NEWSBRIEFS

UOC-MP group to back Communists

KYIV - Orthodox Choice, an organization formed by the Society of Orthodox Brotherhoods of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Moscow Patriarchate, will support the Communist Party in the parliamentary elections on March 26, Interfax-Ukraine reported on January 27, quoting the head of the Society of Orthodox Brotherhoods, Valentyn Lukiyanyk. Mr. Lukiyanyk said the Communist Party's principles are close to Orthodoxy in spirit. He noted that such political organizations as Our Ukraine, the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc, the Socialist Party and the People's Rukh are "anti-Orthodox." Orthodox Choice head Yurii Yehorov claimed the Communist Party consistently defends Orthodox values and is "closer to the people." According to Mr. Yehorov, Orthodox Choice's cooperation with the Communists is based on their similar sociopolitical agendas: combating illegal enrichment, seeking the unification of Slavic peoples, supporting the use of the Russian language in Ukraine, and opposing Ukraine's potential NATO membership. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kyiv reacts to Moscow ban

KYIV - Ukrainian Agriculture Minister Oleksander Baranivskyi told journalists on January 30 that Kyiv may impose a ban on Russian meat and dairy products unless Moscow lifts a similar ban on Ukrainian food exports, Ukrainian and Russian news agencies reported. Russia banned the import of all Ukrainian livestock products earlier that month, claiming that veterinary controls in Ukraine are inadequate. "Such trade wars do no good and affect producers on both sides. The Ukrainian side still hopes that Russia will revise its decision and the tension will be eased," ITAR-TASS quoted Mr. Baranivskyi as saying. He added that Russia's unwillingness to discuss its ban on Ukrainian meat imports forced him to cancel his planned visit to Moscow on January 30. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Gas prices set for six months only

KYIV - Oleg Palchikov, executive director of the Swiss-based gas trader RosUkrEnergo, said on the Ukrainian television channel Inter on January 30 that the price of $95 per 1,000 cubic meters of gas for Ukraine will remain unchanged only for the first half of 2006, Interfax-Ukraine reported. Thus, Mr. Palchikov confirmed critical voices from the Ukrainian opposition asserting that a framework gas agreement concluded by Naftohaz Ukrayiny, Gazprom and RosUkrEnergo in Moscow on January 4 set the price of gas supplies only for six months, while simultaneously establishing a tariff for Russian gas transit across Ukraine for five years. "This price is clear for us in the first half of 2006," Mr. Palchikov said. "In the future it will depend on the price of gas purchased [by RosUkrEnergo] from Central Asia." Kyiv and Moscow have not yet signed an intergovernmental agreement specifying the volumes of gas supplies and gas transit to and across Ukraine in 2006. Kyiv is reportedly making this signing contingent on obtaining full information about the shareholders of RosUkrEnergo, which became the monopolist of Russian and Central Asian gas supplies to Ukraine under the January 4 deal. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Ukraine expels Russian CIS expert

SYMFEROPOL - Ukrainian border guards deported Russian political scientist Kiryll Frolov, a section head in Russia's Institute of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), from Symferopol in Crimea on January 27, Ukrainian and Russian news agencies reported. Mr. Frolov was detained at a local airport in Symferopol earlier the same day after making remarks that Ukraine has allegedly compiled "black lists" of Russians who are not wanted in that country. Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Vasyl Filipchuk said banning foreign citizens from entering Ukraine is a prerogative of law-enforcement and judicial bodies. "According to Ukrainian legislation, the Foreign Affairs Ministry is not empowered to impose entry bans on citizens of other countries, and there are no endorsed black lists of Russian citizens initiated by the Foreign Ministry," Mr. Filipchuk added. The Russian Foreign Ministry said Mr. Frolov's deportation was "not consistent with the traditional relations of friendship and cooperation between our countries." (RFE/RL Newsline)

Poles list Yushchenko among top pols

WARSAW - According to an opinion poll by the All-National Center for Public Opinion Studies, respondents view ex-President Aleksander Kwasniewski as 2005's No. 1 politician (18 percent). President Lech Kaczinski is the runner-up (8 percent) and is followed by Prime Minister Karzimierz Marcinkiewicz and Donald Tusk, leader of the party Civil Platform. The poll also named U.S. President George W. Bush 2005's most popular foreign politician, ahead of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

