Prime Minister Mykola Azarov
Published May 16th, 2012 | 
Ukrainian court postpones Tymoshenko appeal.Ukraine’s prime minister said Tuesday that his predecessor had been correctly convicted of abusing her powers in signing a gas deal with Russia, and invited European observers to watch her appeal.
On a visit to Brussels, Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said his predecessor, Yulia Tymoshenko had been convicted and sentenced to seven years in prison by a judiciary that was free and independent. Tymoshenko’s appeal, however, was postponed in Ukraine on Tuesday on what her lawyers called political grounds.
Azarov invited observers from the European Union nations to Ukraine to watch the appeal process.
“They can review the documents. They can learn more about the procedure and they can listen to the arguments,” Azarov told reporters through a translator.
Azarov said it was already clear she falsified documents that led Ukraine to pay $8 billion a year extra for a gas contract with Russia. Last year, the prosecutor office said Tymoshenko’s actions cost the state 3.5 billion hryvna ($440 million) in damages.
The 27-nation European Union has criticized her sentence as being politically motivated.
Tymoshenko has accused President Viktor Yanukovych, the longtime rival who narrowly defeated her in the 2010 presidential election, of jailing her to prevent her from posing a challenge in October parliamentary elections.
Prosecutors argued Tuesday that the appeal should be postponed because Tymoshenko is undergoing medical treatment for a back condition in a hospital in Kharkiv, the city where she is imprisoned, and would be unable to appear in court in Kiev, the capital.
In ruling in favor of the prosecution, the High Specialized Court for Civil and Criminal Cases set a new date of June 26, which falls near the end of the European soccer championship.
Some EU officials and governments have vowed to boycott the games in Ukraine over Tymoshenko’s imprisonment.
Tymoshenko’s lawyer, Serhiy Vlasenko, condemned the postponement.
“Today’s decision is complete nonsense on the level of the country’s highest court,” he told reporters. “Today, Yanukovych has again spat in the face of Europe.”
He said the delay was aimed at preventing Tymoshenko from appealing to the European Court of Human Rights, which can be done only after the appeals process has been exhausted at home, but Vlasenko said they would go ahead and do so anyway.
Azarov insisted Ukraine’s judicial institutions were impartial and invited EU observers to come check it during Tymoshenko’s appeal.
“We are ready to invite to this process the representatives of the judicial services of the european countries. They can review the documents. They can learn more about the procedure and they can listen to the arguments,” he said.
Co-host Ukraine in goalkeeping crisis
Published May 16th, 2012 | With two goalkeepers ruled out and a third in a race to recover from injury, Ukraine is heading into the European Championship in crisis.
Dynamo Kiev veteran Oleksandr Shovkovskiy is out because of shoulder surgery and Shakhtar Donetsk keeper Oleksandr Rybka has been banned for doping.
That leaves Spartak Moscow goalkeeper Andriy Dykan as the first choice, but he is recovering from facial injuries and may not be healthy in time.
“I can’t say my condition is satisfactory, although it is better,” Dykan said. “As for Euro 2012, I really, really want to play. But time is passing, and I realize that my dream is drifting away.”
The 34-year-old Dykan was hit in the face during a game in the Russian league on March 31, less than 10 weeks before co-host Ukraine opens Euro 2012 against Sweden.
“I hope that Dykan will return to the national team,” Ukraine goalkeeper coach Yuriy Romenskiy said. “Although the chance of that isn’t very high.”
If Dykan joins Shovkovskiy and Rybka on the sidelines, Ukraine coach Oleh Blokhin will likely turn to 27-year-old Andriy Pyatov. The Shakhtar Donetsk keeper has made 24 international appearances but has played rarely for his club this season after losing his place to Rybka.
The loss of Shovkovskiy is the biggest blow to the team’s chances of getting through Group D, which also includes England, France and Sweden.
The 37-year-old Shovkovskiy, who has made 92 appearances for Ukraine, injured his shoulder ligaments in a domestic-league game in late April — only five weeks before the tournament. Doctors initially hoped to put off an operation until after the tournament, but had to leave that idea behind two weeks later.
