Shadow govt "runs the show" in Ukraine - Saakashvili

Mikheil Saakashvili, the head of the Odesa region's state administration, said Ukraine is run by a shadow government.

"Yes, we essentially have a shadow government, a parallel government […] The people who run the business are really owners of this joint stock company," Saakashvili said at the 12th Annual Meeting of the Yalta European Strategy (YES) in Kyiv on Saturday.

Saakashvili said that "Ukraine is owned by some oligarchs like a joint stock company".

Saakashvili said representatives of such a shadow government can change directors of enterprises.

"In reality, the country is run by some parallel shadow system and this system is in a crisis, too. Both systems are in a crisis, public service is in a crisis, and we should be aware of where we stand," he said.

Saakashvili said there are several reformers in the government led by Arseniy Yatseniuk, "but every oligarch has his own prosecutors, police, judges and the army, and also militarized groups, armored vehicles, and munitions, and they pay them because the government is even not paying wages to them anymore."