As impeachment trial looms, what’s the view from Ukraine?

Svitlana Zalishchuk: This topic is not so popular, not so much discussed, neither amongst politicians nor in press. People don’t feel like this topic has a tangible impact on them.

I think that this is also one of the factors that have to be taken into account. But at the same time, there are many other problems here in Ukraine. First of all, we still have war with Russia. Many people, many soldiers are fighting in the East. We still have casualties. And I think this is one of the problems that people do care [about]. Another thing is, of course, all of the economic challenges that are there. The gas in Ukraine is really expensive. So people care about economic growth, about the sustainability of the economy, just a possibility for the family to provide. That’s the main topics that people are thinking about.

The most important for Ukraine here is the bipartisan and bicameral support from US to Ukraine. We see that both Democrats and Republicans, when it comes to decision-making, decision-making in Congress, when it comes to security support, these decisions are there. It’s also a political signal, a political message that there is cooperation, that there is support. And despite the fact of, let’s say, not the most positive context of our relationship, the real cooperation is there.

Of course, I knew Masha [Marie] Yovanovitch very well. She was the ambassador here while I was a member of parliament. That new generation that came to the parliament after Euromaidan relied a lot on the support of our international partners from US, from the European Union. We had, if you want, kind of a coalition — those progressives in the parliament and in the government, civil society, journalists, international people that supported progressive reforms in Ukraine. That was enough pressure to put on old elites and on corrupt politicians so that they were not able to ignore these pressures or this public demand — including international demand — for the changes after their Revolution of Dignity. And Masha was a very important person here in Ukraine, playing a very great role in coordinating those efforts amongst the diplomats and helping the new generation, basically, to make sure that reforms are implemented, that they are not stopped, that they are not stalled.

I think that the changes that happened, they are really irreversible. What has changed? It was like a civilizational shift — if you want. The values of society changed. It was not the elite who was leading the revolution, it was millions of people in the street that were protesting against not just the authoritarian regime, but against also corruption. And people wanted better, just rules. They chose the European integration, not just as a symbol of something, you know, beautiful and rich Europe, you know, Europe with possibilities. But people chose a different system of governance. And that’s why I’m sure that Ukraine is not anymore a swinging country as it used to be referred to. But Ukraine is, if you want, a new Eastern European tiger, you know, with very promising growth — economic growth. It’s one of the most dynamic, actually, developing countries in Europe now. I think it will be even more. I think US businessmen, US people, American people, we hear about Ukraine as a new itinerary, and this is what this government is trying to achieve.