Kyiv's unborn economic security bureau caught in NABU-SBU feud

• FRANCE/SYRIA - YPG representatives at the French National Assembly

• UKRAINE - Economic security office headless

• KYRGYZSTAN - Ex-spymaster on the rise in diplomatic corps
  

• US - Food security as well as agricultural sovereignty

US lobbying giant APCO to help Ukraine-based initiative pushing for Kyiv and Minsk's EU integration 

The US lobbying firm has been commissioned by a new Brussels-based NGO, Center for a European Future, to help prepare the ground for Minsk and Kyiv's EU integration. The think-tank is led by an experienced PR professional with strong ties in Ukraine but few contacts in Minsk.

Nassonov and Pechenizhky, EU and NATO event planners in war-torn Ukraine 

Amid the turmoil of war, a group of Ukrainian entrepreneurs are finding caterers and concierge services, and organising summits and conferences, for international organisations in Kyiv.

Ukraine's economic security services under close scrutiny 

The Ukrainian government has discreetly launched a parliamentary inquiry into possible financial wrongdoing by officers in charge of economic security. A number of services - including internal intelligence, the SBU, and economic security, the BEB - will be probed.

Europe's Ukraine anti-corruption drive loses steam 

Investigations by Ukraine's NABU anti-corruption bureau continue even amid the ongoing war, with enthusiastic backing from its partner countries - but a European data storage programme financed by Denmark has just been suspended.

Ukraine's new economic security bureau finds its feet while war rages on 

Ukraine's investigation and economic intelligence entity, which is heavily mobilised in the war, is gradually establishing its place in Ukraine's security architecture and trying to respond to donor countries' demands for greater transparency and stronger measures against corruption.

Ukraine presidency ally holds cards in naming new anti-corruption chiefs 

The leadership of the corruption-fighting arsenal in Kyiv rests in the hands of the new chief prosecutor, Oleksi Simonenko. A former SBU intelligence officer, his close connections within the presidency have made him a rising star in the war-stricken country's leadership.

Ukraine's anti-corruption prosecution office still without chief, much to Western chagrin 

Despite the insistence of its international partners - the US, the UE, the G7 and IMF - Ukraine's anti-corruption prosecution service, the SAPO, still has no one at the helm.

Committee poised to appoint Ukraine's new economic intelligence chief 

Anti-corruption chiefs and senior tax officials are vying to head Kyiv's new economic intelligence bureau, the BEB.

Army of US consultants weigh in on Ukrainian privatisations 

The Ukrainian government is poised to sell off everything from distilleries to electricity plants in a major privitisation drive, with the help of Western-trained experts.

Kyiv still struggling to get up to speed in battle against fake news 

After a period of feverish government activity which led to numerous reform initiatives, the day-to-day reality is setting in. Resources for activities which have been given priority status are sorely lacking, and this is particularly affecting efforts to set up new bodies to combat disinformation.

Reform bill cuts into SBU's initial mandate  Free

The Ukrainian parliament is about to approve Volodymyr Zelensky's latest bill to reform the country's security service. This would strip the SBU of its mandate to police and investigate economic crimes, an assurance of good conduct for Ukraine's Western partners.

Zelensky eyes spy satellite 

According to our sources, the Ukrainian defence ministry has entered talks with the French government about procuring a military observation [...]

CEIS on the roads of territorial intelligence 

The company is expanding its activities in this growing market, driven by increasing demand from mostly local, but also national authorities.

SBU takes on private military company DBC, linked to both Kolomoisky and Saakashvili 

Ukraine's internal security service, the SBU, which conducted raids on 24 March as part of a months-long investigation, suspects two men, Yevgen Shevchenko and Semen Semenchenko, "created a paramilitary organisation". Shevchenko is close to anti-corruption unit and the SBU's rival, NABU.

Economic security bureau has difficult start 

On 22 March, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a law [...]

Pro-Western parties in Kiev and Tbilisi look to build ties with Washington 

Ukrainian and Georgian partisans of a rapprochement with the West are hoping they can make headway now that Biden is in the White House. However times have changed since the 2000s, when membership of NATO still seemed possible.

By targeting media moguls Kozak and Medvedchuk, SBU clears the path for Kolomoisky 

With SBU-backed proof in hand, Kiev shut down Taras Kozak's television channels in early February. The decision, backed by the US embassy and pro-West media outlets, shows that Igor Kolomoisky has snatched back the title as Ukraine's top media mogul from his rival Viktor Medvedchuk.

Zelensky pursues vengeance against former SBU chief 

Vasyl Gritsak, the former head of the SBU, Ukraine's intelligence [...]

Anti-corruption consultants at front line in Ukraine 

Western nations are taking it in turns to tackle corruption in Ukraine, officially to consolidate the country's institutions but also to uncover the financial circuits of pro-Russian oligarchs.