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Chancellor to host former Ukrainian government donor

Ukrainian students have expressed outrage over the attendance of Victor Pinchuk, a major financial supporter for ex-Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych, at an Oxford panel moderated by the University Chancellor.

On 14 March, St Antony’s College will play host to a panel discussion on Ukraine and its place in the world. Panellists will include former President of Poland Aleksander KwaÅ›niewski, Dr. Javier Solana, the EU High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy and Victor Pinchuk, who is listed on the invitation as a “Ukrainian businessman and philanthropist”.

A group of Ukrainian students at Oxford who wished to remain anonymous due to security concerns have opposed Pinchuk’s attendance. The group cited his alleged financial support for the ex-president as making him an inappropriate and immoral speaker for an Oxford audience.

One student opined, “Many people in Ukraine think that if Pinchuk had used his connections earlier, this could have resulted in fewer or no people being killed in Kiev.” The student criticised the choice of Pinchuk to represent Ukraine at the panel, saying, “There are speakers from Ukraine, like the journalist Sergii Leshenko for instance, who would be more capable of defining the place of Ukraine in the world.”

The Ukrainian students added that they found it “very surprising that this controversy is not reflected at all in the speaker’s biography, provided along the event’s advertisement. Particularly, given the fact that the discussion will be moderated by the Chancellor”.

Pinchuk is a steel magnate estimated to be worth about £2.7 billion. He is married to the daughter of Leonid Kuchma, Ukraine’s former president. Pinchuk has a long-standing presence in the UK as a donor to Tony Blair’s Faith Foundation. His philanthropic foundation also partially funds some Ukrainian students in Oxford through the World Wide Studies Programme.

The group of Ukrainian students opposing Pinchuk’s visit has the support of Oxford University Amnesty International. An Oxford Amnesty spokesperson commented, “We are concerned St Antony’s has chosen to invite Mr Pinchuk, a man heavily associated with corruption within Ukraine.” However, given his NGO’s focus on conciliation, the spokesperson added: “We look forward to hearing Mr Pinchuk’s comments and hope he joins us in calling for an end to the violence and a prompt investigation.”

Not all Ukrainian students oppose Pinchuk’s attendance at the panel. One commented, “Although Pinchuk is a shady oligarch I don’t see him as directly responsible for the bloodshed in Kiev. Having him at the discussion is rather a nice opportunity to question him.”

Pavlo Smytsnyuk, a Ukrainian student at Campion Hall, has even questioned whether or not Pinchuk can be condemned as a sponsor of Yanukovych’s regime. He commented, “Generally, people in Ukraine believe there’s no Ukrainian oligarch who’s immune to corruption, and I don’t think Pinchuk is an exception. However, the TV channels under his influence were showing the events on the Euromaidan live and objectively enough.”

Pinchuk was among the first oligarchs to officially support the anti-government demonstrators in December and published an article in the Financial Times earlier this week expressing his admiration for ongoing popular protest in Ukraine. In recent months, Pinchuk has appeared to distance himself from Yanukovych as the former regime became increasingly repressive.

St. Antony’s has defended its choice of Pinchuk as a panellist. A College spokesperson stated, “This event was first arranged at the start of last term in relation to the Vilnius summit and its significance for Ukrainian-European relations. Mr Pinchuk was behind the formation of the Yalta European Strategy in 2004, which is aimed at promoting public dialogue between Ukraine and the European Union. Through his involvement in this initiative, the College was able to put together a panel of speakers who have been concerned about the question of Ukrainian EU integration for many years.”

Pinchuk appears to have been aware of the potential for controversy in his appearance.“Mr. Pinchuk was actually first very sceptical about the panel and St. Antony’s had to try hard to convince him”, a spokesperson from the Pinchuk Foundation told Cherwell, adding, “It was Doug Schoen and Anders Aslund, both St. Antony’s alumni, who were asked to endorse the invitation and persuade him.”

Both St Antony’s alumni who endorsed the panel’s choice have close connections to Pinchuk. Schoen is currently one of his advisors, while Aslund works as an expert at the Peterson Institute of International Economics, on whose the board Pinchuk has been for many years.

Speaking to Cherwell, Schoen stressed the intention behind the invitation of the controversial business leader. “Mr Pinchuk was invited because of his position as a leading Ukrainian businessman and philanthropist in light of the on-going political and economic crisis,” Schoen said.

The Ukrainian student group is nevertheless resolute to protest near St. Antony’s during the 14 March panel discussion.

They also have plans to write a letter to Chancellor Lord Christopher Patten in order to highlight the controversy surrounding Pinchuk and air their concerns amidst ongoing upheaval in Ukraine.

The Chancellor was not available for comment regarding his moderation of the panel.

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