PM warns of gas cuts to industry

KYIV - Prime Minister Yurii Yekhanurov on January 26 announced that the government will reduce gas supplies to industrial facilities if they ignore its order to reduce gas consumption, Interfax-Ukraine reported. "If they do not understand spoken language, we will use normal administrative methods. The government still controls the tap," Mr. Yekhanurov told journalists in Kyiv. Mr. Yekhanurov's warning came against the backdrop of repeated charges from Gazprom that Ukraine siphons off Russian transit gas bound for Europe. Mr. Yekhanurov also declared that Ukraine, which is currently consuming 427 million cubic meters of gas per day, will reduce consumption by 15 percent within the next 24 hours. And Naftohaz Ukrayiny head Oleksii Ivchenko said on Channel 5 on January 26 that Ukraine in January will exceed the limit of Russian gas contracted for this month. Meanwhile, Gazprom spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov said the same day that Ukraine has already consumed its entire January quota of Russian gas. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Cold reaction to coalition offer

KYIV - Socialist Party leader Oleksander Moroz said during an online news conference hosted by the Ukrayinska Pravda website on January 25 that it is inexpedient for his party to support the pro-presidential Our Ukraine bloc before the March 26 parliamentary elections. Mr. Moroz was commenting on Our Ukraine's recent offer to Orange Revolution supporters to strike such a deal. Mykola Tomenko of the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc, which also was approached by Our Ukraine with the coalition proposal, said the document includes "inadmissible principles for forming a coalition of democratic forces." According to Mr. Tomenko, the text of the proposal devotes just one and a half pages to "abstract democratic values" and as many as 10 pages to the distribution of government jobs among coalition participants after the elections. "The distribution of jobs two months before the elections is a gross violation of the principles of the expression of the people's will, as well as a return to the Kuchma-era practice of appointing government personnel, when jobs were distributed by an alliance of oligarchic groups and clans," the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc said in a statement. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Ukrainian Polish leader dies

WARSAW - The chairman of the Association of Ukrainians in Poland, an ardent supporter of Ukrainian-Polish reconciliation, Myron Kertychak, died on January 26. Mr. Kertychak, 51, chaired the Association of Ukrainians in Poland for 16 years. Under his leadership festivals of Ukrainian culture began to be held in Poland. (Ukrinform)

Heroes of Kruty remembered

KYIV - Eighty-eight years ago, on January 29, 1918, some 400 Kyiv college students bravely fought against a Red Army contingent more than 10 times stronger near the railroad station of Kruty in Chernihiv region. Some 300 young men perished in the battle near Kruty. Twenty-seven of them were buried at Askold's Tomb in Kyiv. During the Soviet era the burial place was leveled and only in 1991, due to efforts of members of the Union of Ukrainian Youth, a cross with crown of thorns was erected there. On January 21 President Viktor Yushchenko signed a resolution honoring the memory of the Kruty heroes in connection with the 88th anniversary of their heroism in defense of the fledgling Ukrainian National Republic. (Ukrinform)

Ukraine to host soccer finals

KYIV - The Executive Committee of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) has chosen the Ukrainian cities of Donetsk and Mariupol to host the European under-19 soccer championship's final tournaments. Ukraine's young soccer team will take part in the 2009 final tournaments without taking part in elimination matches. (Ukrinform)

Delta Air Lines to fly to Kyiv

ATLANTA - Delta Air Lines has received the final U.S. government approval required to add 11 new routes between the U.S. and destinations across Europe - including Ukraine - and the Middle East this summer. Delta plans to offer customers non-stop flights five days per week between New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and Boryspil International Airport in Kyiv beginning on June 5, subject to Ukrainian government approval. "Kiev [sic] will be the latest destination in Delta's expansion into the key business and leisure markets of Eastern Europe," said Bob Cortelyou, Delta's vice-president of network planning. "Delta will be the only U.S. carrier to serve Kiev, and business travelers on both sides of the Atlantic, as well as friends and family of Ukrainian heritage in the United States, will look forward to this new non-stop service between New York-JFK and Kiev." (Primezone, Action Ukraine Report)

Tymoshenko is "Person of the Year"

KYIV - The weekly Korrespondent has named Yulia Tymoshenko "Person of the Year 2005." According to Editor Vitalii Sych, the title was awarded to Ms. Tymoshenko for "her irresistible energy, vigorous drive for changes and spectacular popularity growth." In the magazine's opinion, Ms. Tymoshenko is the most likely candidate for prime minister after the March parliamentary elections. Assuming this office will make her most influential person in Ukraine, in keeping with the constitutional amendments that took effect on January 1. (Ukrinform)

Boryspil to get new passenger terminal

KYIV - According to Aleksandr Shishkov, CEO of Boryspil International Airport near Kyiv, in 2008-2009 a new passenger terminal will be built at the airport. The project will be financed through 30-year loans from a Japanese bank. The D Terminal (the future facility's name) will be capable of accepting and servicing 200 passengers per hour. Boryspil Airport's managers are also contemplating construction of new aprons and taxiways along the No. 1 runway. (Ukrinform)

