Brussels, May 27 (AFP/APP):Oleksandr Sienkevych, the smartly dressed former New Jersey tech entrepreneur turned mayor of the frontline city of Mykolaiv, has no time for Western doubts about Ukraine’s EU and NATO ambitions.
This week he was in Brussels to lobby Western experts and policymakers to support Ukraine’s battle to defeat the Russian invader and rebuild the country, including his battered city.
“I know that it sounds awful, but we view this war as a chance to become better,” he told AFP after appearing at a German Marshall Fund think tank forum in Brussels.
“We want to, let’s say, to finalise a lot of things that happened before the war, like the ability to be a part of NATO and the European Union.”
There is a lot of goodwill towards Kyiv in Brussels and Washington, but some doubts are building even among Ukraine’s friends about how quickly it can be absorbed into the Western clubs.
When will Ukraine’s long-awaited spring offensive begin? Will it make quick progress and justify the shipment of billions of dollars in US and European weaponry to Kyiv?
Will Ukraine, with its reputation for corruption and political instability, really carry out the necessary reforms before pushing for European Union membership?
Sienkevych dismisses such doubts.
Ukrainians are putting their own lives on the line to win the war and defend Europe’s eastern border, he says. Anti-corruption measures are being put in place.
Once the fighting is over, he says, the West must be ready to integrate Ukraine quickly into both the European Union and the NATO alliance.
And he tells the story of his own town, the southern port and ship-building city of Mykolaiv, to support his case.
When Russian forces poured out of already-occupied Crimea in February and March last year they attempted to seize Ukraine’s Black Sea ports.
As they headed west towards Odessa, Mykolaiv and its hastily organised defence stood in their way. Battle erupted and the city was shelled and bombed for 219 days.