Andrij Dobriansky, a spokesman for the New York-based advocacy group the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, speaking to RFE/RL about Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko's announcement that he was dismissing his ambassador to Washington:
“We needed somebody who can get results done, and frankly, at this time, I can’t say that we saw results coming out of [Ukrainian Ambassador Oleksandr Motsyk’s] office.”
“It’s been over a year since Crimea got invaded, so what we’ve been waiting for is to have a stronger voice in Washington.”
“The ambassador of Ukraine to the United States is a major appointment, and as organized Ukrainian-American groups, we’ve been waiting for somebody else to be in that role, frankly just because of the normal nature of things when new administrations are put together, but especially at this time.”
That concludes our live blogging for Tuesday, April 14.
Former POW and lawyer to current one:
From our newsroom:
Ukrainian President Poroshenko Dismisses Envoy To U.S.
krainian President Petro Poroshenko has dismissed his ambassador to the United States, whose tenure in Washington has spanned the duration of Kyiv’s year-long conflict with Russia.
Poroshenko did not provide an explanation for the dismissal in his April 14 decree relieving Ambassador Oleksandr Motsyk of his post as Ukraine's envoy to the United States.
Ukrainian media have speculated that Valeriy Chaly, deputy head of Poroshenko’s administration, could replace Motsyk. Chaly indicated on April 3 that he would accept the post if Poroshenko offered it.
Motsyk had served as Ukraine’s ambassador in Washington since June 2010, when he was appointed by then-President Viktor Yanukovych, who was chased from office by protests in February 2014.
The United States has been a crucial ally for Kyiv following Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea territory in March 2014 and Kyiv’s battle with Moscow-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.
With reporting by Voice Of America's Ukrainian service
Dmitri Trenin argues that "Russia's realignment toward Asia...does not presage a new Sino-Russian bloc, but the epoch of post-communist Russia’s integration with the West is over."
Harper says "significant additional military resources to help train and build the capacity of Ukrainian forces personnel following a briefing on the current security situation in Ukraine" on the way.
Reuters quotes Ukraine's top central banker, Valeriya Hontareva, on a possible easing of currency controls to defend the hryvnya:
The head of Ukraine's central bank said on Tuesday the national currency appeared to have found an equilibrium rate and said the hryvnia's recent stability on the currency market could lead to the easing of certain currency controls.
The hryvnia lost 50 percent in value against the dollar in February but has since stabilised after the bank raised interest rates, intervened in the currency market and tightened controls.
"There are grounds to talk of achieving an equilibrium on the currency market. In recent weeks, the situation has been stable. Therefore the central bank notes the existence of conditions for liberalising the market and easing certain restrictions," bank head Valeriia Gontareva was quoted as saying in a statement.