G-7 seeks to counter ‘irresponsible’ behavior
The G-7 has wrapped up its first in-person meeting in more than two years with a pledge to bolster collective efforts to counter Russia’s “irresponsible and destabilizing” behavior, but offered little concrete action aside from expressing support for Ukraine. “We are deeply concerned that the negative pattern of Russia’s irresponsible and destabilizing behavior continues,” the top diplomats of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States said in a joint statement on May 5 following talks in London. The ministers cited “the large buildup of Russian military forces on Ukraine’s borders and in illegally annexed Crimea, its malign activities aimed at undermining other countries’ democratic systems, its malicious cyberactivity and use of disinformation.” The statement also said, “We nevertheless will continue to bolster our collective capabilities and those of our partners to address and deter Russian behavior that is threatening the rules-based international order, including in the areas of cyberspace security and disinformation.” The G-7 meeting set the tone for next month’s summit of the group’s leaders in Cornwall, England. It came amid heightened tensions between Russia and the West over issues including Russia’s military threats to Ukraine, alleged meddling in elections in the United States and other democracies, alleged state-backed hacking, and the poisoning and jailing of Kremlin foe Alexei Navalny. Russia’s recent military buildup near the Ukrainian border and in Crimea, seized by Moscow in March 2014, has raised concerns about a major escalation of the conflict in eastern Ukraine, where fighting between government forces and Moscow-backed separatists has killed more than 13,000 people since April 2014. The Russian military said last week that most of its troops had returned to their permanent bases. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was flying to Kviv after the G-7 meeting to “underscore unwavering U.S. support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of Russia’s ongoing aggression” and to “encourage progress on Ukraine’s reform agenda,” according to the State Department. In their statement, the G-7 ministers said they were “deeply concerned about the deteriorating human rights situation in Russia, and the systematic crackdown on opposition voices, human rights defenders, independent civil society, and media.” (RFE/RL)
Russia says half a million passports issued
Russia’s Internal Affairs Ministry says that more than 527,000 people in parts of eastern Ukraine where Moscow-backed separatist formations are waging a war against Kyiv have been granted Russian citizenship over the past two years. The ministry’s press service made the announcement on May 2 to the state news agency TASS. It said around 40 percent of applications had been rejected, citing expulsions or restrictions on entry to Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin in April 2019 issued an order for a simplified and expedited citizenship process for residents of those areas. Moscow’s policy of handing out citizenship in Ukraine has come under intense international criticism as a bid to further destabilize the area, where more than 13,000 people have been killed since the fighting started in April 2014. Ukraine has condemned the Russian naturalization of Ukrainian citizens as part of a hybrid-warfare campaign being waged by Moscow and a violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty. Russia has provided military, economic and political support to the separatists in parts of Ukraine’s Luhansk and Donetsk regions. Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, Moscow maintains it is not involved in Ukraine’s domestic affairs. The developments come at a time of heightened tensions between Russia and Ukraine in recent weeks, when Russia launched a major military buildup along its border with Ukraine and in the Black Sea Ukrainian region of Crimea, which Moscow annexed in 2014. On April 8, Mr. Putin’s deputy chief of staff, Dmitry Kozak, said Russia could “be forced to come to the defense” of Russian citizens in Ukraine, a statement that was repeated the following day by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. In November 2020, Mr. Peskov said, “Russia has always protected and will continue to protect the interests of Russians, regardless of where they live.” Viktor Vodolatsky, deputy chairman of the Russian State Duma’s Committee on CIS Affairs and Eurasian Integration, told TASS on April 24 that Russia could issue up to 1 million new passports to Ukrainians by the end of the year. On March 20, a Russian presidential decree came into force banning non-Russian citizens from owning land in most of Crimea. “The European Union does not recognize the illegal annexation of the Crimean Peninsula by Russia, which is a clear violation of international law,” said an EU statement at the time. “Therefore, the European Union does not recognize this decree and considers its entry into force as yet another attempt to forcibly integrate the illegally annexed peninsula into Russia.” (RFE/RL, with reporting by TASS, UNIAN and The Atlantic)
Kyiv eases COVID-19 restrictions
