Ukrainian president under pressure to intensify reforms

Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko has vigorously defended his record, under pressure from the United States to intensify reforms and amid calls for protests against a government accused of turning a blind eye to corruption.

On a visit to Kiev, US vice-president Joe Biden urged Moscow to halt aggression against Ukraine, and promised more funding for an anti-graft and modernisation drive critics claim is being stymied by leaders. "It is absolutely critical for Ukraine to root out the cancer of corruption . . . Ukraine is on the cusp – what happens in the next year is likely to determine the fate of the country for generations," Mr Biden said after talks with Mr Poroshenko. "As long as you continue to make progress in fighting corruption and build a future of opportunity for all Ukraine, the US will stand with you," he said, even as influential critics of the government called for protests in Kiev today.

Many reformist politicians, activists and other Ukrainian citizens accuse Mr Poroshenko and the government of prime minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk of dragging their feet on overhauling the tax and judicial systems, and of doing too little to stop dodgy deals.

On Sunday, governor of Odessa region Mikheil Saakashvili – Georgia's former president and leader of its 2003 Rose Revolution – accused Mr Yatsenyuk of standing idle while "oligarchs" deprived the state of billions.

One of Mr Saakashvili’s advisers backed calls for a protest this morning outside parliament to demand Mr Yatsenyuk’s resignation, and allies of Mr Poroshenko called on the premier to respond to the claims later this week.

Mr Biden is due to address Ukraine’s parliament today, and was scheduled to meet Mr Yatsenyuk for talks last night.

Mr Poroshenko defended his administration’s record and called for stability, calm and hard work, following a 2014 revolution, Russia’s annexation of Crimea and an insurgency that has claimed more than 8,000 lives and displaced more than one million.

‘Resetting’ power

“In a time of war, we have done more than during all the other years of independence,” Mr Poroshenko said, hailing constitutional changes, some tax and energy reforms, belated anti-corruption measures and the prevention of a debt default. “In the last year and a half, we’ve had three election campaigns. We did all we could to ‘reset’ the authorities with presidential, parliamentary and local elections,” he added, rejecting calls for yet another “reset” of power.

"The time of elections has passed – ahead are four years without elections. Over these four years we should conduct all the reforms to fulfil criteria for Ukraine to ensure its entry into the EU and other defensive alliances," he said, in apparent reference to Nato.

Mr Biden called on Russia to halt "continued aggression" towards Ukraine. and "to end its occupation of Ukraine's sovereign territory" including Crimea.