War in Ukraine

When Ukraine requested Interpol warrants for 23 riot police officers who had left the country, Interpol rejected the request, citing the government’s “political motives.” Yushchenko was the governor of Ukraine’s central bank during the Western-backed privatization of the economy in the 1990s, but he campaigned on a promise to stop the plundering of the state and imprison the looters. Westerners supporting endless shipments of weapons to Ukraine sincerely hoped to defend Ukrainian freedom and sovereignty. Bakhmut finally fell to Russian Wagner mercenaries in May 2023, after six months of shelling and urban warfare had reduced much of the city to rubble.