Page 62 - BNE_magazine_10_2019 kolomoisky

62 Opinion
bne October 2019
So far the damage to Ukraine's image has been limited to the international community. The Ukrainian people themselves are still very happy with their new president, whose approval rating has been soaring. The quick results as anti-corruption legislation sails through parliament and Zelenskiy delivers on his promise to return POWs from Russia, including celebrity director Oleg Sentsov, have been PR successes for the young president. A recent survey found that the majority of Ukrainians see the country going in the “right direction” for the first time in five years.
“Ukraine’s donors are likely to try and ignore the Kolomoisky issue as long as they are getting the reform legislation they demand passed”
Analysts and journalists were fast to condemn the attack, then Ukraine’s partners piled in later in the day underscoring the seriousness of the incident.
"Recent apparent series of attacks against the person and property of the former Governor of the NBU is unacceptable, as the UA President said this morning.We expect law enforcement agencies to investigate and bring those responsible to justice w/out delay," the EU delegation to Ukraine tweeted.
The US embassy issued an even stiffer statement, also calling for an investigation, but also calling for action against "whoever
MACRO ADVISER:
Winter debates that will shape the Russian economy and (maybe) politics
Chris Weafer of Macro-Advisory
Against the backdrop of still weak economic indicators and deteriorating public confidence in the Russian government’s management of the economy, the debates amongst senior government officials over what should be done to boost activity are intensifying. If current relatively weak conditions persist, expect the debates to gain intensity and the
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ordered the attack" in a clear reference to what everyone in Kyiv is thinking.
"We join Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy and other Ukrainian officials in calling for an urgent and thorough investigation of the arson attack on the home for former NBU head Gontareva. We stand with the Ukrainian people in expecting the responsible authorities to bring to justice now only the perpetrators of the attacks and threats against Gontareva, but also those that ordered the attacks," the US embassy said in a statement realease on social media.
The timing of the arson attack is doubly sensitive as a team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was currently in Kyiv to negotiate a new three-year Extended Fund Facility (EFF) worth $5bn, which was due to be agreed any day.
Ukraine’s donors are likely to try and ignore the Kolomoisky issue as long as they are getting the reform legislation
they demand passed. As bne IntelliNews reported, the new government has set itself a hectic and ambitious legislative agenda for the autumn and donors will be most concerned with getting as many of these laws onto the books as possible. However, if the government goes through with the suggestion of paying Kolomoisky the mooted $2bn of compensation for PrivatBank, then all bets are probably off.
“Hard to see the IMF buying that bull. Remember IMF money was disbursed on the basis of a reasonable resolution of the PrivatBank case, which meant nationalisation in the first instance and pursuit of losses to state from former owners,” says Ash.
The debates amongst senior Russian government officials over what should be done to boost activity are intensifying.
pressure to “do something” to grow through the remainder of this year and up to next spring.
The protagonists in these increasingly lively debates include the First Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, the governor of the Central Bank of Russia (CBR)