NEWSBRIEFS (08/12/01)

NEWSBRIEFS

Kuchma to diaspora: it's me or Yulia

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma claimed he would not show up at the Third World Forum of Ukrainians, which is scheduled to begin in Kyiv on August 18, if Yulia Tymoshenko is in attendance. Ms. Tymoshenko heads both the Batkivschyna party and the Forum for National Salvation, organizations in vocal opposition to the president. Mr. Kuchma said, "Either me or Tymoshenko." (Eastern Economist)

Russian warrant issued for Tymoshenko

MOSCOW - Russian military prosecutors have opened a criminal case against former Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister and opposition figure Yulia Tymoshenko and her husband, and have sent an international warrant for her arrest to the Ukrainian Procurator General's Office, Reuters reported on August 8. Yuri Yakovlev, Russia's interim military procurator general, said Ms. Tymoshenko had been charged with "complicity in bribe-giving." He refused to identify who Ms. Tymoshenko might have helped to bribe, saying only that it was a Russian official, but he said the charges stemmed from a graft case against a senior Russian Defense Ministry official suspected of shady dealings with other officials in Kyiv. However, he said the ministry official is not the one Ms. Tymoshenko allegedly helped to bribe. Ms. Tymoshenko already faces bribery charges in Ukraine and was temporarily jailed, but was later freed in a legal dispute that went to the Supreme Court. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Secret police officer shot dead

ODESA - Col. Yevhen Zadorozhnyi, the head of the Ukrainian secret police's anti-organized crime division in Odesa, was fatally shot on August 7, reported the DPA news service. Col. Zadorozhnyi was killed outside his home in Odesa as he left for work. He was responsible for investigations into mafia-related activity in Odesa, primarily the smuggling of oil products, drugs and weapons. He held the job for about one year. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Journalists complain of police beating

SEVASTOPOL - A group of Crimean journalists issued a joint statement on August 6 complaining of an attack on Yevhen Rybkii, the editor of the Sevastopol daily Melitopolskie Novosti, in the city during last week's visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin, the DPA news service reported. The statement said police beat Mr. Rybkii "for no good reason" and then charged him with resisting arrest. He was detained by police and interrogated for six hours. Ukraine's Internal Affairs Ministry said it was not immediately aware of the incident. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Hungary gives rare gospel to Ukraine

LVIV - During his recent official visit to Hungary, Ukrainian Prime Minister Anatolii Kinakh was given an 18th century Book of the Gospels in the name of the Hungarian government and people. The gospel, of Ukrainian origin, was written in Old Church Slavonic, the classical language of the Slavs. Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary said the valuable memorial of Ukrainian culture was specially purchased from a private individual as a gift for Ukraine. Mr. Kinakh said that such a gift is "a spiritual and cultural" reinforcement "of the pragmatic economic relations" between the two countries. (Religious Information Service of Ukraine)

Kinakh trumpets benefits of pipeline

KYIV - Prime Minister Anatolii Kinakh said on August 2 that Ukraine plays a key role in supplying Western Europe with energy, the Associated Press reported. Mr. Kinakh, in Budapest for a one-day visit, said that the planned pipeline running from the Black Sea port of Odesa will allow Ukraine to "take Caspian Sea oil and even Middle East oil ... [and] be able to ship 40 million tons of petroleum a year through the pipeline. This will enhance Europe's energy security." The pipeline will stretch 667 kilometers from Odesa to the Ukrainian town of Brody. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Ukrainian wine has no grapes

KYIV - Police have shut down a firm in Kyiv that is accused of selling millions of bottles of what appeared to be vintage wine that were instead filled with elderberry juice and food coloring, Interfax reported. The S-Gamma company is reported to have held a large share of Ukraine's wholesale wine market, and police said it had a gross income of $1.3 million in the last year. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kyiv backpedals on unified energy system

KYIV - Ukrainian Prime Minister Anatolii Kinakh said in Kyiv on August 1 that a previously planned harmonization of the energy systems of Ukraine and Russia "is not a goal in itself," ITAR-TASS reported. Mr. Kinakh said that instead, "We are talking about effective and equal conditions of cooperation between Ukraine and Russia in the energy sector." He added that "all this is possible, but our economic interests should be considered on an equal basis." The prime minister's comments contradict recent statements made by Ukrainian First Vice Prime Minister Oleh Dubyna and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Khristenko that the energy systems of the two countries should be harmonized by August 1. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Ukraine increases oil transport

KYIV - The Ukrainian Fuel and Energy Ministry said on August 1 that Ukrainian oil pipelines increased the amount of oil they transported in the first half of this year by 11.5 percent over the same period last year, ITAR-TASS reported. The ministry said a total of 33.76 billion tons of oil were carried through June. Oil exports to Western Europe dropped by 17.5 percent in that time, however, as did natural gas deliveries, which declined by 9.5 percent. (RFE/RL Newsline)

36% of Ukrainians trust Church, clergy

LVIV - In July 2001 the center Sociopolis conducted sociological research throughout Ukraine to determine the level of trust of Ukraine's population in various social institutions. The Church and clergy received the highest level of trust: 36 percent of the respondents have complete faith in them, and 14 percent don't trust them. In comparison, only 7 percent have complete trust in Ukraine's president, and 53 percent don't trust him; the government is trusted by 6 percent and not trusted by 41 percent; Parliament is trusted by 4 percent and not trusted by 55 percent. Among politicians, former Prime Minister Viktor Yuschenko enjoys the greatest popularity. (Religious Information Service of Ukraine)

Kuchma signs decree on state atlas

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma signed a decree on improving state maps and on the National Atlas of Ukraine. Pursuant to the decree, the Cabinet of Ministers and the National Academy of Sciences are to ensure the development of a program on topography and national cartography for 2001-2010 by the end of the year. The decree stipulates that the national atlas should be published by the end of 2001. (Eastern Economist)

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