Page 54 - bne IntelliNews monthly magazine October 2024

54 I Eastern Europe bne October 2024
“The information also included other plans, including an initial scheme to kidnap Volkov in Lithuania and transport him to Russia”
counterclaims between Nevzlin and his associates, culminating in Matus seizing and handing over phones used in the attack organisation to FBK.
The situation then took a turn when Matus disappeared after learning that Navalny's team would not pay him for the evidence. Soon after, the same information surfaced on the Kremlin-supported Russia Today.
Nevzlin has strongly denied any involve- ment in the attacks, dismissing the allegations as unfounded and politically driven. He called for an independent investigation and expressed confidence that a fair judicial process would clear him of any wrongdoing. He accused Mos- cow of being behind the evidence.
with alleged connections to authorities. Matus, who claims to have worked for Khodorkovsky in the past, arranged a meeting with a number of members of FBK in Montenegro. At this meeting, Matus explained that he was responsible for retrieving the assailants' phones fol- lowing the attack. During this meeting, he allegedly played a recording of his conversation with Nevzlin, which con- firmed the details of the attack on Volkov and other opposition figures.
The information also included other plans, including an initial scheme to kidnap Volkov in Lithuania and transport him to Russia. However, this plan faltered, leading to a second attempt to attack Volkov in the US. Ultimately, Volkov was assaulted in Vilnius, suffering from mul- tiple injuries. Despite the attack’s comple- tion, Nevzlin was reportedly dissatisfied with the results, expressing frustration over the severity of Volkov’s injuries. This dissatisfaction led to accusations and
Who is Ukraine’s new Foreign Minister,
Andrii Sybiha?
Ben Aris in Berlin
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy shook up his government on September 5 and replaced Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba with Andrii Sybiha, along with almost a dozen of other ministers and senior officials to “reinvigorate” his administration, the president said the next day.
Kuleba had held the post of Foreign Minister since March 2020 and worked tirelessly to rally support for Ukraine’s existential war with Russia. However, as bne IntelliNews has reported, Kyiv has run up against a brick wall in recent months as Ukraine fatigue sets in and its Western allies have dragged their heels on providing both military and financial help. In particular, a G7 $50bn loan to Ukraine, approved on June 13
at a G7 summit in Italy, is caught up in wrangling amongst the partners over who is going to contribute how much. Germany recently announced it will scale down the amount it contributes in the coming years, leaving a $12bn hole in the 2024 budget that will rise to $15bn
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in 2025, according to recent statements by the Ministry of Finance (MinFin).
The second issue is Bankova’s (Ukraine’s equivalent of the Kremlin) increasing frustration with the US, which continues to block permission for Ukraine to use the powerful Nato-supplied missiles to hit targets deeper inside Russia that are badly needed to be struck following the Kursk incursion that began on August 4. According to recent reports, the defence of the front line in the Donbas regions is beginning to crumble, leading some to ask whether the invasion of Russia was
a strategic blunder.
Sybiha takes over a big and difficult portfolio. A seasoned diplomat and former First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, he was confirmed in his new job by the Rada with 258 votes, comfortably passing the required 226 threshold.
Sybiha’s appointment comes as part of a broader reshuffle within the Ukrainian government, aimed at injecting “new energy” into its leadership. Zelenskiy, who
had announced his intent to overhaul the administration the day prior, remarked that the changes were essential to bolster the country’s capabilities in “international politics and diplomacy.” He added:
“We need new energy today.”
A career diplomat
Sybiha was born in the western Ukrainian town of Zboriv in 1975, and rose steadily through the ranks of Ukraine’s foreign service, reports Vedomosti. A graduate
of the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv with degrees in international relations and law, he began his career at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) as an attaché in the legal department.
Sybiha’s foreign service includes two stints at the Ukrainian Embassy in Poland, first in the late 1990s and later from 2008 to 2012, where he served as an adviser-envoy. He is fluent in Polish and English, and maintains good relations with the Polish-Ukrainian community, and as he is part-Polish himself, he is seen as a natural interlocutor in relations with Kyiv’s western neighbour.