NEWSBRIEFS (08/25/96)

NEWSBRIEFS

Kuchma forms new ministerial posts

KYIV - Ukraine's President Leonid Kuchma on August 19 upgraded the chairmanships of five state committees to the level of Cabinet ministerships, reported Ukrainian TV. The chiefs of the Anti-Monopoly Committee, the State Property Fund, the Secret Service of Ukraine, the State Customs Committee and the Committee for the Defense of State Borders will now hold ministerial portfolios. (OMRI Daily Digest)

Trials begin in Belarus of Ukrainian 7

MIENSK - The trials of seven Ukrainians arrested here on April 26 in demonstrations during Chornobyl commemorations began on August 21, ITAR-TASS reported. The seven allegedly belong to the radical nationalist group the Ukrainian National Assembly-Ukrainian Self Defense Organization, which has been accused by the government-controlled press of Belarus of cooperation with the nationalist Belarusian Popular Front, a group that opposes Belarus President Alyaksandr Lukashenka's pro-Russian policies. (OMRI Daily Digest)

Ukraine denies participation in Chechnya

KYIV - Ukraine's Foreign Ministry has dismissed charges that Ukrainians from western Ukraine are participating in the Chechen conflict and said it was an attempt to create a negative impression of Ukraine. Yuriy Sergeyev, director of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry's information department, on August 19 dismissed as groundless a statement by Russian Interior Troops Commander Anatoliy Shkirko that a group of 20-30 mercenaries has been active in the Chechen capital of Grozny. He said official Russian structures, particularly the Federal Security Service, had tried last year to "convince the general public that the Chechen problem was created by mercenaries," and that Ukraine was one of the countries with which they were connected. He said Doku Zavgayev, Moscow-backed head of the Chechen Republic, recently stated that 300-400 Ukrainian mercenaries are fighting on the Chechen separatist side. "The Russian side has never managed to respond to our official requests to confirm the alleged participation of Ukrainian mercenaries in the Chechen conflict," said Mr. Sergeyev. (OMRI Daily Digest)

2,200-year-old Scythian warrior found

KYIV - Ukrainian and Polish scientists have discovered an undisturbed 2,200-year-old tomb of a Scythian military commander containing about 1,000 gold and silver decorations and weapons, reported the Associated Press on August 9. Alongside him was found the skeleton of his servant and his decapitated horse. The tomb was discovered near the village of Ryzhanivka, approximately 90 miles southeast of the Ukrainian capital. On August 16 the remains and the artifacts were transported to Kyiv. "This treasure will remain in Ukraine and we hope that we will be able to exhibit it all over the world," said archaeologist Serhiy Skory. "When we found this burial site, we couldn't believe our eyes. There were about 600 items, many of them made of gold or silver." Mr. Skory said there were more than 3,000 Scythian burial sites in Ukraine, but most had been looted a few years after burial. (Associated Press)

Ukraine to update telephone system

KYIV - Ukraine's state telephone company Ukrtelekom, along with its joint venture partner Utel, have each signed separate 10-year contracts with both Lucent Technologies and MKM Telekoms to supply and install switching networks, company officials told Reuters on August 16. Gerard de Koning, managing director of Lucent Technologies, the former equipment supply division of AT&T, said the company expects eventually to do $100-$200 million in annual business. Interfax-Ukraine reported that the deal could eventually reach $20 billion. Lucent, which has formed a joint venture company, AT&T Chezara, 40 percent owned by Ukrainian companies and 60 percent by AT&T, signed its contracts in July. MKM Telekoms is owned by Ukraine's P.O. Korolyov company, Russia's Institute ZNIIS and Siemens AG of Germany. The next step for Lucent and MKM will be to obtain project orders from local telephone service suppliers to upgrade their old Soviet technology. (Reuters)

Scouting Jamboree begins in Ukraine

NEVYTSKE, Ukraine - The First All-Ukrainian Scouting Jamboree began on August 15 near this village located about 10 kilometers north of Uzhhorod in the Zakarpattia Oblast. The affair was organized by Plast but encompasses all scouting organizations in Ukraine. One of its aims is to knit them into one scouting organization that would then become eligible for membership in the World Scouting Community. Plast, which was formed in 1911 and is the oldest scouting organization in Ukraine, today has more than 3,500 members in 87 localities. Each year the organization holds nearly 100 camps for children, including sea-scout camps, white water camps and even flying camps. (Plastovyi Shliakh)