“It’s a cruel world. Circumstances often ruin all our dreams,” Shovkovskiy wrote on his Facebook page. “If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans for tomorrow.”
The 25-year-old Rybka would have been the obvious replacement for the two injured goalkeepers, but he was banned for two years by UEFA in January after failing a doping test. The club said he accidentally took a banned diuretic as a slimming method without informing the team doctor.
The lack of an experienced keeper further weakens Ukraine’s already-shaky defense. The team conceded two goals in a victory over Israel in February and three in a draw with Germany at home in November.
International Ports Conference
Published May 16th, 2012 | Ukraine: “Londonskaya” Hosts VI International Ports Conference.
On May 14 at the conference hall of hotel “Londonskaya” the VI International Conference “Freight and Ports of the Azov-Black Seas Basin” took place.
Among the participants there were representatives from Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Israel, Britain, Austria, Switzerland, Canada, Egypt, Norway, Romania, the Netherlands and other countries. Organizers – “Business Forum” company, “Industrial cargoes” magazine, IA “Metal-Courier.” The general partner is the port of Odessa.
Before the beginning of the forum the General Manager of the port of Odessa Yuriy Vaskov welcomed the guests:
“Despite the crisis and post-crisis periods the cargo turnover volumes in 2011 increased in domestic ports,” said Mr. Vaskov. “The credit for increase is shared by both public and private ports and terminals that are currently handle 40 percent of cargoes. Consequently, the market is growing for freight and transport companies.”
“I want to remind that Ukraine is on the threshold of reform of port industry: we expecte adoption of the Law “On Sea Ports” in the nearest future. The main purpose of this Act is not privatization, as many mistakenly believe, but to provide opportunities for investors to enter the Ukrainian ports on terms of concession. This will allow investing in infrastructure development, respectively, in the Ukrainian ports and attracting additional cargoes.”
“Many domestic companies and neighboring countries expect the adoption of the Act, to obtain a concession of port facilities and increase cargo base. For us, the port workers, it means an increase in cargo handling, transport streams, passing through the territory of Ukraine. The prospects on my opinion are positive. The main thing is not to lose time to participate actively in the forthcoming reforms. I wish you all success, share experience, which then can be used in practice.”
The conference program includes analysis of dry cargo market of the Black and Azov Seas basin, the market of bulk, grain cargoes, a review of exports of ferrous metals in the Black Sea, the consideration of the potential of container shipping on the Black Sea and its connection with the container shipping market on the Mediterranean Sea and other issues.
Ukraine activist
Published May 16th, 2012 | Topless Ukraine activist grabs Euro soccer cup.
A Ukrainian women’s rights activist stripped to the waist and seized the Euro-2012 soccer trophy while it was on public display in Kiev on Saturday in a protest against the forthcoming month-long championship.
The young woman, 23-year-old Yulia Kovpachik, is a member of the Kiev-based Femen women’s rights group which believes the Euro-2012 soccer tournament being played in Ukraine next month will encourage sex tourism.
Kovpachik strode up to the silver, 60 centimeter (two feet) high trophy, which was on display as a tourist attraction in an open air exhibition in central Kiev, ostensibly to be photographed alongside it like hundreds of other sightseers.
But she then pulled down her red T-shirt to reveal the words “Fuck Euro 2012″ scrawled on her torso. As she grabbed hold of the cup with both hands, she was seized by security guards, who appeared to have had advanced warning of the protest.
They covered her with a sheet and took her off to a waiting police car.
The protest appeared to be the first action in a campaign against the championship by Femen which regularly stages bare-breast protests in Ukraine – and sometimes beyond – to highlight what it sees as political injustice, social abuse and the exploitation of women in Ukraine.
Femen says Euro-2012, which Ukraine is co-hosting with Poland next month with the final in Kiev on July 1, will be a magnet for sex tourists – one of the group’s main targets – and will feed a booming sex industry.
About one million foreign tourists are expected in Ukraine for the Euros.
Organisers said the 8 kg (17 lbs) Henri Delaunay cup was undamaged though Kovpachik appeared to topple back under its weight as security guards seized her. It was still on show in late evening.
