010. During this pe- an active part in the new project development. In riod, the politician culti- case of its further institutionalization, the project vated close business and The future project may be joined by former members of Communist political relations with will focus on Odessa party, Party of the Regions and other supporters Ihor Kolomoiskyi. and Kharkiv regions. of socialist ideas.

Inside Ukraine 45 11 The aim of the publication is to provide objective information on current political events in Ukraine and thorough analysis of major tendencies in domestic politics. Such analysis will assist in setting priorities in the process of implementing reforms in Ukraine and in evaluating quality of state decisions from the viewpoint of their impact and sustainability. Special attention is paid to evaluation of political competition in Ukraine and ability of key political players to address challenges.

© 2015 International Center for Policy Studies (ICPS) If citing please give reference on the ICPS

Idea of the project: Vira Nanivska

Responsible for the project: Iaroslav Kovalchuk

Responsible for the chapters: The Government Policy — Iaroslav Kovalchuk Economic Situation — Vasyl Povoroznyk Political Competition — Anatoliy Oktysyuk

Team of ICPS experts: Iaroslav Kovalchuk, Vasyl Povoroznyk, Angela Bochi, Anatoliy Oktysyuk, Nataliia Slobodian, Olena Zakharova, Volodymyr Prytula, Vasyl Filipchuk

Proofread by Patrick E. McGrath

Inside Ukraine 45