Ukraine: Why 'OU' Lost by a Landslide
April 22, 2019
The answer is clear if you read U.S. documents published by WikiLeaks in
2006, writes Kevin Zeese.
By Kevin Zeese
PopularResistance.org
With his landslide victory, Volodymyr Zelensky, a comedian who won 73
percent of the vote, will become the president of Ukraine. Understanding
how this occurred becomes easy when people review U.S. government documents
published by WikiLeaks about outgoing President Petro Poroshenko.
Who is "OU?" Our Ukraine.
In a classified diplomatic cable from 2006 released by WikiLeaks, U.S.
officials refer to Poroshenko as "Our Ukraine (OU) insider Petro
Poroshenko." Our Ukraine has been in the pocket of the U.S. for 13 years.
The U.S. knew Poroshenko was corrupt. A separate cable released by WikiLeaks
makes that clear. The May 2006 cable states: "Poroshenko was tainted by
credible corruption allegations, but wielded significant influence within
OU; Poroshenko's price had to be paid."
Allowing his corruption was a price the U.S. was willing to pay to have Our
Ukraine serving as president.
2018 billboard for Yulia Tymoshenko in Kiev. (Wikimedia Commons)
2018 billboard for Tymoshenko in Kiev. (Wikimedia Commons)
The document also describes the "bad blood" between Poroshenko and Yuliya
Tymoshenko. This bad blood continues to this day as Tymoshenko came in third
in the first round of the elections, and it seemed to continue through the
general election, as those who voted for her, voted for Zelensky - or
against Poroshenko.
Here is how the memo describes the Tymoshenko-Poroshenko relationship:
"there is a thin line between love and hate" it says and describes how
Tymoshenko and Poroshenko might appear in public, shake hands and agree to
"do business" together, but that a coalition between them was unlikely to
last.
Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, who is expected to announce a 2020 run
for president, is emblematic of the corruption of the U.S. in Ukraine.
As WikiLeaks reports, Biden pledged U.S. financial and technical assistance
to Ukraine for "unconventional" gas resources (i.e. fracking). Biden's son
Hunter was put on the board of the largest private gas company in Ukraine
(along with a financier and long-time family friend of former Secretary of
State John Kerry) and when that gas company was threatened with
investigation, with video cameras rolling at the Council on Foreign
Relations, [starts at 52.00] Biden described how he threatened Poroshenko
in March 2016, saying that the Obama administration would pull $1 billion.
Biden claimed he gave the country six hours to fire the prosecutor before he
left Ukraine or he would bankrupt the country. OU fired him.
Why did Biden want him fired? The prosecutor was leading a wide-ranging
corruption investigation into the natural gas firm - while Biden's son,
Hunter, sat on the board of directors. Corruption is a major problem in
Ukraine, and Biden contributed to it, bringing U.S. corruption to Ukraine.
After Poroshenko replaced the prosecutor with one to Biden's liking a
WikiLeaks document shows he was prepared to move forward with the signing of
the third $1 billion loan guarantee agreement.
Poroshenko: Enriched as country lost. (Wikimedia Commons)
Now the two pro-U.S. politicians, Tymoshenko and Poroshenko, have been
replaced by a political unknown in Zelensky, or "Ze," as he's more popularly
known. The incoming president has been vague on what policies he will pursue
but says he wants to negotiate peace with Russia over eastern Ukraine,
saying he was prepared to negotiate directly with Russian President Vladimir
Putin.
Ukraine is sick of corruption. Adding to Poroshenko's corruption, the U.S.
brought more corruption. Not surprisingly, corruption under Poroshenko
worsened. The country is tired of the conflict between Kiev and East Ukraine
and Zelensky said he would try to end the war. And, the country has become
the poorest in Europe as the promise of close ties with the U.S. have not
resulted in the benefits promised.
While the country has gotten poorer, Poroshenko remains one of the
wealthiest men in Ukraine. He has been surrounded by corruption scandals as
various businessmen close to him have been caught up in scandals involving
corruption. The common view is Ukraine has gotten poorer as Poroshenko has
gotten richer.
All this was predictable with what the U.S. knew about OU, and thanks to
WikiLeaks should not be a surprise to anyone.
Kevin Zeese, co-director of It's Our Economy, is an attorney who has been a
political activist since graduating from George Washington Law School in
1980. He is co-founder of the Drug Policy Foundation, now known as the
Drug Policy Alliance. Read more about him here. This article was first
published by PopularResistance.org.