Femen’s spokeswoman, Anna Gutsol, said Kovpachik, who staged the protest on her 23rd birthday, was released after being told she would have to appear in court on Monday on a charge of hooliganism. The charge carries a maximum fine of 800 hryvnias ($100) and 15 days detention.
Conscious of Ukraine’s growing reputation as a new destination for sex tourism, Euro-2012 organisers say they are taking steps to curb prostitution during the month-long tournament.
After Kovpachik’s protest, Femen activist Olexandra Shevchenko told reporters: “We came here today to stop this Euro fan low-life from making a bordello out of Ukraine.”
City authorities have mounted the trophy in a temporary exhibition area on Kiev’s Independence Square.
Hundreds of sightseers were queuing up under the blazing sun for souvenir photographs alongside it when Kovpachik staged her demonstration.
Independence Square itself will be the centre of a huge ‘fan-zone’ during Euro-2012, capable of holding tens of thousands of football supporters.
EU-Ukraine association
Published May 16th, 2012 | Rejection of EU-Ukraine association process would betray people and Eastern Partnership principles, says Fule.
EU Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy Stefan Fule has stated that association is a common goal of Ukraine and the EU, and the rejection of this process would “betray the people and principles of the Eastern Partnership.”
Fule said this at a press conference in Brussels on Tuesday while summing up the results of a meeting of the EU-Ukraine Cooperation Council.
The Association Agreement will bring benefits to both Ukraine and the EU, while Ukraine’s territorial integrity will be respected, the EU commissioner said.
“There’s no plan B. We believe that the rejection of the association process would be a betrayal of the people and the principles of the eastern Partnership. But this does not mean that we will compromise on the issues of democratic values, human rights, fundamental freedoms and the supremacy of law, which are a part of this agreement. Ukraine’s commitment to European integration will be assessed on the base of its commitment to reform,” he said.
The EU commissioner once again expressed hope that Ukraine will find a solution to the problems of politically motivated persecutions and selective justice.
While speaking about reforms, Fule noted the constitutional reform in Ukraine and said that the president of Ukraine set up a constitutional assembly. He added that this process should be supported comprehensively and transparently.
“We have positive signals that Ukraine is ready to resume a serious discussion on the modernization of the gas transit system, which could open the way for receiving assistance from the EU and international financial organizations,” he said.
Fule outlined a number of other issues that should be tackled by the sides. In particular, he said that Kyiv and Brussels decided to start an informal dialogue on the business climate.
“This was a serious and sometimes difficult discussion. The measures we are expecting to be taken by Ukraine are absolutely clear, and political association and economic integration are our common goal,” he said.
Blokhin
Published May 16th, 2012 | Ukraine squad faces tough training-Blokhin.
Ukrainian football coach Oleh Blokhin took his 26-man Euro 2012 squad off to training camp in Turkey on Tuesday warning them they were in for a psychological shake-up to give them an outside chance of surviving elimination in the early stages.
This is going to be a holiday only for their wives, he said.
With a goalkeeping crisis that has forced Blokhin to call up two uncapped keepers and a creaking defence, Ukraine’s national team is seen as having only a slim chance of getting through tough Group D matches against Sweden, England and France.
But with the right psychological preparation this was still a reality, he said.
“Euro 2012 can turn out in different ways. However you look at it, Ukraine’s team has got younger and we have now essentially a new team,” he said.
“Our task is to qualify from the group. In 2006 nobody believed we would qualify for the finals of the World Cup. Appetite comes with eating,” he told reporters.
Blokhin, 59, a former European player of the year, led the national team to the quarter-finals of the 2006 World Cup.
“But if the lads think that this (training in Turkey) will be a stroll, they are mistaken. For their wives maybe. But for the lads it will be twice-daily training, morning and evenings,” he was quoted as saying by Segodnya newspaper.
After training in Turkey, Ukraine, co-host of the Euro 2012 tournament with Poland, will play warm-ups against Estonia, Austria and Turkey before going into their opening Euro clash against Sweden in Kiev on June 11.
