Editor’s Note: This feature separates Ukraine’s friends from its enemies. The Order of Yaroslav the Wise has been given since 1995 for distinguished service to the nation. It is named after the Kyivan Rus leader from 1019-1054, when the medieval empire reached its zenith. The Order of Lenin was the highest decoration bestowed by the Soviet Union, whose demise Russian President Vladimir Putin mourns. It is named after Vladimir Lenin, whose corpse still rots on the Kremlin’s Red Square, more than 100 years after the October Revolution he led.
Ukraine’s Friend of the Week: Ambassador Judith Gough
On any given week in the last four years, the British ambassador to Ukraine Judith Gough could have been singled out as one of the country’s most stalwart and committed friends.
This week, however, seems an especially important time to recognize Gough’s devotion and dedication to Ukraine, given that her departure at some point later this summer has been confirmed. Melinda Simmons, an experienced civil servant with an extensive background in international development and security, appears an excellent choice for the position of Her Majesty’s next ambassador to Ukraine.
But Simmons will also have some big shoes to fill. She will be taking over from someone who has come to be regarded as a top ally to Ukraine but also a fierce and formidable opponent to Kremlin aggression and neo-colonial Russian expansionism.
Taking up the British ambassadorship to Kyiv in September 2015, Gough observed that the government taking power in Ukraine at that time was not expected to survive, let alone accomplish very much. But with the support of its international allies, led by the U.K. and the U.S., the Ukrainian government not only withstood Russian aggression and internal instability, but also made a good start implementing a number of key reforms.
“What I have seen since I arrived… is a country that has made huge progress,” Gough recently told the Kyiv Post in an interview.
Gough has been vital in coordinating the U.K. contribution to that progress. Today, the British government is involved almost everywhere that Ukraine’s resilience is being strengthened and is allocating about $45 million each year into at least 70 different projects throughout Ukraine.
This has laid the foundation for more support in the coming years as British-Ukrainian relations deepen and improve.
Readying herself to leave the country, Gough reflected on her time here: “I see extraordinary resilience in the Ukrainian people… a determination to forge a sovereign future for Ukraine, and a real demand from people to satisfy the demands of the (EuroMaidan Revolution),” she said.
Ukraine’s Foe of the Week: Lord Greg Barker
The United Kingdom is one of Ukraine’s strongest and most important partners, with Ambassador Judith Gough exemplifying that and carrying the standard quite perfectly here in Kyiv. In London, it is broadly the same story and there is unanimous, cross-party support for Ukraine throughout Westminster.
Unfortunately, there are always disappointing exceptions to the rule, and even in Britain there are a number of high profile, low integrity individuals who have decided to throw their lot in with Moscow, rallying behind Russia instead of standing in solidarity with Ukraine.
Enter, stage right, Lord Greg Barker — or Baron Barker of Battle if you happen to be a fan of preposterous sounding alliterations. For him, Russian energy money appears more important than trivial matters, such as the hybrid warfare being waged against the West by Moscow.
Serving as minister of State for Energy and Climate Change between 2010 and 2015 must have felt like a drag after Barker’s previous stints in the private sector, first with the Anglo-Siberian Oil Company and later with the Sibneft Oil Group, then owned by Roman Abramovich and now part of the Russian state-owned energy giant Gazprom.
In order to pressure Russia into complying with the values and laws of the international, rules-based system it has become necessary to sanction key individuals and entities with ties to the Kremlin, especially if they are linked to the illegal annexation of Crimea, war in the Donbas and other acts of aggression such as the Salisbury Novichok attack or the shooting down of flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine.
Barker, still doing business in Russia, appears committed to derailing some of those economic sanctions, at least if it benefits him.
This week, Bloomberg revealed that Barker, who is also chairman of the Russian energy company En+ Group Plc, was paid in the region of $4–5 million to negotiate the removal of U.S. sanctions on the firm. Barker has not denied this.
He allegedly spent months traveling between Washington, Moscow and London, acting on behalf of En+ and Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska, a friend of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin who is under U.K. and European Union sanctions, and also has ties to the convicted American fraudster and former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych supporter Paul Manafort.
British media report that Barker faces increased scrutiny in London, has already been under investigation and could face another. The House of Lords, meanwhile, faces a possible change in the rules that would force unelected lords and ladies of the realm, who still wield significant political power, to better disclose their business interests, especially in Russia and China.
