Chernivtsi-based clan gaining firm foothold in power, analyst Kost Bondarenko says

“Geographically, Bukovyna is small, but everyone knows everyone either directly or via friends and acquaintances. That is why they tend to stick together in Kyiv, regardless of their affiliation with political parties and economic-financial groups. If a Bukovyna resident occupies an influential position in Kyiv, he starts to pull in his fellow countrymen,” Bondarenko noted.

“I do not say the Bukovyna group is solid and united. Its heavyweights certainly are Arseny Yatseniuk, Mykhailo Papiev, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Georgy Philipchuk,” he added.