Blokhin has brought in young attackers like Andriy Yarmolenko of Dynamo Kiev and Yevhen Konoplyanka of Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk to boost Ukraine’s striking power.
Veteran striker Andriy Shevchenko also says he is fit enough to turn out for his swansong in the national team, though Blokhin still has to make a final decision over the 35-year-old, an icon of Ukrainian football.
“I can say one thing: some footballers have come along who are forcing us trainers to consider more attacking play,” Blokhin told reporters.
But he said that, apart from his goalkeeping nightmare, the defence generally was a major preoccupation. “The situation in defence has not got any better. It’s good that (Yaroslav) Rakitsky and (Oleksandr) Kucher are scoring goals,” he said referring to their club form.
“But matches against the leading teams of Europe will not allow two flank defenders to play in the other half of the pitch. They are going to have to look after the defence,” Blokhin said.
He acknowledged that Ukraine looked in good shape in midfield, but felt concerns here too.
“How the midfield plays is how the whole team plays. And things are not so smooth here either. I have concerns. Touch wood that injuries do not make the situation worse,” he said.
Ukrainian hooligans
Published May 16th, 2012 | Special Report has uncovered a worrying culture of football hooliganism in Ukraine – the co-hosts of Euro 2012.
We’ve spent six months investigating a group of Shakhtar Donetsk fans with neo-Nazi links and discovered that they’ll be targeting England fans when the tournament kicks off next month.
Local officials hope that Euro 2012 will be a celebration of football but there remain serious doubts over their ability to safely deliver such a complicated event.
High up on the list of concerns is the threat of hooliganism; Ukrainian police admit that there are nearly 1,500 active football hooligans in the country.
Kudos
Cass Pennant, a former football hooligan, told Special Report: “It’s dangerous for English fans to go anywhere outside of England; the reputation goes before England fans worldwide when it comes to the word hooliganism.
“That was established in the 70s and the 80s. Through that reputation, the England fan has that as a burden today because it is a different fan-base.
“What you’ve got in effect is the hunter has become the hunted. The Polish and the Ukraine guys – it’s their way of life; they live it. They are on it all week. It’s a big build-up and they want to test themselves.
“If they test themselves against the English, the kudos is massive to them. Suddenly people will look up because they fought England and say ‘what about these Ukraine guys?’”
Our investigative team managed to infiltrate a hard-core gang of ultras, called ‘The Donetsk Company’ at their operational HQ, in their combat gym and during a brutal, organised fight with a company of ultras from Dynamo Kiev.
The Ukrainian police have told us that Tolik, the leader of the Donetsk Company, is at the top of their hooligans’ watch list, but he remains free to attend matches, including those at this summer’s European Championship.
Donetsk international airport
Published May 16th, 2012 | Ukraine unveils the renewed terminal at Donetsk international airport.
Country officials open the renewed terminal at Donetsk international airport in Ukraine just in time for EURO 2012. The renewed airport boasts a seven-storey terminal capable of servicing up to 3,100 passengers per hour (previously – 700), reads the statement by Ukraine’s Infrastructure Ministry.
Donetsk airport recently introduced an artificial runway suitable for all types of airplanes, including the heavy Boeing 747 and Airbus A380. It boasts the tallest in the country 52 meter control tower. The International Civil Aviation Organization granted the airport the ICAO III A category, allowing it to accept landings at zero visibility conditions.
“At the beginning of the 1930s the constructors of this airport had no idea what a high technology site it would grow into,”said the Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych at the opening ceremony on May 14 th. The Airport’s renewed infrastructure will help manage the increasing number of passengers arriving in the eastern Ukrainian city for EURO 2012.
Ukrainian state budget contributed USD 758 million into the Donetsk airport reconstruction. Additionally, private investments and local budget funded the construction. Curiously, in November of 2011 the airport was named after renowned classical composer Serhiy Prokofiev, who originated from Donetsk.
EURO 2012 triggered reconstruction works at Kyiv and Lviv airports, while Donetsk and Kharkiv ones were built from scratch. In 2012 western Ukrainian EURO 2012 host Lviv opened a new terminal. It services up to 2,100 persons per hour. Interestingly, Budapest airport has the channel capacity of 970 persons per hour (8.5 million a year).
