NEWSBRIEFS (06/28/98)

NEWSBRIEFS

Lawmakers protest suppression of press

KYIV - Ten Verkhovna Rada deputies published an open letter to Prime Minister Valerii Pustovoitenko in the June 17 issue of Holos Ukrainy, requesting him "to put an end to the negative development of events in the [country's] information sphere." The deputies accused Information Minister Zinovii Kulyk of clamping down on opposition newspapers and media critical of the current government. They pointed to Pravda Ukrainy, Vseukrainskiye Viedomosti and Polityka, as examples of newspapers whose publication was "temporarily suspended" following legal actions taken against them by the Information Ministry or administrative measures applied by tax and other services subordinate to the executive. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Army unprepared for reduction

KYIV - A Ukrainian Defense Ministry official has told ITAR-TASS that the armed forces are unprepared for the troop cuts announced last week by President Leonid Kuchma. In accordance with the president's decree, the number of conscripts is to be slashed from 80,000 in 1997 to 50,000 this year in order to reduce the military's expenditures and put its strength at the level of "necessary sufficiency." In addition, the 350,000-strong army is to be cut by 17,000 servicemen by year's end. (RFE/RL Newsline)

IMF "nearly agrees" on $2 B loan

KYIV - International Monetary Fund Deputy Managing Director Stanley Fischer said after a meeting with President Leonid Kuchma in Kyiv on June 22 that Ukraine and the IMF "have nearly agreed on launching a new credit program," Ukrainian Television reported. Ukraine is currently negotiating a $2 billion loan from the IMF to be issued over three years. Mr. Fischer said there are still "some technical problems" and that the final decision on the loan will be made in late July. But he praised Ukraine's recent reform efforts and said he is "surprised at the production growth in Ukraine achieved over a very short period." (RFE/RL Newsline)

Regular payments offered to coal industry

KYIV - Valerii Pustovoitenko on June 22 said the government can now make regular payments to the coal industry, Ukrainian Radio reported. The prime minister announced that the government allotted 9 million hrv ($4.5 million) early this week to pay wages for coal miners. The government has also ordered that enterprises pay for no less than 60 percent of coal supplies in cash. Meanwhile, Mykhailo Volynets, leader of the Independent Trade Union of Coal Miners, has accused the government of failing to meet its former pledges to pay current wages, Ukrainian Television reported. According to Mr. Volynets, miners at 20 coal mines are still on strike over unpaid wages. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Donetsk miners demand back wages

KYIV - Following the Ukrainian government's deal with the Dnipropetrovsk miners to pay back wages, a group of miners in Donetsk has begun picketing the oblast administration building to demand payment of their outstanding wages. Coal Industry Minister Serhii Tulub has appealed to the miners to end their protest, ITAR-TASS reported on June 19. Meanwhile, a Donetsk miners' trade union has demanded that Minister Tulub be held responsible for issuing a directive to coal mining managers to freeze funds allocated to pay overdue wages and benefits. (RFE/RL Newsline)

U.S.-Ukraine defense agreements OK'd

KYIV - Ukraine and the U.S. signed a set of agreements on June 12, including an agreement between defense departments on providing Ukraine with material-technical support, services and training for the liquidation of strategic arms, and an agreement on cooperating in liquidating the infrastructure of weapons for mass destruction. The latter is effective until June 2001. An amendment to the first document raises U.S. technical assistance to Ukraine by $76.7 million to $368.4 million (U.S.). (Eastern Economist)

New crime-fighting pistol assembled

KYIV - At the KB-3 Design Bureau, two samples of a new Shevchenko PSh pistol are completely assembled. The chief designer says the pistol, built to take 9 mm rounds, is intended for law enforcers fighting organized crime. The bureau is now working on some modifications, to take 25 mm, 29 mm and also American 45-caliber rounds that are 11.43 mm. (Eastern Economist)

Over 4,000 enterprises go bankrupt

KYIV - Since the beginning of the year, 4,107 enterprises have gone bankrupt, announced the Ukraine's arbitration courts. Of these, 83 percent are privately owned companies. Liquidation balances have been approved for 2,303 companies, according to Stepan Varych, vice-chairman of the Anti-Bankruptcy Agency. These bankrupt companies have run up a debt of 937 million hrv. Bankruptcies are expected to rise 112 percent this year, according to Mr. Varych. (Eastern Economist)

Kharkiv says yes to economic zone

KHARKIV - A local referendum on the expedience of creating a free economic zone in Kharkiv was held at the same time as parliamentary elections and was approved by a majority of voters. Referendum results will enable the Kharkiv City Council to initiate discussion of this issue in the Verkhovna Rada. (Eastern Economist)

Deputy suspects Yeltsin has a double

MOSCOW - Russian Duma Deputy Aleksandr Salii of the Communist faction has asked the Procurator General's Office to investigate the possibility that a double has been standing in for Boris Yeltsin since the president's heart surgery in November 1996, Moskovskii Komsomolets reported on June 18. Rumors that a surgically altered double has taken Mr. Yeltsin's place have surfaced occasionally in the opposition press during the last two years. Mr. Salii told Moskovskii Komsomolets that analysis of some 1,500 photographs shows that the president's appearance changed after the 1996 presidential election. He also charged that the "new Yeltsin" frequently shows his hand with two missing fingers, whereas the president used to try to conceal that hand from public view. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Ukraine to destroy 40 strategic bombers