Ukraine’s capital has eased tough lockdown measures imposed in March to prevent the rapid spread of COVID-19. Starting on May 1, Kyiv authorities have allowed cafes, restaurants, shopping malls and sports clubs to reopen, and they have also permitted the operation of transport services without restrictions, although the numbers of passengers and customers will be limited. Wearing masks remains mandatory in transport and public places. Schools and kindergartens are to open their doors from May 5, officials said. In March, city authorities closed schools and kindergartens, theaters and shopping centers, while cafes and restaurants were only allowed to provide takeaway food. Kyiv public transport is now operating on special passenger passes for those working for critical infrastructure enterprises. Despite the measures, Kyiv recorded some of the highest numbers of new infections among Ukrainian regions in April, but new cases have dropped significantly over the past week. Ukraine has registered more than 2 million infections and over 44,400 deaths since the pandemic started last year. (RFE/RL, based on reporting by Reuters and RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service)
Naftogaz Supervisory Board resigns
The Supervisory Board of Ukraine’s state-owned oil and gas company Naftogaz is resigning following the government’s decision to replace the firm’s CEO – a move that has raised concerns among Kyiv’s Western backers. On April 28, the government announced the dismissal of Andriy Kobolyev, Naftogaz’s chief since 2014, citing the “unsatisfactory” results of the company’s operations last year, when it posted a loss of nearly $700 million. The Supervisory Board, which was temporarily suspended in order to dismiss Mr. Kobolyev, issued a statement on April 30 saying that all its members were submitting notice of their resignations, effective May 14. “The Supervisory Board will use the coming two weeks of its notice period to help the company as much as it can to deliver an orderly transition and will inform the shareholders in detail early next week,” the statement said. The unexpected move to fire Mr. Kobolyev threatens to complicate talks to access a $5 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund, with Ukraine’s international partners warning that integrity and transparency in such decisions were key to maintaining confidence in the country’s commitment to reform. The European Union, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank, the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation said in a joint statement on April 30 that they were “seriously concerned” about recent events at Naftogaz. “We call upon the leadership of Ukraine to ensure that crucial management decisions at state-owned enterprises are taken in full accordance with the basic tenets of recognized corporate governance standards,” they said. The U.S. State Department earlier said that the “calculated move” showed “disregard for fair and transparent corporate governance practices.” The matter is set to be on the agenda when Secretary of State Antony Blinken visits Ukraine on May 5-6. Ukraine’s Western backers tied financial aid for the country to concrete steps to clean up state enterprises such as Naftogaz, one of the country’s largest companies by revenue. Naftogaz has long been the object of corruption schemes by officials and oligarchs, but the situation began to change after the 2014 upheaval that swept pro-Kremlin President Viktor Yanukovych from power. Naftogaz’s new CEO, Yuriy Vitrenko, told reporters on April 30 that the concerns of international partners were “understandable” and “a number of problems needed to be resolved.” The company needed to return to profit, said Mr. Vitrenko, who was serving as acting energy minister before his appointment. Naftogaz has said the 2020 loss reflected lower demand, lower gas prices and provisions for bad debts. Mr. Kobolyev’s moves toward transparency won him support among Western investors and donors. He was credited with overseeing an energy overhaul that helped Ukraine to narrow its budget deficit, and leading the former Soviet republic to a multibillion-dollar win in a legal dispute with Russian energy giant Gazprom in 2018. He also faced criticism for increases in heating costs. (RFE/RL, with reporting by Reuters)
EU, U.S. criticize sacking of Naftogaz CEO
Kyiv’s Western backers have raised deep concerns over the Ukrainian government’s unexpected decision to replace the head of state-owned oil and gas company Naftogaz. The government said on April 28 that Andriy Kobolyev, Naftogaz’s chief since 2014, was dismissed from the post due to “unsatisfactory” results of the company’s operations last year, when it posted a loss of nearly $700 million. The move threatens to complicate talks to access a $5 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund. Peter Stano, the lead spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, said Brussels had “serious concerns” over the decision, and called on “the leadership of Ukraine to ensure that the management decisions at state-owned enterprises are taken in full accordance with basic tenets of recognized corporate governance standards.” The