The Airport in Kharkiv boasts a new 2.5 kilometer runway (allowing the airport to service Boeing 747 and Airbus A380 landings), renewed infrastructure, and a terminal. New terminal F at Boryspil airport in Kyiv has a waiting zone of 5,670 square meters and capacity of 2,400 passengers per hour. Comparably, the waiting area in Moscow’s Domodedovo airport is 2,900 square meters.
Final renovations are under way at Kyiv airports Zhuliany and Boryspil. In May 2012 Zhuliany will get a new terminal with a total area of 14,270 square meters and channel capacity of 320 persons per hour. In June 2012 Boryspil will open additional terminal D, servicing over 20 planes at a time. Currently, Boryspil operates 62 percent of passenger traffic in the country.
Ukraine says prime minister
Published May 16th, 2012 | No dictatorship in Ukraine says prime minister.
Mykola Azarov became Ukraine’s prime minister in March 2010. Since then his premiership has come under sharp focus in Europe and beyond with concerns over the treatment of former PM Yulia Tymoshenko who is currently serving a seven year prison sentence on charges of abuse of office. Mykola Azarov spoke with Euronews correspondent, Sergio Cantone.
Sergio Cantone euronews: “Prime minister welcome to euronews. There are a lot of concerns in the EU, especially among the EU leaders about the situation concerning the rule of law in Ukraine, Merkel, the chancellor of Germany compared Ukraine to a dictatorship, compared Ukraine to Belarus, so what is your idea about it?
Mykola Azarov, Ukraine’s Prime Minister: “Just a few days spent in Ukraine, or maybe more, would be enough for anyone to be sure that there’s no dictatorship in Ukraine, and neither is there any political repression. Democratic political parties are active in Ukraine, some of them are represented in the parliament, some of them not. We have total freedom of expression. I personally regard (Mrs. Merkel’s) remark to be politically incorrect. It doesn’t help to strengthen bilateral relations between Germany and Ukraine, and moreover, between Ukraine and the EU as a whole.
Euronews: “Don’t you think that you have to find a way out from this situation that is putting your country in a terrible stalemate vis-à-vis your partners in the west?”
Mykola Azarov: “Mrs. Tymoshenko was not convicted for her political beliefs. She was convicted for forging an official document called the Directive of the Ukraine’s government. Using this forged document she made (her subordinates) sign a very unfavourable and detrimental contract for gas supplies with Russia. Now our country has to pay almost double the price for gas purchases compared to current average European prices.”
Euronews: “So, anyway, you think that the EU leadership is drawing conclusions based on wrong legal information about the situation in this country?
Mykola Azarov: “I’ve asked a simple question about her actions. Was it a political decision or a crime? And I would like the respected European lawyers to answer this question.”
Euronews: “They already gave the answer and it is that this is a politically motivated judgement, they say that the Ukrainian government, the current Ukrainian power wants to get rid of an inconvenient opposition leader, Yulia Tymoshenko, that is their position.”
Mykola Azarov: “I would like to once again point out all the circumstances related to the case. I wonder whether the European leaders have full information about it. We are ready to provide such information. It is an irrefutable fact. So there is a question: was the investigation politically motivated, or was it called for by huge losses sustained by our country because of her actions?”
Euronews:“Prime minister I understand but don’t you think that there is also the fact that there is a lack of trust in the Ukrainian justice system abroad as well as in Ukraine?”
Mykola Azarov: “That’s precisely why we’ve undertaken a huge task of reforming our judicial system. A new Criminal Procedural Code of Ukraine will come into effect that would broaden the citizens’ rights. This is why we wage a real war against corruption. The scale of this fight is significantly wider than, say, two years ago. It’s really a huge fight against corruption. We are trying to deregulate the economy because we see the problem and we do our best to create a favourable investment climate in Ukraine. And we will succeed!”
Euronews: “Are you going to surprise, in some way, somehow the rest of Europe by probably letting Tymoshenko go treat her health problem abroad?”
