
A commemoration ceremony at the monument to the so-called “Nebesna Sotnya” (Heavenly Hundred), Ukraine February 20, 2018.
The "EuroMaidan" movement pledged to wipe out corruption, improve living standards and integrate Ukraine into the west. On all counts, it has failed miserably.
In 2014, Ukrainian incomes were already paltry. But today, not only does the country compete with Moldova for the dubious distinction of having the lowest salaries in Europe, its GDP per capita is now below El Salvador and Libya and wedged between Laos and Vietnam in raw dollar terms. Nevertheless, despite these difficulties, it did manage to rise four places in the Doing Business 2018 ranking of the World Bank.
At the same time, the European Union is increasingly frustrated at Ukraine's failure to reform. Indeed, only this week, Brussels scrapped a €29 billion border checkpoint scheme amid rancor over Kiev's failure to deliver on certain promises. The move came after it emerged that a firm specializing in installing ventilation units had been given the contract, for reasons unknown.














Comment: Dr Bashar al-Jafaari, Syrian envoy to the UN: