Loose Lips Sink Ships: Ukraine Hires PR Firm to Cover Yatsenyuk’s US Visit

The government of Ukraine has hired APCO Worldwide, an independent public relations (PR) consultancy, to help with media coverage during the upcoming visit of Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk to the United States.

Ukraine will pay $35,000 to APCO Worldwide. In return, the consultancy will provide the client [the government of Ukraine] communications services with major US media companies.

The services will include "communications on behalf of the foreign principal within the United States to media and other organizations in connection with the Prime Minister's visit to the United States to promote positive relations between the United States and the Government of Ukraine."

APCO Worldwide is the second largest independently owned PR firm in the United States. In contrast with other PR firms that focus on corporate communications, APCO Worldwide deals with sensitive political issues. Many of the company's top executives are former prominent government officials.

Hopefully the prominent PR firm will handle most of Yatsenyuk's communications well and the Prime Minister will avoid embarrassing comments in public. It's worth noting that during his January visit to Germany, Yatsenyuk made a fool out of himself after telling a German TV channel that the USSR started World War II by invading Nazi Germany. Thus, one can never know when the Prime Minister's loose tongue might slip next time.