Mykola Azarov: “Let us not jump the gun. She is now undergoing treatment which will enable us to understand whether any further medical help is required. After that, if there is a conclusion by competent and authoritative medical bodies that adequate treatment cannot be provided in Ukraine, but can be granted at some facility outside Ukraine, only then could Ukraine’s leadership can consider such a possibility, based, which I want to stress, purely on humanitarian grounds. It is clear though, that such a decision would require changes in appropriate laws and regulations.”
Reforms
Published May 16th, 2012 | Ukraine comes under renewed pressure to make reforms.
Ukraine’s prime minister has been told that the European Union is not prepared to sign off a cooperation agreement with the country, in protest at its human rights record.
The EU has presented a progress report, which demands further reforms in the country – including improvements to the justice system.
“There is a deterioration all across the areas that are related to the values of the EU,” said Jose Manuel Teixeira, EU Ambassador to Ukraine.
“We make this report, there is dialogue with the authorities, they must understand that without moving, their expressions of commitment to the EU will not be able to materialise.”
Threatened with a political boycott of the Euro 2012 football tournament next month, Ukraine has now delayed a ruling on an appeal lodged by jailed opposition politican Yulia Tymoshenko – until after the event has got underway.
“It is undoubtebly a political decision, which has nothing to do with the law,” said Sehiy Vlasenko, Tymoshenko’s lawyer.
“This is an attempt to delay the case for political purposes. Namely, in order to continue telling lies to the European Union, saying ‘look, we still have no definitive final decision, so let’s wait and see.’”
Tymoshenko ended a hunger strike last week after she was moved from prison to a hospital to undergo treatment for chronic back pain. She says her jailing is an act of political revenge.
Viktor Yanukovych
Published January 21st, 2012 | Viktor Yanukovych extends Christmas greetings to Ukrainians
Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has wished Ukrainians a Merry Christmas.
“The joy of birth of the Son of God fills our hearts with warmth and hope. Christmas unites and reconciles us. Today, the Savior brings the light of goodness and love to every house,” reads the greeting posted on the president’s Web site on Saturday.
Viktor Yanukovych wished Ukrainians joyful and pleasant holidays, health and happiness. “May every house be blessed with peace, prosperity and harmony. Long live Ukraine and the Ukrainian people!” the president said.
Lviv airport
Published January 21st, 2012 | Lviv airport will be ready for Euro 2012 by end of Q1, 2012, according to mass media
The Lviv airport runway is 80% completed, and the entire airfield of Lviv airport will be commissioned in the first quarter of 2012, according to the Aviation of Ukraine portal, with reference to the National Agency on Preparations for and Holding the Euro 2012 European Football Championship Finals in Ukraine.
According to the director of the airport development at Zakhidinfraproekt, Mykola Mahasevych, last year builders had to work “under extraordinary circumstances” as the airport was permanently operating.
“If Lviv International Airport completely ceased its work during reconstruction, the runway would be completed. Today, thanks to the intense and conscientious work of the builders in quite extremely conditions, the major part of work has been performed notwithstanding time limitation,” said Mahasevych.
Ukrainian government
Published January 21st, 2012 | Ukraine to introduce EU model to control food quality, biosecurity service head says
The Ukrainian government due to the increasing number of poisoning cases and detecting low grade food has decided to create a model for food quality control according to the standards of the European Union, Head of the State Veterinary and Biosecurity Service of Ukraine Ivan Bisiuk has said.
“On the model of the EU states, the veterinary service of Ukraine will be able to fully control food quality and safety from fertilizing, feeding animals, monitoring pesticide residues and veterinary drugs in animal products to processing animal and vegetable goods, supplies to consumers, controlling logistics chains and sales on the whole territory of the country,” the press service said citing Bisiuk.
He noted that the reform of the food industry foresees “the creation of a single authorized body on the basis of the State Veterinary and Biosecurity Service.”
“However, this does not mean that from now on only veterinarians should control herbal products or dietary and baby food. Specialists from other structures will be transferred to the state service with this purpose,” Bisiuk explained.
