President Donald Trump's alleged abuse of power has cast a shadow over relations between Washington and Kyiv, and democracy more generally.
The swirling"Ukrainegate" scandal is casting a dark shadow over U.S.-Ukrainian relations, at a pivotal moment in the European nation's history.
Crimea has been annexed and war in the east of the country still simmers. Some 13,000 people have been killed, 30,000 wounded and 1.5 million people forced from their homes. Western support is vital in helping Kyiv to try and reunite the country and end the fighting, especially American backing. Mark Simakovsky, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, suggested there is now an"incredible risk" that the country will become politicized in the U.S."At least in the short term, I think U.S.-Ukraine relations will suffer as a result of this ongoing investigation," he added.
And for many voters, the current scandal will have been the first they have heard of Ukraine for some time. Americans of all political persuasions may begin to wonder why the U.S. is spending so much money and effort supporting a country perceived as so corrupt. But the impact will go beyond Ukraine. Though the U.S. has maintained and even intensified engagement in eastern Europe, other regional partners may see the scandal as evidence of Trump's reckless and transactional approach to foreign policy.
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