Kyiv's Lamborghinis, China, and Trump
Journalists uncovered corruption inside the Kyiv mayor's office, while Ukrainian officials visited China for the first time in eight years. Also, will Trump be better for Ukraine than Harris?
Happy Sunday, and welcome to our first weekly digest. It’s a scandalous one.
Working in English journalism in Ukraine, I’ve gotten used to separating the news into “what Ukrainians care about” and “what a foreigner cares about.” The former is often fascinating but remains underreported. I want to bring more of those underreported Ukrainian conversations to you, but if the conventional wisdom is correct that people will find it boring—let me know in the comments.
Let’s begin.
Speaking of what Ukrainians care about – several scandals shook Ukraine’s capital recently, all incriminating the mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko.
The Klitschko brothers—Vitali and Volodymyr—are well-known in the West as some of the greatest boxers of all time. But in Ukraine, this fame has been tainted by Klitschko's tenure as mayor, the post he’s held since 2014.
I have to go further back in time for the sake of explaining just how bad things have been for Klitschko recently.
On the evening of July 19, unknown individuals with construction equipment demolished the Zelensky estate, a historical site built in central Kyiv in 1890. (In the 19th century, it was home to the wealthy Zelensky family, which has no relation to the current President Zelensky.)
For years, developers, local authorities, and activists had battled one another over the estate’s future. Developers wanted to build a modern housing complex under the absurd name “Turgenev,” after the Russian novelist Ivan Turgenev. (Naming things after cultural figures in Russia is never a popular move.) Meanwhile, activists fought for the preservation of the building as part of Kyiv’s architectural heritage.
One of the estate’s owners has been issued a notice of suspicion for allegedly demolishing the building without authorization, which did little to calm the angry Kyivans who protested outside Klitschko’s office the next day.
Kyiv City State Administration (KMDA) is infamous for doing little to stop the destruction of the city’s historical heritage. Friday’s demolition was just another episode of an endless and frustrating fight to save Kyiv and its history from Klitschko’s incompetent leadership.
The following Monday, one of Ukraine’s most prominent investigative journalists, Mychailo Tkach, released a damning investigation about Klitschko’s friend, restaurant owner Oleksandr Vladimirov. Tkach heads the investigations department at Ukrainska Pravda, Ukraine’s leading news outlet. I encourage you to follow their work, it’s available in English.
Back to Vladimirov — last year, he was spotted leaving the Kyiv City State Administration in his newly bought red Lamborghini Huracan, whose price tag starts at $250,000.
Tkach uncovered that Vladimirov had gone abroad for luxurious vacations to Thailand and the French Riviera several times since Russia’s full-scale invasion, even though most men between 18 and 60 years of age can’t leave Ukraine because of draft laws. Vladimirov reportedly used the ‘Way’ state system, called Shlyah in Ukrainian, which allows male drivers delivering aid to Ukraine to get permits to cross the border. The system has become a breeding ground for corruption, used by men who want to circumvent draft laws.
The mayor’s friend also bought several luxury cars in the last two years, including the Lamborghini, which brought him unwanted attention.
Tkach asserts that Vladimirov can afford such a lavish lifestyle by making money from state construction contracts, made possible due to his lucrative friendship with Klitschko. The investigation reveals more allegedly illegal conduct, also involving the defense sector. But the gist is clear: Klitschko is accused of cronyism.
Klitschko has been accused of dodging responsibility a lot over the years, from the unavailability and the poor condition of public bomb shelters to the near-collapse of several metro stations and cozy relationships with Kyiv’s greedy developers.
It's a big tragedy that one of the world’s most beautiful cities, our Kyiv, suffers because of it.
Thousands of kilometers away from Kyiv, Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba paid a visit to China. Kuleba said China is “unshakably” committed to Ukraine’s sovereignty and supports Ukraine’s strive for a just and lasting peace.
The visit was significant. The last time Ukraine’s MFA went to China was in 2016. Since the beginning of Russia’s big war, Beijing and Moscow have grown a lot closer, despite China’s claim of neutrality.
Although any peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia are still only hypothetical (more on this in my upcoming piece for Lawfare), China will be a key player once the time comes. Ukraine is also already planning its second Peace Summit and needs China’s participation, so whatever Kyiv does to achieve that is a step in the right direction. Read more about the Peace Summit and China’s lack of participation here, from my former colleagues at Kyiv Independent.
Finally, like the rest of the world, Ukrainians are talking and thinking about Kamala Harris and the potential re-election of Donald Trump.
Many in Ukraine have a surprisingly hopeful view of a Trump comeback, despite his questionable track record with Zelensky and Putin. This hope stems from Ukraine’s disappointment in Biden, who is perceived as weak and overly cautious vis-a-vis Russia. Some think Trump will be tougher with Putin since he constantly talks about being strong and forceful.
I will write a separate piece about Ukrainian takes on the presidential race, since a lot of it contradicts mainstream American analysis and needs deeper context. But for now, I recommend you read Timothy Snyder’s piece about Kamala Harris and Ukraine. Professor Snyder points out a fascinating statistic: there are enough Ukrainian-Americans in Michigan and Pennsylvania to sway these swing states towards either Trump or Harris.
I’ll be back next Sunday.
Cheers, and Glory to Ukraine
– Yours Ukrainian
Some elements of context for Ukrainians to consider in thinking about trump and Vice President Harris:
* J.D. Vance: His antidemocratic radicalism runs much further toward the extremist fringe than MAGA's Putinist, alt-Right version of "Christian" ethnonationalism. He is more dangerous to America's allies and international partnerships than trump.
* The Republicans in Congress: trump controls them now; if he is elected again, his grip will be tighter. Remember the 6-month delay in congressional approval of the $60B aid package for Ukraine? That was the Republicans.
* Project 2025: A centerpiece of the plan for a second trump administration is the decapitation of the professional civil service in the federal departments and agencies. Ukraine's friends will be purged.
* Immunity: The US Supreme Court ruled that presidents have absolute immunity from prosecution for official acts. To a convicted felon like trump, that looks like a get-out-of-jail-free card.
Bottom Line: Vice President Harris will be better *by far* than donald trump.
Sisters and brothers in Ukraine: Please urge every voter you know in the United States to support Kamala Harris.
It's unfortunate that greedy and arrogant men are everywhere, putting their wants and needs above everything else. I'm an American, and since Biden stepped down and Harris took over the campaign for President things have dramatically shifted. Trump is now the old man who recently claimed that if he's elected we'll never need to worry about voting again. His pick of JD Vance as his Vice President has reveled a man who is openly a misogynist, and most American women are really tired of that. Vance has also said that he doesn't care about Ukraine. It's mostly Republicans who are against Ukraine, and I want to see the first mixed-race woman elected as President of the US.