Ukraine has fallen off the radar as of recent, but a military conflict between Kiev and self-proclaimed independence republics in the eastern part of the country is far from over. However, it's not independence supporters that would bring Kiev down, it's the country's inability to get rid of corruption.
"It's not a question of being allied to East or West, it's not a question of a particular type of politics, but it's the fact that fundamentally, at its core, Ukraine demonstrated no interest whatsoever in delivering a fair and reasonable state of law," Young told Radio Sputnik.
Fighting corruption in Ukraine isn't a question of time, but it's a "matter of mindset," the expert explained, adding that the Ukrainian leadership hasn't shown any signs that the situation with corruption would get better any time soon.
Germany's Ambassador to the United States, Peter Wittig, is one of the high-profile politicians who figured out that Ukraine's main problem is corruption.
If Ukraine fails to modernize and reform its economy and corruption isn't tackled, Western investors won't go to Ukraine, as nobody goes to a country where there is a risk of getting involved in illegal business, Wittig said, according to USA Today.
"This is the case of Ukraine drinking its vodka in a town saloon and the bartender, in the shape of Mr. Wittig, the ambassador to Washington, has said ‘Really, we don't want to serve you anymore, you've got to pay for your bar tab now'… it's frustrating beyond belief," Young said.
According to Gallup, 81 percent of the country's population believes the same problem extensively affects Ukrainian businesses, while only 5 percent of people believe that the government is doing enough to fight corruption.
In 2015, Transparency International ranked Ukraine as 142nd out of 175 investigated counties.
