NEWSBRIEFS (01/05/97)

NEWSBRIEFS

Dudayev aide stabbed to death in Kyiv

KYIV - Ruslan Badayev, an aide to the late Chechen leader Dzhokar Dudayev, was stabbed to death in Kyiv, Agence France Press reported on December 28, 1996. His assailant has been arrested, but no details have been disclosed about the motive for the murder, except that it appeared to be "a settling of accounts." NTV reported that Mr. Badayev had not been involved in politics in recent months and that the murder seemed to have been connected with his personal business dealings. (OMRI Daily Digest)

Kuchma focuses on agricultural reform

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma said agricultural reform is the main precondition for Ukraine to emerge from its economic crisis, Ukrainian radio reported on December 30, 1996. He noted that besides the insufficient volume of agricultural and dairy products, there are many complex social problems associated with rural settlements. Mr. Kuchma said agrarian reforms, which began in 1994, reached only a certain point and then ground to a halt. He added that prices for agricultural goods were driven by the "wild market" and that agricultural theory and practice were operating independently of each other. The director of the Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Petro Sabliuk, said the concept of land as a commodity has to be accepted, otherwise there could be no agricultural reform. (OMRI Daily Digest)

EBRD to quadruple projects in Ukraine

KYIV - The EBRD plans to more than quadruple the number of projects it is implementing in Ukraine, said Yuriy Poluneyev, EBRD director for Ukraine, Romania, Moldova, Georgia and Armenia. Infobank reported that Mr. Poluneyev addressed the Kyiv Press Club on December 26, 1996, and said the number of EBRD-financed projects in Ukraine would rise from the current number of 17 to around 80 in the near future. The biggest of the coming projects will be completion of two reactors at the Khmelnytskiy and Rivne nuclear power plants. According to Mr. Poluneyev, this project will cost $1.2 billion (U.S.), but he said that powerful anti-nuclear lobbies in both Ukraine and the EBRD would have to be overcome before the project could get the green light. Among the other big projects cited by the EBRD director were: the modernization of the runway at Kyiv's Boryspil Airport, the granting of credit to UkrTeleKom to set up a modern telecommunications network in Kyiv, and the reconstruction of several Ukrainian hotels. The EBRD will also finance a $70 million pilot project in the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast to purchase and install gas meters. The EBRD has already extended credits to Ukraine worth $392 million. Five joint projects are being implemented in the state sector, and the remaining 12 in the private sector. Ukraine can expect a real investment boom as early as 1997, predicted Mr. Poluneyev. He added that Kyiv will be "the world's financial capital" in May 1998, when the EBRD holds its two-week stockholders' meeting in the city. (Eastern Economist)

Federation Council calls for moratorium

MOSCOW - The Russian Federation Council called on President Boris Yeltsin on December 26, 1996, to impose a moratorium on any agreements over the Black Sea Fleet until a special commission examines the status of the main base, in Sevastopol, NTV reported. The following day, Moscow Mayor Yurii Luzhkov informed Ukraine's Foreign Ministry that he intends to visit the city in January, despite the ministry's threats to declare him persona non grata to prevent such a visit, Rossiyskaya Gazeta reported. Mr. Luzhkov has repeatedly made it clear that he backs Russian claims to Sevastopol. Meanwhile, Zerkalo Nedeli reported that President Leonid Kuchma has said he will never agree to hand over Sevastopol to Russia. He added that if such a step were taken, he would no longer be president and Ukraine would lose its independence. RFE/RL reported that Russian presidential spokesman Sergei Yastrzembskii said on December 27 that Mr. Yeltsin has not changed his position that "Sevastopol and Crimea are part of Ukraine." (OMRI Daily Digest)

Rodionov cites U.S. drive for hegemony

MOSCOW - Addressing a Moscow conference on CIS military cooperation on December 25, 1996, Russian Defense Minster Igor Rodionov said that Washington's efforts to "make its world leadership complete" by relying on an expanded NATO may become a "military threat" to Russia and other CIS states, Russian and Western agencies reported. Mr. Rodionov added that Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, Japan, China and other unnamed Asian countries also pose potential military threats. He urged the formation of joint CIS military forces and the bolstering of Russian strategic nuclear forces in response. The Russian Foreign Ministry quickly moved to downplay the defense minister's remarks, labeling his list of potential adversaries "purely hypothetical." (OMRI Daily Digest)

Daewoo promises $1B for car industry

KYIV - Korean giant Daewoo plans to invest more than $1 billion (U.S.) in Ukrainian car production, reported UNIAN on December 26, 1996. According to presidential press secretary, Dmytro Markov, President Leonid Kuchma has approved most of the projects proposed by Daewoo Chair Kim U Jung at a recent meeting and has ordered the Cabinet and ministries to do their utmost to ensure their successful realization. Mr. Markov insisted that Daewoo is entering the Ukrainian market as a strategic investor and plans to reinvest its profits in the Ukrainian economy. During a meeting with Conversion Minister Valerii Malev and representatives of Zaporizhzhia car plant AvtoZaz, the Daewoo corporation agreed to participate in restructuring of AvtoZaz and to start mass-production of cars solely from Ukrainian components. Specialists report that more than 160 Ukrainian enterprises will be involved in the manufacturing cycle. About 30,000 cars are to be made annually, half of which are to be exported. This is expected to yield annual profits of $1.5 billion (U.S.). (Eastern Economist)

Government cuts education spending

KYIV - Education Minister Mykhailo Zgurovskii told the Verkhovna Rada that the country's education system is facing "total ruin." The 1997 draft state budget covers only 55 percent of teachers' wages and 70 percent of students' stipends. Mr. Zgurovskii said the government will reduce spending on education by introducing partial payment for textbooks and cutting other benefits, as well as reducing the number of teachers by 23 percent. The Ukrainian government also decided to abolish stipends for university students beginning on January 1. Stipends will be paid only to the best students and to those from poor families. (OMRI Daily Digest)

Industry poses threat to environment

KYIV - Emergency Situations Minister Valerii Kalchenko said up to 42 percent of Ukrainian enterprises, employing one-third of the workforce, are ecologically unsafe. Minister Kalchenko said Ukrainian railways, where 16 percent of crossings need replacing, are especially dangerous. Ukraine faces problems with destruction of chemical weapons of the former USSR. Mr. Kalchenko said many of the 4,000 wagon loads of shells near Kerch in Crimea had exceeded their shelf life. Meanwhile, officials at the Radical Chemical Factory in Kyiv warned that the chlorine compound stored in an aging storage tank at the plant could soon be released into the atmosphere, threatening nearby residents and forests. The factory cannot afford new containers to store 20 metric tons of the highly toxic material. (OMRI Daily Digest)

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