Ukraine’s former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko recently called for an end to what she called the western “colonial model” of interference in Ukraine’s domestic politics.
In a speech to the Ukrainian parliament in July, she welcomed the passage of a law bringing two anti-corruption bodies under greater government control (which led to protests across the country and eventually government backtracking). She described it as the first step towards the restoration of the country’s sovereignty and called for lawmakers to go further.
Tymoshenko was referring to the role played by foreigners – mainly representatives of western donors supporting Ukraine’s political reforms – in approving appointments to key Ukrainian state institutions.
