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I thought you would be interested in my recent article on Ukraine which
appeared last week in the *Hill*.

With best regards,

Ken

Kenneth Wollack
President
National Democratic Institute
455 Massachusetts Ave., NW, 8th Floor
Washington, DC 20001
202-728-5500 <(202)%20728-5500> (Tel)
888-875-2887 <(888)%20875-2887> (Fax)
email: ken@ndi.org
website: www.ndi.org


*Let's not make Ukraine policy without talking to Ukrainians
<https://origin-nyi.thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/international/322203-dont-ignore-the-progress-and-hopes-of-the-ukrainian-people>*


*By Kenneth Wollack, President of the National Democratic Institute*

*Published in: **THE HILL*
<http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/international/322203-dont-ignore-the-progress-and-hopes-of-the-ukrainian-people#bottom-story-socials>*,
March
3, 2017*


(Washington): Talk about Ukraine in foreign policy circles these days tends
to revolve around two major themes.


First, there is a suggestion that Russia and the West may want to negotiate
a grand bargain in which Ukraine would be relegated to Russia's sphere of
influence. Second, there is impatience with the slow pace of
anti-corruption reforms inside Ukraine. The implied corollary to this
concern is a question about the value of continuing to provide assistance
to the country.


These ideas have been debated at length and in multiple forums, resulting
in a wide spectrum of ideological, geopolitical, moral and practical
positions. What is glaringly absent from most of these discussions, though,
is any reflection on what Ukrainians might think.


This is a significant oversight. The National Democratic Institute (NDI)
recently conducted a survey that illustrates the reasons Ukrainian public
opinion should be the starting point — rather than a mere footnote — to
these and other discussions.


Ukraine, of course, continues to face grave challenges, including economic
disruptions, political turmoil, the illegal occupation of Crimea and a war
in the east. A favorable resolution of these concerns is by no means
guaranteed.


Nevertheless, Ukrainians are overwhelmingly united on the big issues facing
their country. The vast majority of Ukrainians — 86 percent — say it is
"important" or "very important" that Ukraine become a fully functioning
democracy. Large majorities support this point regardless of where they
live in the country or which party they support.


Ukrainians also have a clear and consistent view about how to define
democracy: It means equal justice for all, free elections and fundamental
freedoms. On the flip side of the coin, 74 percent assess Russia's
influence on their country as negative. Only 4 percent consider it positive.


Purveyors of false news would have us believe that Ukraine is deeply
divided and that those Ukrainians who are not supporting "fascism" are
desperate to be rescued by Russia. Our research shows that, in fact, the
opposite is true.


Ukrainians are also clear and consistent about the path they want to
follow. Asked whether they would accept peace in exchange for losing the
right to determine their own future, 80 percent said "no." Only 5 percent
said "yes."


Despite the many pressures they are under, Ukrainians are not willing to
give up their territory: 77 percent want the occupied parts of Donbas to be
returned to Ukrainian control. Any attempt at a bargain that frustrates
Ukraine's aspirations for democracy and sovereignty would thus be unlikely
to produce peace or stability.


These findings point to an important facet of Ukraine's path to democracy:
It is being driven from the bottom-up, rather than from the top-down. It is
propelled by a popular determination, solidified on the Maidan during the
2014 Revolution of Dignity, to root out corruption and build a democratic
system in which leaders serve the people, and not the other way around.


The bottom-up nature of the process means that reforms may proceed
relatively slowly, but the end result is likely to be more sustainable.


Further, the polling demonstrates the optimism the Ukrainian people have in
the slow but steady progress they are making. By a ratio of two to one,
Ukrainians expect the next generation to be better off than their own. The
ratio reaches five or six to one in places like Kherson in the south and
Khmelnitsky oblast and Lviv in the west.


These numbers are significant because they mean that people are willing to
make sacrifices now in order to deliver a better future for their children.


Citizens without prior experience in any kind of activism are participating
in local decision-making in ever-increasing numbers. One quarter has
attended community meetings since 2014 and a further 29 percent are willing
to do so. These would be respectable figures anywhere, but they are
particularly impressive in a country that was known, until relatively
recently, for its politically disengaged population.


In other words, the Ukrainian people themselves are committed to the
reforms that can make Ukraine more democratic, stable and prosperous. They
hold these convictions independently of their current government and
despite external pressures to the contrary. Assistance that helps
Ukrainians help themselves will thus land on fertile ground.


With their determination, optimism and patriotism, Ukrainians continue to
defy expectations. Those in the West who are advocating policies for
Ukraine would do well to consult with Ukrainians themselves