'Nuland cited some small economic successes in Ukraine over the past year, including a stabilized currency, growth in wheat exports, and the fact that the country managed to avoid using Russian natural gas this winter for the first time -- something she called "pretty miraculous." '<blockquote>' "The oligarchs and the kleptocrats who controlled Ukraine for decades know that their business model will be broken if the Maidan reformers succeed in 2016," she told the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee in reference to the uprising that pushed out Ukraine's pro-Russia government two years ago.
"So they're fighting back with a vengeance, using all the levers of the old system: their control of the media, state-owned enterprises, [parliamentary] deputies, the courts, and the political machinery," said Nuland, a leading U.S. official on Ukraine.
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Considered to be among the world's most corrupt countries, Ukraine's economy has long been dominated by businessmen who control valuable assets and enterprises, many acquired under dubious circumstances.
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Nuland cited some small economic successes in Ukraine over the past year, including a stabilized currency, growth in wheat exports, and the fact that the country managed to avoid using Russian natural gas this winter for the first time -- something she called "pretty miraculous."
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"We continue to believe that 2016 can and should be the year that Ukraine breaks free from the unholy alliance of dirty money and dirty politics that has ripped off Ukrainians for far too long," she said.'
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Top U.S. Official: Ukraine Reforms Endangered By Oligarchs Fighting Back, March 15, 2016</blockquote>
Context<blockquote>
(Ukraine) - '..Given the anger at corruption..'</blockquote>