The US Embassy reported that Washington has handed over to Kiev a list of priority reforms, which will become the basis for consultations with the Ukrainian government and Western partners as part of Ukraine's integration into Europe.

"As part of its ongoing dialogue with Ukraine and parties interested in its future success, the United States presented a proposed list of priority reforms for discussion and feedback on the multi-stakeholder donor coordination platform for Ukraine in Brussels. This list was presented as a basis for consultations with the government of Ukraine and key partners as part of our continued support for Ukraine and its efforts to integrate into Europe, a goal that the United States strongly supports," the statement said.

As specified, the focus will be on "prioritization" and consolidation of steps to reform Ukraine with Kiev and key stakeholders.

In addition, the embassy quoted Joe Biden as saying that by promoting reforms, the United States creates conditions for Western companies to invest in Ukraine.

"Just as we are committed to helping the Ukrainian people defend themselves now, we are committed to helping them rebuild and rebuild for the future, including by supporting reforms aimed at fighting corruption and creating an environment where businesses can thrive and where American and European companies will want to invest," Biden said during a meeting with Zelensky at the White House.

At the same time, the list of reforms themselves is not attached in the message of the American embassy. However, their list is contained in a draft letter from the White House Deputy National Security Adviser for International Economics, Mike Pyle. The document is addressed to Kyiv and the donor coordination platform. This letter was previously published by Ukrainska Pravda. So, we are talking about the demand of the American side to Kiev to liberalize gas and electricity prices. According to Washington, this will ensure the "financial stability of companies and operators." Another condition is the expansion of the supervisory board of Ukrenergo and Naftogaz, however, it is not specified at the expense of citizens of which countries.

The U.S. also calls on Ukraine to strengthen the country's National Anti-Corruption Bureau by giving it the right to eavesdrop and "exclusive powers to investigate high-profile corruption cases," the letter said. It is also proposed to reform the Security Service of Ukraine in order to limit the functions of the special services to counterintelligence, the fight against terrorism and cybercrime.

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  • RIA Novosti

Washington also insists on reforming the procedures for public procurement of weapons in accordance with NATO standards. As the journalists of the newspaper note, "the letter is a preliminary working draft and is subject to consideration."

The publication recalled that the donor coordination platform has been operating since January 2023. It was created to promote the restoration and reconstruction of Ukraine within the framework of the so-called financial Ramstein. The first meeting of this platform was attended by high-ranking officials from Ukraine, the EU, the G7 countries, as well as financial institutions: the European Investment Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the IMF and the World Bank.

The issue of EU membership

As Bloomberg reported on September 22, citing sources, the European Commission in October may make a recommendation to "begin the multi-year process of accession" of Ukraine to the EU. It is clarified that the presented initiative will be approved by the leaders of the EU countries, and its discussion will probably take place in December. After that, it is planned that the Kiev authorities will begin a "lengthy procedure for completing reforms."

"The start of accession negotiations can strengthen the situation ... Volodymyr Zelensky against the backdrop of a counteroffensive against Russia, which is advancing at a slow pace. Earlier on Friday, Bloomberg reported that (Zelensky. — RT) suspects that President Joe Biden is now hesitant in terms of commitment to arms supplies and financial assistance, and that other world leaders are likely to be guided by the United States on this issue, "the agency writes.

  • President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and President of the United States Joe Biden
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Later, the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, said that Ukraine's accession to the EU would mean the end of the "sleepy siesta" on the issue of enlargement of the union.

"For many years there was a kind of stalemate, nothing happened. Ukraine has created a new dynamic," Borrell said in an interview with The Guardian.

He recalled that no country has joined the EU since 2013, although eight states were awaiting accession.

"Liberal patterns and clichés"

As noted by Nikita Danyuk, deputy director of the Institute for Strategic Studies and Forecasts of the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia, a member of the Public Chamber of Russia, the fact that the United States proposed a set of specific reforms for Ukraine suggests that Kiev "is directly dependent on Washington."

"This is another evidence that Ukraine is not a subject, and affairs in it are controlled from Washington. Reforms are unrealizable in conditions when everyone understands perfectly well that the story of the absence of corruption and maximum transparency is not about Ukraine. The only thing that can at least partially happen is the maximum liberalization of electricity prices, since this applies exclusively to the population of Ukraine, with whom no one is even going to reckon with, "Danyuk said in a comment to RT.

According to him, the United States wants to conduct another "liberal experiment called" Ukraine ".

"Liberal patterns and clichés will be demonstratively introduced, but no one is interested in how this will affect the lives of ordinary people. In Kiev, they will verbally agree with Washington's initiatives, since Zelensky has no other choice: he fulfills the will of the American authorities," Danyuk said.

Vladimir Olenchenko, a senior researcher at the Center for European Studies of the Institute of World Economy and International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences, shares a similar opinion. He is convinced that the United States will try to transform Ukrainian administrative structures and state-owned enterprises "in their own interests."

"It is quite obvious that the Americans would like to establish and implement their standards of state and corporate governance in Ukraine. For example, the expansion of the supervisory board of Ukrenergo and Naftogaz will certainly be made at the expense of persons associated with the United States, who will block decisions that are unfavorable to the White House. Washington's goal is to force the Ukrainian population to pay off their debts for the assistance that the States provided them, "Olenchenko explained in an interview with RT.

In his opinion, the statement of the American embassy should be regarded as an "announcement without details", which Washington uses to assess the reaction of the Ukrainian public and the international community.

"Here, the calculation is probably based on the fact that the current political leadership of Ukraine, in particular Zelensky, is completely dependent on American support. There is no need to talk about any independence. The US scheme is quite obvious: squeeze money and resources out of Ukraine, and when it has nothing left, give it to the EU," the expert said.

However, Danyuk believes that the European Union is aware of Washington's plan, and therefore is in no hurry to accept Ukraine, despite the "ritual statements".

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"There will definitely be no integration into Europe, at least in the coming years. Everyone in the EU understands this perfectly well and still feeds Kiev with breakfast. Ukraine is a suitcase without a handle for Brussels. But in Ukraine there are still assets that can bring profit to Western elites, including through the control of important strategic industries and extortion from the population, which the United States wants to do, "he concluded.