Vitold Fokin

On 18 April 1991 Vitold Fokin was appointed the first Prime Minister of Ukraine.[2]

On 12 September 1991 Ukrainian parliament adopted its resolution on "Succession of Ukraine" where Ukraine was declared a direct successor of the Ukrainian SSR. On 22 August 1992 at a plenary session of Ukrainian parliament President of Ukraine Leonid Kravchuk accepted a succession diploma from the exiled government of the Ukrainian People's Republic.[3]

Fokin was one of the drafters and signers of the Belavezha Accords that effectively ended the Soviet Union and founded the Commonwealth of Independent States.

As prime minister he tried to avoid any radical pro-market reforms, however, critics argued that Fokin's inaction, and further credits to various unproductive enterprises contributed to hyperinflation (1,210% in 1992) and in general to the disastrous performance of the Ukrainian economy. He resigned on 8 October 1992 under pressure from the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian Parliament) and public.[4] Until May 1994, he was vice speaker of the Verkhovna Rada. He currently serves as chairman of the supervisory board of AOZT Devon.

In 2020 the Ukrainian television broadcaster 112 published information about the 2017 interview of Fokin to Ukrainian journalist Dmitry Gordon where Fokin tried to reason why Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, while 112 stated that Fokin was justifying the capture by arguing the reason why the American aircraft carriers entered Mediterranean Sea, passed Dardanelles and Bosporus Straits.[5] According to Fokin, by that move if Russia did not capture the Crimea, it may be would have lost it forever, because to Crimea would arrive the Americans.[5] Fokin added that Russia needed to be understood, because it has its fleet there [in Crimea].[5]

The information about the interview appeared as soon as Fokin was appointed to the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine (a contact group of representatives from Ukraine, Russia, and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe that is facilitating a diplomatic resolution of the War in Donbass) on 18 August 2020.[6] On 30 September 2020 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree dismissing Fokin from the Trilateral Contact Group because he had not been guided in his "activities and statements by the national interests of Ukraine."[6] Fokin was dismissed a few days after he had claimed that there was "no war between Russia and Ukraine in Donbass".[6]

• Interview of Fokin, Boulevard of Gordon; 23 October 2012.
• Interview of Fokin, Boulevard of Gordon; 7 March 2017.