On November 14, The New York Times published an interview with Ukrainian oligarch Ihor Kolomoiskyi, in which he made several scandalous statements. In particular, the oligarch said that Ukraine does not need the IMF's help, taking $100 billion from Russia instead. He also noted that "blood" will be forgotten and Ukraine should be Russia's friend. In addition, Kolomoiskyi said that NATO is afraid of the possibility of Russian tanks being stationed under Polish Krakow.
Such statements may serve as the oligarch's - who's under investigation in the United States - attempt to blackmail Washington. It may also be a way of "slamming the door" demonstratively. These statements, however, undermine the trust of Ukraine's Western partners, as well as hinter the position of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his team, who are rather close to Kolomoiskyi, as asserted by a political scientist Mykhailo Basarab.
Statements by Ihor Kolomoiskyi are inadmissible. Ukraine should step up its sanctions policy against Russia and shouldn't talk about any financial assistance from the Kremlin. Such a position is a betrayal of the state in wartime. Kolomoiskyi is not a civil servant, and his statements can only be evaluated politically. They, however, deserve mass public and political condemnation, as well as should be evaluated by law enforcement agencies.
Saying that "blood" will be forgotten is just a spit in the face of all the families who lost their loved ones in the war.
My explanation is that Kolomoiskyi has serious problems with the US investigative agencies and the justice system. He is actually blackmailing the West with statements that Ukraine can return to cooperation with Russia and its area of influence. This is Kolomoiskyi's personal game in order to solve his own problems. He is completely oblivious to Ukraine's reputation and national interests. He deliberately makes such statements in order to tease and blackmail Washington and get personal concessions from the West. These could also be statements of hopelessness: Kolomoiskyi realizes that he will inevitably face legal prosecution, and he has decided to slam the door, making it clear that the turn towards Russia is quite real. But this is nothing more than bravado.
On the other hand, the statements of the oligarch, who has an influence on President Volodymyr Zelensky, emphasize the position of the current Ukrainian authorities. They serve as a negative signal for both Ukrainian society and Western allies. Ukraine regularly demands the strengthening of the sanctions policy, while the oligarch close to the government says that we are ready to neglect cooperation with the IMF and take a loan from Russia.
First of all, $100 billion is an absolutely impossible amount for Russia. As soon as the Kremlin agrees to such a decision, Russia will collapse. Despite the bold foreign policy, Russia is an economic, technological dwarf, which critically depends on the West. If it was a question of getting such help from China, Kolomoiskyi's statements could be taken more seriously, and so they come from the field of fiction. And secondly, the conversation between Moscow and Kyiv about providing $100 billion is possible only as a result of huge political concessions of the Ukrainian leadership.
Kolomoiskyi's statements further deepen the gap between the authorities and the Ukrainian people, as the vast majority of Ukrainians do not approve concessions to the aggressor in the war with Russia. Therefore, Kolomoiskyi's akin statements undermine Zelensky's authority and increasingly set the population against the authorities.
But as soon as the Ukrainian authorities make a broad compromise with Moscow, restore large-scale cooperation with the Kremlin and start negotiations on financial aid, the ruling Zelensky-Kolomoisky regime will fall. Ukrainian society will use its right to protest, protect its sovereignty, Constitution and national interests. Serious political concessions on the part of Ukraine will simply not come to a conclusion.