U.S. State Department earlier said the “calculated move” showed “disregard for fair and transparent corporate governance practices.” Spokesman Ned Price told reporters on April 29 that, “Unfortunately, these actions are just the latest example of ignoring best practices and putting Ukraine’s hard-fought economic progress at risk.” He added that the United States “will continue to support Ukraine in strengthening its institutions, including advancing democratic institutions and corporate governance reforms, but Ukraine’s leaders must do their part.” Ambassadors from the G-7 major industrialized nations said in a tweet that “effective management and governance of state-owned enterprises, free from political interference, is crucial to Ukraine’s competitiveness, prosperity and Ukraine fulfilling its international commitments.” Mr. Kobolyev’s moves toward transparency won him support among Western investors and donors. He was credited for overseeing an energy overhaul that helped Ukraine to narrow its budget deficit, and leading the former Soviet republic to a multibillion-dollar win in a legal dispute with Russian energy giant Gazprom in 2018. He also faced criticism for increases of heating costs. His successor, Yuriy Vitrenko, said on April 30 that Naftogaz will continue to cooperate with international partners and that the company needed to return to profit. Mr. Vitrenko was serving as acting energy minister before his appointment as CEO. Ukraine’s Western backers tied financial aid to the country to concrete steps to clean up state companies such as Naftogaz, one of the country’s largest companies by revenue. Naftogaz has long been the object of corruption schemes by officials and oligarchs, but the situation began to change after the 2014 upheaval that swept pro-Kremlin President Viktor Yanukovych from power. (RFE/RL, with reporting by AFP, Reuters and Bloomberg)
No agreement reached on Easter truce
Negotiators in the conflict in eastern Ukraine have failed to agree to a truce ahead of Easter according to the Julian calendar amid a surge in fighting since the start of the year. A cease-fire that took hold in July has been unraveling, with deadly clashes sharply increasing between Ukrainian forces and Moscow-backed separatists in a war that has killed more than 13,000 people since April 2014. A Russian troop buildup in recent weeks near Ukraine’s borders and in Russian-occupied Crimea has raised concerns of a major escalation of the conflict in Kyiv and its Western backers, but Moscow claimed on April 29 that almost all its troops had now returned to their permanent bases after participating in massive drills. Participants in a meeting of the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) comprising Ukraine, Russia and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) “reiterated their commitment” to the cease-fire, the special representative of the OSCE chairperson-in-office in Ukraine, Ambassador Heidi Grau, said on April 29. “However – regrettably – no agreement was reached upon a TCG statement on responding to cease-fire violations and their elimination in the future,” she added. Interfax-Ukraine quoted the spokesman of the Ukrainian delegation, Oleksiy Arestovych, as saying that the six hours of talks on an “Easter truce” had been “constructive” but that there was no agreement on a final text. Russian representative Boris Gryzlov blamed the Ukrainian side, telling Interfax that Kyiv had “blocked Russia’s proposals on specific mechanisms to prevent violations” of a cease-fire. The Easter holiday was celebrated on May 2. More than 30 Ukrainian soldiers have been reported killed since the beginning of 2021, compared with 50 in all of last year. The separatists have reported at least 20 of their fighters killed. Ms. Grau noted that the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (OSCE SMM) “continues to record a high level” of cease-fire violations. The “growing number of restrictions and impediments to the freedom of movement of the OSCE SMM is negatively affecting” the implementation of its mandate, the diplomat said, adding that unmanned aerial vehicles used by the international monitors “are targeted daily by small-arms fire as well as by jamming.” Meanwhile, the commander of Russia’s Western Military District reported that most of his troops were now back at their garrisons after taking part in major maneuvers around the areas of eastern Ukraine. Speaking during a meeting of top military brass, Col. Gen. Aleksandr Zhuravlev said that just one trainload of troops was still on its way to their home base. Gen. Valery Gerasimov, chief of the General Staff, said that more than 300,000 troops, nearly one-third of Russia’s 1 million-strong military, took part in the exercises earlier this month, along with about 35,000 combat vehicles, 900 aircraft, and 180 ships. Western officials did not immediately comment on the Russian announcements. The U.S. and NATO have said that the Russian military buildup was the largest since 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea and threw its military, political and economic support behind separatists in parts of eastern Ukraine. (RFE/RL, with reporting by AFP and AP)