Daughter defends Oleksandr Tymoshenko
Published January 21st, 2012 | Daughter defends Oleksandr Tymoshenko’s decision to seek Czech political asylum
Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko’s daughter, Yevhenia, has said that her father, Oleksandr Tymoshenko, applied to the Czech government for political asylum “out of necessity”.
“My father did not want to leave. Even now he is greatly worried about it. But I think that it was a necessary measure, given the situation our family found itself in,” Yevhenia Tymoshenko told the TVi television station, according to Yulia Tymoshenko’s Web site.
Yevhenia said that it would have been much more difficult for her family if the authorities had continued prosecuting Oleksandr Tymoshenko.
“If the authorities had continued their reprisals against him, it would have effected my mother even stronger than in this situation now that she has already been sent to a penal colony,” she said.
Oleksandr Tymoshenko was granted political asylum in the Czech Republic on January 6, 2012.
Vitaliy Klychko
Published January 21st, 2012 | Vitaliy Klychko UDAR party in talks with Hrytsenko’s Civil Position
Vitaliy Klychko has confirmed that the UDAR party, which he heads, is holding the talks with the Civil Position political party lead by Anatoliy Hrytsenko and said that it is too early to speak about the unification yet.
“Yes, we are holding the talks, comparing our positions, but it is too early to talk about unification. We see that we can work together: we share the same position, we share the same principles, we focus on the same matters, but we have never negotiated this before. This doesn’t matter that we have already agreed, but such talks are underway,” Klychko said in an interview with Channel 5.
Oleksandr Tymoshenko
Published January 21st, 2012 | Tymoshenko’s husband Oleksandr Tymoshenko to register Batkivschyna international NGO in Prague
Oleksandr Tymoshenko, the husband of jailed former Ukrainian prime minister and opposition Batkivschyna party leader Yulia Tymoshenko, has submitted documents in Prague to register the International Non-Governmental Organization Batkivschyna.
In an interview with Radio Liberty, Oleksandr Tymoshenko said the documents were filed in December 2011. He said that organization’s mission is “to analyze the actions of the ruling government and its criminal activities aimed at robbing Ukraine, provide coverage of the activities of Yanukovych’s government in foreign publications, and monitor observance of human rights and freedoms and democratic principles in Ukraine.
“You have to understand that Yanukovych’s regime is not the Ukrainian people. It is a group of former bandits dressed in Brioni who through lies, by manipulating Ukrainian law, secured absolute power in the country and are cheating and robbing the Ukrainian people,” Oleksandr Tymoshenko said.
According to him, the people did not elect a president of Ukraine with such powers and they did not give parliament such powers.
“The people didn’t elect deputies that were bribed to switch parties, they voted for party factions. Because of the betrayal by certain deputies there was a constitutional coup that allowed the dictatorship of Yanukovych, who has been fighting against Yulia Tymoshenko for all these years,” the ex-premier’s husband said.
“Today Yulia Tymoshenko and other political prisoners are in jail, while Yanukovych sits on a golden toilet with his sons and junta – [Ukrainian business tycoon Dmytro] Firtash, [head of presidential administration Serhiy] Liovochkin, [Chief Security Service of Ukraine Valeriy] Khoroshkovsky, and [Prosecutor General Renat] Kuzmin and their sons – and robs the Ukrainian people,” he said.
GTS
Published January 21st, 2012 | GTS reform should be considered after gas talks, says Rada speaker
The reform of the gas transportation system (GTS) of Ukraine should be considered after the completion of the Russian-Ukrainian gas talks, Verkhovna Rada Chairman Volodymyr Lytvyn has said.
“The thing is that since the talks are underway, it seems to me that this issue should be considered when the negotiations produce some results – when they agree on something. And then, if needed, the legal basis should be provided transparently, openly and taking into account national interests,” he told reporters on Tuesday when asked when the parliament will consider the government’s bill on the reform of Ukraine’s gas transportation system.
Lytvyn also recalled that he had discussed this matter with the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the Ukrainian presidential administration, and they had backed this position.
“Everyone conceded that we do not need to rush with the consideration of this matter,” the speaker said.
The speaker said that the parliament would not address the bill this week.
