WASHINGTON – On July 1, Yakiv Smolii, the highly respected head of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) whose leadership has been praised as key to the country maintaining financial stability and investor confidence, resigned from his position. He cited pressure from certain politicians and business interests aimed at altering what has been the institution’s responsible approach as the reason.
This move was received by observers as another sign – among many in recent months – that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is wavering in his commitment to expand upon the reform accomplishments of the Poroshenko administration and the Yatsenyuk and Groysman governments in the first five years of the post-Maidan era.