Decree on fair, transparent elections

KYIV - President Viktor Yushchenko on January 24 signed a decree on ensuring democratic, fair and transparent 2006 elections. He instructed the Cabinet of Ministers and local authorities to create equal conditions for participation of all political parties and blocs in the elections and to prevent officials from using their authority and resources for supporting political forces or candidates. Mr. Yushchenko's decree prohibited any manifestations of administrative pressure while preparing for and holding the parliamentary elections, interference in the process of free voting, influencing or deceiving voters, applying economic or any other forms of discrimination toward the mass media, and any other unlawful interference in activities of election commissions and court proceedings that may emerge during the elections. The government and the Central Election Commission have been directed to ensure proper conditions for the activities of official observers from foreign states and international organizations, to provide electoral commissions with relevant premises for their work and to prepare full and true lists of voters and the lists' specification if need be. (Ukrinform)

Verkhovna Rada fires two ministers

KYIV - The Verkhovna Rada on January 19 voted to dismiss Justice Minister Serhii Holovatyi and Fuel and Energy Minister Ivan Plachkov, Ukrainian media reported. Simultaneously, the Parliament passed a no-confidence vote in Naftohaz Ukrayiny chief Oleksii Ivchenko. The relevant resolution was backed by 245 deputies, primarily from the Party of the Regions, the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc, the Communist Party, the Social Democratic Party - United and two factions supporting Verkhovna Rada Chairman Volodymyr Lytvyn. On January 10 the Verkhovna Rada had dismissed the entire Cabinet of Prime Minister Yurii Yekhanurov, blaming it for concluding what the deputies saw as a disadvantageous deal with Russia on gas supplies to Ukraine in 2006. (RFE/RL Newsline)

President challenges Cabinet's dismissal

KYIV - President Viktor Yushchenko has requested that the Constitutional Court consider the legality of the dismissal of Prime Minister Yurii Yekhanurov's Cabinet by the Parliament on January 10, the presidential press service's website reported on January 19. The 18-seat Constitutional Court is not operational at present because the Verkhovna Rada has not nominated its quota of judges and refused to take an oath of allegiance from several new judges nominated by President Yushchenko and the Congress of Judges of Ukraine. (RFE/RL Newsline)

NSDC backs president's position

KYIV - The National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) on January 18 urged the Verkhovna Rada to annul its January 10 no-confidence motion in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Yurii Yekhanurov, thus supporting an earlier demand by President Viktor Yushchenko. The NSDC also responded to Mr. Yushchenko's calls to hold a referendum on constitutional reforms passed in 2004 by advising him to set up a special commission to analyze the reforms that were adopted by the Verkhovna Rada as a compromise to overcome a presidential-election deadlock. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Obolon's new trademark: Shevchenko

KYIV - Andriy Shevchenko, striker on the Ukrainian national soccer team, who plays for Italy's Milan, will personify the Obolon brewery's new trademark, Obolon President Oleksander Slobodian told journalists in Kyiv on January 16. He said a contract to this effect was logical; it will promote the brewery's products on Ukraine's domestic and foreign markets and will be helpful in popularizing the "game of millions." Mr. Slobodian said the names of the 200 most active participants in an Obolon-sponsored interactive game will be released; they will be entitled to free tickets to the 2006 World Cup Soccer finals in Germany and will support the Ukrainian national team competing there. In late 2005 the closed-type joint-stock company Obolon became the chief sponsor of the Ukrainian national and juvenile soccer teams for 2006-2007. Cooperation with the Ukrainian National Football (Soccer) Federation opens new opportunities for promoting the Ukrainian brewery's products both domestically and abroad. Obolon has long been known for its sponsorship of sports. (Ukrinform)

Ukrainian "shampanske" shipped to Spain

KYIV - The Kyiv winery Stolychnyi has shipped an early batch of its "shampanske" to Spain, in line with the winery's contract with the Smack supermarket chain. The batch is composed of such champagne brands as the Soviet Sparkling White Semi-Sweet, White Semi-Dry, Red Semi-Sweet. According to the winery's public relations, Soviet champagne brands are supposed to be sold in all of Spain's regions. In 2004 the Kyiv winery signed a cooperation agreement with the company Gary Magan & Co Ltd., which sells Stolychnyi champagne brands in Britain, basically in London. The Stolychnyi winery supplies the Soviet Sparkling Semi-Sweet, the Soviet Sparking Semi-Dry and the Ukrainian Red Brut. Soviet Champagne ("Sovietskoye Shampanskoye") is traditionally popular in Europe, particularly in Germany. The Stolychnyi Kyiv Champagne Winery has been exporting its sparkling wine to Germany for many years. (Ukrinform)

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, February 5, 2006, No. 6, Vol. LXXIV

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