Yulia Volodymyrivna
Published January 21st, 2012 | Turchynov: Yulia Volodymyrivna was unconscious for over two hours after taking medicines
Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Volodymyrivna Tymoshenko was unconscious for over two hours in the Kachanivska penal colony (Kharkiv), after she was given unknown medicines, according to the Batkivschyna Party.
“Yulia Volodymyrivna [Tymoshenko] fell unconscious immediately after taking the drugs, although she had no prerequisites for this. She was actually in a state of unconsciousness for more than two hours,” the party’s first deputy head, Oleksandr Turchynov, said at a press conference on Tuesday.
He added that Yulia Volodymyrivna Tymoshenko had been given drugs to treat an acute viral infection.
Ukraine’s GDP
Published January 21st, 2012 | Ukraine’s GDP almost 5% up in 2011, says Ukrainian premier
Ukraine’s real GDP growth in 2011 accelerated to almost 5% from 4.2% in 2010, Ukrainian Premier Mykola Azarov said, opening a cabinet meeting in Kyiv on Wednesday.
He said that the balanced monetary policy of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) and the budget policy of the government allowed reaching a record low inflation level in the country – 4.6%.
“Real wages grew by 8.5%, and this is the largest indicator in the CIS states,” Azarov said.
As reported, in the middle of December the Ukrainian premier said that GDP growth in January-November 2011 came to 5.3%. He said that according to tentative assessment, nominal GDP totaled UAH 1.177 trillion, including UAH 119 billion in November alone.
The State Statistics Service of Ukraine published only information on the quarterly pace of Ukraine’s GDP. According to the service, the growth pace accelerated from 3.8% in the second quarter and 5.3% in the first quarter to 6.6% in the third quarter.
Azarov
Published January 21st, 2012 | Kyiv, Moscow to resolve gas issue in 2012, says Ukrainian premier Azarov.
This year will be decisive in the settlement of gas supply issues with Russia, Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov has said.
“2012 will be decisive in the so-called gas issue. The Russian partners are not willing to change the terms of the gas agreement, they are fully content with them,” the prime minister said opening the meeting of the Cabinet on Wednesday.
Azarov stressed that Ukraine and Russia should develop cooperation in the gas sector based on the terms of strategic partnership.
Tymoshenko
Published January 21st, 2012 | Prison Service head denies Tymoshenko’s fainting in prison
Head of the State Penitentiary Service of Ukraine Oleksandr Lisitskov has said that former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko did not lose consciousness after taking medicines January 6.
“As far as I know, she did not faint… she felt dizzy after her blood pressure dropped,” Lisitskov told reporters on Wednesday.
According to him, on January 6, Tymoshenko was taking shower for about half an hour after which “she felt unwell and asked her inmate to bring a doctor.”
“A duty doctor and a nurse came within four minutes. They measured her pulse, and found that her blood pressure was really low. They gave her an injection and offered to use a drip. Then, within five to ten minutes, the pressure stabilized to about 100 to 60,” Lisitskov said.
On January 10, first deputy head of the Batkivschyna Party Oleksandr Turchynov said that Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko was unconscious for over two hours in Kachanivska penal colony in Kharkiv, after she was given unknown medicines. He added that Tymoshenko had been given drugs to treat an acute viral infection.
Yanukovych
Published January 21st, 2012 | Yanukovych returns Customs Code to parliament, suggests postponing its introduction for a year
Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has vetoed a law on amending the Customs Code adopted by the Verkhovna Rada on November 3, 2011.
In remarks registered in the Verkhovna Rada on December 21, the president proposes postponing the entry of the document into force for a year – until January 1, 2013.
“The adoption of the new Customs Code of Ukraine requires amendments to the Tax Code of Ukraine, and other legislative acts, [and also] requires the adoption of a large number of sub-laws. It is impossible to adopt the necessary laws and regulations during the time remaining before the code enters into force,” Yanukovych said.
In addition, the president proposed amending a number of articles of the document, in particular, to lower the limit for the duty-free import of goods into the territory of Ukraine by individuals from EUR 1,000 to EUR 500, leaving EUR 1,000 for checkpoints at airports.