Government crisis threatens Ukraine’s EU bid | News in Depth
The crisis caused by Ukraine’s government reshuffle, which saw the dismissal of popular defense minister Mykhailo Fedorov, appears to have largely calmed down. Although he was not reinstated to his post, crowds in the streets appear to have been satisfied with the replacement of the man seen as responsible for Fedorov’s sacking: top military commander Oleksandr Syrskyi. But this isn’t the first time the streets have successfully put pressure on the government.
According to Michał Broniatowski, TVP World’s Editor-in-Chief, “it doesn’t look good for the Ukrainian bid for EU membership,” when appointments to top government and army posts, especially in a country at war, are decided by “enthusiastic young people (…) with cardboards,” as they were this time, as well as a year ago when crowds protested a clampdown on anti-corruption agencies, forcing President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to reverse course.
Another problem is the lack of clarity about why such decisions are made.
Zelenskyy “says that (Syrskyi) was a great commander, organizer and so on. So why was he fired?” said Broniatowski, pointing out that Fedorov’s dismissal was not explained except Zelenskyy’s claims that he clashed with Syrskyi.
“But he only mentioned the clash. But what was the nature of it? What was wrong with Mr. Syrskyi that he was finally dismissed? And why in the first place Fedorov?” TVP World’s Editor-in-Chief asked, adding that the whole government reshuffle, including the replacement of the prime minister, was never explained.
“This is the result of this unhealthy situation in which the president is not responsible in front of the parliament. He doesn’t have to present the reasoning (…) he just says: ‘This one comes in, this one goes away,’” Broniatowski said. “The whole system is so nontransparent and really created in favor of one branch of power.”
Join TVP World’s Benjamin Lee and his guest as they discuss how the crisis has exposed the weaknesses seemingly inherent to the Ukrainian political system, as well as what makes it so hard for the EU to implement the next package of sanctions against Russia.
Chapters:
00:00 – Ukraine’s government reshuffle and the questions it raises
02:06 – Should Zelenskyy’s power consolidation be a cause of concern for the EU
06:49 – Changing military leadership and its effects on the war effort
10:20 – Reformers struggle with Old Guard over procurement
12:51 – Reforms, corruption and Ukraine’s EU ambitions
14:09 – EU members divided over the next Russia sanctions package
🔴 Watch our 24/7 livestream – https://youtube.com/live/9RY46AUtIl4
Bringing you all the latest daily news and updates, TVP World is Poland’s first English-language channel where you can find world news as seen from the Polish perspective and the latest news from the CEE region. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram.
https://tvpworld.com/
https://www.facebook.com/tvpworldcom
https://twitter.com/TVPWorld_com
https://www.instagram.com/tvp_world/
https://www.threads.net/@tvp_world
https://bsky.app/profile/tvpworld.bsky.social
https://www.tiktok.com/@tvpworld.com
https://t.me/tvp_world
#Ukraine #government #protest #EU #Zelenskyy
