Skepticism about the Zelenskiy government’s ability to reform Ukraine

Skepticism about the Zelenskiy government’s ability to reform Ukraine was the common theme of two articles in the Western press last weekend. “A hard road ahead for Zelenskiy in Ukraine: Sympathy for the president in western capitals and the IMF is now tempered by concern,” headlines an opinion piece by Tony Barber in the Financial Times. “Corruption in Ukraine: Is time running out for Zelenskyy to reform the country?” asks the headline of a piece in Euractiv. The reporters quote Maxim Nefyodov, former head of Customs, saying: “The time for reforms in Ukraine is over. The signal that the government is now sending to people is this: being a reformer means that you will be harassed, get bad PR and that you will have no political future.”