The recent situation in and around Ukraine has improved significantly since the United States resumed a leadership role. Indeed, on the battlefield, Ukraine has thwarted a Russian onslaught near the northeastern city of Kharkiv, and Ukrainian defense systems recently shot down 29 of 30 Russian drones and missiles.
Ukraine was a key topic at the G7 summit in Italy, where a 10-year security pact was signed between the United States and Ukraine. Ukraine was also a key topic at the NATO defense summit in Brussels.
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Ukraine has gone further domestically and announced further privatization of state-owned assets, which will not only bring in valuable hard currency but also reduce government corruption, as long as the auctions are conducted in a uniform and transparent manner. Much of this may be difficult to assess at this stage, but there will be more analysis in the near future.
These issues are not just about Ukraine. Europe and the United States are also very much in the spotlight. In Europe, there are the recently concluded European Union elections, and upcoming parliamentary elections in both the UK and France, and in the US, there are elections in November for both houses of Congress as well as a presidential election. All of these are solemn factors.
Even the recently signed US-Ukraine security agreement is highly uncertain, as it depends on the November elections. Specific issues such as using profits from sanctioned Russian capital for Ukraine's reconstruction are at least moving forward with the consent of all parties. China, with its duplicitous policy towards Russia, is more of an ongoing challenge than a conundrum, and hopes that it may sway for its own economy.
The US recently imposed new sanctions on China. Whether it works or not is mainly a question of economic opportunity. China needs the West to buy its products. It also needs Russia for its energy supplies, and may need a political and strategic alliance against the US. Strategic alliances between autocracies are always short-lived. In this case, the US must act wisely to maintain its resolve on Taiwan, without antagonizing China with additional tariffs. There are many differences between Russia and China that can be exploited.
There are two issues to deal with: first, the nonsense that Ukraine is not ready to join NATO, and second, that Ukraine is extraordinarily corrupt.
In any case, the symbolism of the Ukrainian crisis and its necessity is very clear worldwide. Even some right-wingers within the European Community have voiced their support for Ukraine and their opposition to Russia.
Ukraine has been successful in forging ahead with democratic processes, elections, and peaceful transitions of power throughout its 30-plus year history, despite accusations of corruption. There have been two instances where things have gone wrong, but each time, the Ukrainian people have prevailed. That's what democracy means.
When analyzing Ukraine, two issues need to be addressed: the first is the nonsense that Ukraine is not ready to join NATO, and the second is that Ukraine is extraordinarily corrupt.
The first assertion has been completely refuted in the past two years. Ukraine today has the strongest military in Europe. The war has revealed not only Ukraine's military resolve, but also its capabilities. Ukrainian soldiers are military ready, and the Ukrainian defense industry has been strengthened, producing much of what is needed, including cost-effective weapons. Russia has turned out to be somewhat of a paper tiger, mainly due to Ukrainian efficiency, the sacrifices of its entire population, and material support from the West. If Ukraine will not be invited to NATO at the Washington summit in July, it will not be because of a lack of readiness, but because of politics, in this case, wrong politics.
Another problem is corruption. Ukraine is the descendant of a Soviet society that was entirely predicated on corruption. Under the Communist system, which boasted equality, there was an oligarchy known as the Communist Party. Everyone else had to survive on their own. They could only survive by stealing in some way. In just 30 years, Ukraine has made great strides in this regard, even though much of the oligarchy remains intact.
In 1997, I attended a conference of Ukrainian lawyers from around the world in Lviv. The biggest difference between Ukrainian lawyers in the former Soviet Union and those in the West was that the former maintained that a lawyer's duty was to protect the interests of the state, while the latter maintained that a lawyer's role was to protect personal interests from the excesses of the state. This was an opposing understanding of the rule of law. Soviet culture had been dominant for a long time.
I'm an American lawyer. I'm 72 years old. I remember that 200 years after the Declaration of Independence, law enforcement and lower-level government officials were vulnerable to bribery. Today, our Supreme Court and senators are vulnerable to bribery.
It doesn't end there. While Donald J. Trump was in the White House, his daughter acquired several trademarks in China. His son-in-law became a billionaire with Saudi funds from his time in the White House. The President himself also benefited from having a hotel near the White House. My message to Americans who blame Ukraine for corruption is to look at ourselves and then throw stones.
Askold S. Lozinski
Askold S. Lozinskiy is a New York lawyer and chairman of the Ukrainian Free University Foundation. He served as chairman of the U.S. Committee on Ukrainian Congresses from 1992 to 2000 and as president of the Ukrainian World Congress from 1998 to 2008.