KYIV - Ukraine will destroy 40 TU-160 and TU-95 strategic bombers following U.S. pledge to pay for their destruction, Reuters reported, quoting Volodymyr Horbulin, secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council. Ukraine currently has 44 such aircraft, which are able to carry long-range nuclear missiles and stay in the air for 18 hours without refueling. "Two [planes] will be used as models to be put on display and two will be retrofitted for other uses," Mr. Horbulin told journalists. (RFE/RL Newsline)

New bill to create free economic zones

KYIV - The Cabinet of Ministers has approved a bill to create the Donetsk and Azov free economic zones in the Donetsk Oblast for 60 years and introduce a special investment regime in priority industrial sectors in the oblast for 30 years. The areas covered by the special investment regime include Donetsk and Mariupol. Privileges include a reduction in corporate income tax rates. Priority sectors include the steel industry, power engineering and the chemical and engineering sectors. High-tech firms in the Donetsk free economic zone will produce goods for export and goods currently being imported. The Azov zone will be set up in Mariupol and will concentrate on foreign trade. According to the Donetsk Oblast State Administration, there are currently over 200 investment projects ready for implementation in the oblast. Investment funds exceeding $7 billion (U.S.) are required. (Eastern Economist)

15,000 new AIDS cases in 1997

KYIV - Ukraine is now the worst-affected country in Eastern Europe in terms of the spread of HIV and AIDS, according to a report by the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS. Anatolii Padchenko of the Health Ministry reported on April 27 that in 1987-1997 16,253 HIV cases were registered in Ukraine, 421 people became ill with AIDS and 187 died. Since 1995, Belarus, Moldova, Russia, and Ukraine have all experienced an astronomical growth in HIV infection rates, most of it related to intravenous drug use. In 1995 there was a 30-fold increase in the number of HIV cases diagnosed in Ukraine, and in 1996 the number was over 12,000. The U.N. AIDS report states that 15,000 new cases were diagnosed in 1997. The head of U.N. office in Ukraine, Pedro Villanueva, said, "This problem is not only epidemiological, but should also be viewed in the social, economic and human rights dimensions." Mr. Villanueva stressed that the joint efforts of all ministries and departments are needed to help improve the situation. (Eastern Economist)

Ukraine stresses environment to UNESCO

PARIS - During a meeting of UNESCO's executive council in Paris, the Ukrainian delegation drew the council's attention to ecological and environmental issues. The Ukrainian delegation also noted the importance of preventive strategies and UNESCO programs in the ecology sector, directed first and foremost at implementing policies as to socio-economic reforms. Ukraine also expressed a wish to broaden its ties with UNESCO. (Eastern Economist)

Ukraine establishes new diplomatic link

NEW YORK - Ukraine has established diplomatic relations with the democratic republic of Sao Tome and Principe. Sao Tome and Principe is a small island republic near the western coast of Central Africa. (Eastern Economist)

Ukraine opens consular office in Chile

SANTIAGO - A Ukrainian Consulate was opened in Santiago, Chile, on April 7 in the hope that the move will promote mutual trade. President Leonid Kuchma signed several bilateral trade agreements during his visit to Chile in 1995. These created the judicial basis for the establishment of mutually profitable cooperation. Mutual trade turnover has risen during the last two years. (Eastern Economist)

Lybid satellite set for 1999 launch

KYIV - The National Space Agency announced that Ukraine's first communications satellite will be launched into orbit in 1999. The launch of the Lybid satellite is expected to be partly funded with assistance from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and is connected with fulfillment of the Sea Launch project. (Eastern Economist)

PivdenMash assists sea launch orders

KYIV - The Sea Launch company has received 18 orders from the Hughes Space company to implement commercial space launches, said Sea Launch Vice-President Don Skumal. PivdenMash General Director Yurii Alekseiev said the second rocket destined for Sea Launch is 95 percent ready. He said that in the last two years PivdenMash has received about $25 million (U.S.) in orders. (Eastern Economist)

Vinnytsia plans to build helicopters

VINNYTSIA - Though Ukraine has space and aviation sectors, it does not yet design and manufacture helicopters. The Vinnytsia aviation repair plant has plans to change that and build a Ukrainian helicopter in the near future. Until recently, the plant repaired Russian-built MY-2 and KA-26 helicopters and the AN-2 airplane. Demand for its services has fallen away and that is how the plant arrived at the idea of producing a Ukrainian helicopter based on the Russian KA-228. Its freight capacity is expected to be 1,300 tons and its main features are fully comparable with those produced in France, Italy, the U.S. and Germany. Almost all its components are expected to be produced in Ukraine. It will be fitted with an engine from Zaporizhia with a lifespan of 6,000 hours - almost double the lifespan of the current Russian equivalent. Yet, the plant needs state funding. This project requires $15 million (U.S.) and banks will lend money only if state guarantees are given. (Eastern Economist)