A leaked tape of former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko making anti-Russian comments will most likely hurt her presidential campaign and stain her promise to help unify the fractured country of Ukraine. 
A recorded telephone call of hers was broadcast on Russian state television last Tuesday, according to the Washington Post. During this call, she suggested it was time to “take up arms and go wipe out” the Russians. While she does not deny it was her voice on the tape, she has defended herself by stating that the recordings were manipulated and taken out of context.
The decision made in November by former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych to walk away from joining the European Union and stand with Russia is what has the country split in two.
“I will be the candidate of Ukrainian unity. The west and centre of Ukraine has always voted for me, but I was born in the east, in Dnipropetrovsk,” said Tymoshenko, according to The Guardian.
While the West opposes Yanukovych’s decision to join Russia and is pro-European, the East of Ukraine tends to be in support the Russian alliance, according to CNN.
Tymoshenko’s promise to unite Eastern and Western Ukraine lost its authenticity after the comments she made in the recorded telephone call. During her phone call with Nestor Shufrych, the two discuss how Russia must be destroyed.
At one point in the conversation, Shufrych asks Tymoshenko what they shall do with the eight million Russians who are living in the Ukraine. She answers, “They must be killed with nuclear weapons,” according to Metro.
Though Tymoshenko claimed on her public Twitter page that the comment was misconstrued and she was not talking about Ukrainian citizens, she will undoubtedly lose support from the Russian-focused East. Petro Poroshenko is leading the presidential election with almost 25 percent of registered voters supporting him, whereas Tymoshenko was backed by only a little over 8 percent of voters, according to a poll conducted by the Center for Social and Marketing Research.
The conversation Tymoshenko had with Shufrych clearly shows how passionate she is for her country and her desire to defend Ukraine. However, during a time when violent riots formed in opposition of Yanukovych’s decision are ruling the streets and taking lives, the Ukraine doesn’t need another violent voice to rule them.
Because of this, Tymoshenko cannot sincerely convey that she wants to mend the country and then have private conversations condemning Russians, laying out plans to eliminate them. Her anti-Russian sentiments only fuel the fire in regards to the conflict between the East and the West of Ukraine.
Regardless of which candidate wins the presidential election in Ukraine, the new president will have a lot of work to take on starting his or her first day in office. Due to political turmoil and economic mismanagement, Ukraine has accepted the offer of a $14 billion to $18 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund, according to The Guardian.
The new president will have to make some tough economic reform decisions that will certainly decrease the standard of living in a country that is already considered impoverished. However, if Ukraine can get through the economic reforms and join the EU, it may be closer to having a more stable economy and country overall.
Vanessa Righeimer can be reached at vanessa.righeimer@spartans.ut.edu
Vanessa Righeimer, an opinion columnist for The Minaret newspaper for the University of Tampa, claims that Yulia Tymoshenko, a current candidate for presidency in Ukraine, is another violent ruler because of her recent comments against Russians. Tymoshenko said that “They (Russians) must be killed with nuclear weapons.” Righeimer feels that Ukraine doesn’t need this type of mentality because the country itself recently broke away from a ruler abusing his military power against Ukrainian citizens and deepened the divide between East and West Ukraine. I concede that those comments are not justified, but they were completely taken out of context and fueled by anger. First of all, nuclear weapons could not be used because Ukraine does not have the technology and using nuclear warfare would destroy all of Ukraine. Also, Tymoshenko was born in Eastern Ukraine, so why would she want to destroy where she came from? The media basically misconstrued this comment completely by turning it into a serious matter, therefore framing Tymoshenko as a tyrant. Tymoshenko sincerely regrets her comments made during the phone conversation and said her comments were misinterpreted. Unfortunately, other writers have jumped onto the media bandwagon, including Vanessa Righeimer and have bypassed what Tymoshenko has done for Ukraine in the past, and what she intends to do in the future, protect Ukraine’s sovereignty. Ukraine will require a strong leader that can protect its rights and unite those citizens who truly want to unite Ukraine as one nation, while the others can unite with Russia, and Tymoshenko would fill this role regardless of these comments.
Vanessa Righeimer, an opinion columnist for The Minaret newspaper for the University of Tampa, claims that Yulia Tymoshenko, a current candidate for presidency in Ukraine, is another violent ruler because of her recent comments against Russians. Tymoshenko said that “They (Russians) must be killed with nuclear weapons.” Righeimer feels that Ukraine doesn’t need this type of mentality because the country itself recently broke away from a ruler abusing his military power against Ukrainian citizens and deepened the divide between East and West Ukraine. I concede that those comments are not justified, but they were completely taken out of context and fueled by anger. First of all, nuclear weapons could not be used because Ukraine does not have the technology and using nuclear warfare would destroy all of Ukraine. Also, Tymoshenko was born in Eastern Ukraine, so why would she want to destroy where she came from? The media basically misconstrued this comment completely by turning it into a serious matter, therefore framing Tymoshenko as a tyrant. Tymoshenko sincerely regrets her comments made during the phone conversation and said her comments were misinterpreted. Unfortunately, other writers have jumped onto the media bandwagon, including Vanessa Righeimer and have bypassed what Tymoshenko has done for Ukraine in the past, and what she intends to do in the future, protect Ukraine’s sovereignty. Ukraine will require a strong leader that can protect its rights and unite those citizens who truly want Ukraine as one nation, while the others can unite with Russia, and Tymoshenko would fill this role regardless of these comments.