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Grytsenko’s ratings improving,” Kolomoisky told journalist Sonia Koshkina. “I believe that Petro Oleksiyevych (Poroshenko) should be in sixth place. Therefore, Grytsenko should be among those who end up in third or fourth place. We are in favour of his ratings being maximally high so that he qualifies for the next parliament.” It’s not clear what form Kolomoisky’s support for Grytsenko will take, but it usually means financing and access to news media. In which case, Kolomoisky is supporting three of the five leading presidential candidates against Poroshenko. Comedian Voloymyr Zelenskiy and former PM Yulia Tymoshenko are also widely recognized to be backed by Kolomoisky. Yet Kolomoisky might be overplaying his hand in supporting so many candidates. Rather than overtaking Poroshenko, these candidates could merely water down the opposition vote against him, paving his path to the second-round runoff. In his remarks, Kolomoisky acknowledges that Grytsenko is unlikely to become president and he’s preparing to have influence in parliament. In this sense, his approach is effective, mimicking what other billionaires have done, most notably Rinat Akhmetov.
Vadim Novinsky, a business partner with Rinat Akhmetov, was elected the head of the Opposition Bloc parliamentary faction , the pravda.com.ua news site reported on November 20, citing anonymous sources within the faction. Oleksandr Vilkul will serve as his deputy, the report said. The same day, the faction voted to remove its co-head, Yuriy Boyko, and his close associate, Serhiy Lyovochkin. Novinsky built his business empire in Ukraine as a Russian citizen before becoming a Ukrainian citizen in 2012. Among Ukraine’s handful of billionaires, Novinsky is a leading defender of Russian language and culture in Ukraine, having warned of civil war this year if a canonical Orthodox Church of Ukraine is created to replace the Moscow Patriarchate and take control of its properties. Novinsky’s election is significant for two reasons. He is a close business partner to Akhmetov, thereby securing his control over the faction, and likely the party. And Novinsky is highly recognized for his pro-Russian positions. That means that Akhmetov is likely to field a presidential candidate, and a political party based on the Opposition Bloc (with the same name possibly), to compete for Ukraine’s Russian-oriented electorate in next year’s elections. As we mentioned, Akhmetov will have to be careful in developing the project as he risks losses to his influence and image if it fails, particularly in competition with the party led by Boyko and Viktor Medvedchuk, Putin’s confidante. So far, their political positions appear to be almost identical, which is negative because it means they could cannibalize each other’s electorate.
The leaders of Ukraine’s two largest pro-Russian political parties, Yuriy Boyko of the Opposition Bloc and Vadim Rabinovich of the For Life party merged. They , signed an agreement on November 9 to merge into a new political party, the Opposition Platform For Life, local press reported on November 12. In late November Boiko annoucned he would run for president.
The self-declared Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, backed by the Russian government, held elections on November 11 to their heads of government and councils. As expected, Denis Pushilin was elected head of the Donetsk government, and Leonid Pasechnik was elected head in Luhansk. The turnout was reported at 80% in Donetsk by local authorities and 77% in Luhansk. In order to entice voters, markets were organized with discounted products, news reports said. Students were also reported to be required to attend a celebratory concert. Western and Ukrainian authorities repeated their condemnations of the elections, which were held in violation of the Minsk
16 UKRAINE Country Report December 2018 www.intellinews.com