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the investigation of former MP Oleksandr Onyshchenko, who was named a suspect in the alleged theft of state funds from contracts with the leading state gas extraction firm. He has fled abroad since being named a suspect. More recently in July, detectives informed officials with Ukrzaliznytsia, the state railway monopoly, that they are suspects in an embezzlement investigation. In its announcement, the anti-corruption bureau neglected to mention whether any of these cases reached a court trial or resulted in criminal convictions. The trials are few and the convictions are close to none, which is the fault of Ukraine’s dysfunctional judicial system and the president’s unwillingness to expend any effort to fix it. The launch of an independent High Anti-Corruption Court, approved by President Poroshenko this summer, is supposed to begin to process of producing convictions and incarcerations of large-scale criminals, of which there are no more than a handful since Ukraine’s independence.
Sviatoslav Vakarchuk, frontman of Ukraine's iconic rock group Okean Elzy, who also one of the most popular non-politicians in the country, has released a song hinting at a possible run for the nation's presidency in next year’s elections. Lyrics, all written by the singer, include "how many of us have souls that hurt, have woken up and can’t sleep in these new times," and "we’ve had enough of the lies, we’re dizzy from artificial dreams," Bloomberg reported on August 21. According to latest opinion polls, the nation's two-time former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko remains the frontrunner in the presidential race. However, Tymoshenko would be ultimately defeated in the second round by Vakarchuk if he were to run in the poll. Tymoshenko has the dubious honour of also leading the polls in the “won’t vote for the candidate under any circumstances” category making her both the most, and least, popular politician in Ukraine. Vakarchuk refuses to comment his possible political career. His band declined to elaborate on the lyrics to their latest track, according to Bloomberg. "Usually, one would explain what the new song is about, what one wants to say and what a listener should hear," Okean Elzy tweeted. "We won’t do that. The song’s lyrics say it all." Recently, Balazs Jarabik, visiting scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told bne IntelliNews that he would question whether Vakarchuk really wants to run. "This is a huge effort with a lot of strings attached and I am not sure he is ready for it", Jarabik said. Meanwhile, Timothy Ash, a senior sovereign strategist at BlueBay Asset Management, wrote in a note on August 21 that Vakarchuk still remains "the dark horse candidate for the election". "If he decides to run, I think he would win," Ash added.
Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister says he is prepared to cut all bus and train connections between Ukraine and Russia that would add to the suspension of plane connections between the two countries already in place. "I have signed a historic document today. Bears will be the only transport to Moscow, just like they were in the good old days," Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Volodymyr Omelyan wrote on Facebook page on August 16, adding that the restrictions would go beyond passenger trains. The same day, the minister said in a televised interview that the set of possible measures, still shall be approved at the top levels in Kyiv. At the same time, he said Ukraine will continue to fulfil its transit obligations. The measures are a response to recent Russian detentions of ships traveling to Ukrainian ports in the Azov Sea , Omelyan underlined. While the move maybe politically justified in the face of Russian mounting aggression in the Sea of Azov, there are about 3mn Ukrainians living and working in Russia who send home about 10% of the $10bn of remittances Ukraine receives today and have already been seriously inconvenienced by the existent aviation ban on flights connecting the two
9 UKRAINE Country Report September 2018 www.intellinews.com