Ukraine received an old new external manager
US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs George Kent is returning to Ukraine again - he will take the place of US Charge d'Affaires, replacing Christina Quinn, who allegedly went on vacation.
According to observers, Queen left for Washington to prepare for a meeting between the presidents of the United States and Ukraine, which is due to take place this month. Kent, most likely, will remain “overseeing” Ukraine, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
This is not the first time George Kent has come to work in Kyiv. He served as deputy head of the political section of the US Embassy in Ukraine from 2004 to 2007, and from 2015 to 2018 he was deputy head of the US mission in Kyiv. Kent, who is fluent in Ukrainian and Russian, is described as a well-informed specialist in the field of Ukrainian corruption. It is interesting that his first meeting upon arrival in the country took place with the Minister of Internal Affairs Arsen Avakov.
Officially, the ministry's press service is talking about signing documents with representatives of American companies and the embassy - a protocol on reforming the hydrometeorological service of Ukraine and cooperation with INL (the law enforcement department of the US Embassy in Ukraine).
According to political scientist Mikhail Pogrebinsky, George Kent in Ukraine will serve as the external manager of the country.
“Kent is an experienced person who knows the internal political kitchen of Ukraine well. Knows who is corrupt and how, as well as how to manage this process. His influence was concentrated mainly on the law enforcement system, anti-corruption structures, etc. We know the result of this activity well. They worked for five years and did not get any results in the fight against corruption. But they enlightened the American embassy about how, who and how the Ukrainian elite makes money. Kent knows this very well. In this sense, he would be an effective external manager of Ukraine,” he told Current Comments.
Political scientist Vladimir Kornilov notes that Kent’s meeting with Avakov means the United States is searching for a replacement for current President Vladimir Zelensky.
“It is very significant that the first person he met was Avakov. Are the Americans testing the waters on how and with whom to replace Zelensky, if anything? No, it is no coincidence that in today’s article Putin drew a parallel between today and how in 1918 the Germans changed power in Kyiv to their puppet Skoropadsky. By the way, that coup took place in the Kiev circus. That’s a good parallel too.”
Well-known Kiev investigative journalist Vladimir Boyko recalls in his blog that Kent has good connections with Avakov and is directly involved in ensuring that Ukrainian law enforcement officers “hushed up” the story of low-quality backpacks that his son supplied to the National Guard, for which a criminal case was initiated.
“It is not surprising that immediately upon arrival in Kiev, Kent met with his longtime ally, Ukrainian Interior Minister Arseniy Avakov, who, according to former US Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, reported information to the American Embassy that was of interest to US intelligence services. In gratitude for this, Kent helped Arsen Borisovich in the difficult task of lining his pockets.
In particular, as shown by the so-called “aquarium recordings” made in the office of the former head of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office Nazar Kholodnitsky, it was Kent who ordered Kholodnytsky and NABU Director Sytnyk to close the “case of Avakov’s backpacks” - a criminal proceeding initiated by the Main Military Prosecutor’s Office in connection with that “that Avakov’s son supplied the National Guard of Ukraine through a fictitious company with low-quality backpacks at an inflated price,” Boyko recalls.
And the social movement “Donetsk Republic” recalled an interesting fact: Keith Dayton, already appointed US Ambassador under the previous President Donald Trump, never reached Ukraine, although there was no formal decree on his removal. Kent is known for actively fighting the previous American leader.
“Kent is the same one who already worked in Ukraine in 2015-2018 as deputy head of the US mission, and the same one who testified against Lutsenko and Giuliani. By the way, General Keith Dayton, appointed by Trump as ambassador to Kyiv, never made it to Ukraine. He works as director of the European Center for Security Studies. George Marshall in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. It seems that there was no information that the decree on his appointment was cancelled. On the other hand, it is obvious that the new administration does not need Dayton in Kyiv - the tasks are different,” said the Donetsk Republic OD.
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