12 soldiers killed in road accident
KYIV – Twelve National Guard soldiers who were traveling for rotation were killed and 22 more were injured in a road accident in the Donetsk region late on January 5. The public liaison department of the Ukrainian Internal Affairs Ministry’s main office in the Donetsk region reported this on January 6. The injured “were urgently admitted to the central city hospital in Artemivsk, where a range of measures were being taken to preserve the lives of injured servicemen,” reads the department’s statement. The police said that “an investigative team of the Ukrainian Internal Affairs Ministry’s main office in the Donetsk region and representatives of the military prosecutor’s office are working at the scene to determine the circumstances of the accident.” The report noted that on January 5, at about 7 p.m., during the rotation of servicemen of volunteer units and the National Guard of Ukraine in the area of the anti-terrorist operation, a bus carrying the servicemen collided with a KrAZ truck on the Kyiv-Kharkiv-Dovzhansky highway in the village of Minkivka, Artemivsk district. According to preliminary reports, the collision occurred as a result of severe weather conditions. The military prosecutor’s office and a specially created presidential commission will investigate a road accident that killed the servicemen. Anti-terrorist operation (ATO) spokesman Andriy Lysenko said at a briefing on January 6, that “All those seriously wounded, and these are 14 people, have already been taken to the Kharkiv military hospital. The president personally took control of this issue. In the near future seven other soldiers will be transferred there from Artemivsk.” (Ukrinform)
Kyiv says ministers to meet in Astana
KYIV – Ukraine’s representative to the “Normandy format” talks in Berlin on January 5 said there will be a meeting of the group’s foreign affairs ministers in the Kazakh capital Astana on January 9. Oleksiy Makeyev, the head of the Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Ministry’s department of politics and communications, announced the meeting of the foreign ministers of Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany on his Twitter account. Mr. Makeyev, who headed the Ukrainian delegation at the talks in Berlin, also tweeted that it was possible a “general agreement” could be signed at the Astana meeting. He told a Ukrainian television station there was also a possibility of a meeting in Kyiv of officials from Ukraine, Russia, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and representatives from eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which are currently under the control of pro-Russian separatists. However, it remained unclear if there would be a summit of leaders from Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany later this month as Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko had said in December. Mr. Poroshenko said he was prepared to meet on January 15 in Astana with Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande. Ms. Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert said earlier on January 5 that such a summit “only makes sense” if progress is made on “the full implementation of the Minsk peace accord and a genuine and lasting ceasefire, a contact line between areas controlled by Ukraine and rebels, and a withdrawal of heavy weaponry.” Mr. Hollande had indicated in an interview with France Inter radio that he was prepared to go to Astana on January 15 but would only go if it appeared the summit could yield some progress on resolving the Ukrainian conflict. He also said he wants the sanctions to be lifted if Moscow respects Ukraine’s sovereignty. The French president called on Putin to respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity, to stop supporting pro-Russian separatists in the country’s east, and to allow Kyiv to develop economic relations with the West. He also said Putin “doesn’t want to annex eastern Ukraine, he told me that.” The Kremlin has made no official statement on the Astana meeting. (RFE/RL, based on reporting by Interfax, UNIAN, Reuters and TASS)
Inflation rate at nearly 25 percent
KYIV – Ukraine’s annual inflation rate reached nearly 25 percent during 2014, the highest rate seen there in 14 years. Ukraine’s State Statistic Service said on January 6 that consumer price inflation soared to 24.9 percent during 2014 compared to 0.5 percent in 2013. Major factors driving up inflation included the conflict in the country’s east, which hit major exports such as steel and forced imports of coal and electricity, and the government’s decision to raise the domestic price of natural gas. The falling purchasing power of the hryvnia, which lost half of its value in 2014, also contributed to rising prices for food, fuel and services. Ukraine’s 2015 budget envisages annual inflation of just over 13 percent. But Central Bank Governor Valeriya Hontareva has said inflation is likely to rise to as much as 18 percent if the government further increases the price of natural gas for home consumption. (RFE/RL, based on reporting by Reuters, Interfax and TASS)
Kyiv focuses on captured servicepersons
KYIV – On January 4, President Petro Poroshenko ordered his government to step up efforts to secure the release of service personnel captured by pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine. “We must do everything we can to secure their immediate release,” he said. National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksandr Turchynov said at the same meeting in Kyiv that it will only be possible to cross the military control line around the zone where the government is fighting against separatist forces at seven designated crossing points. Also on January 4, Darya Morozova, “human rights commissioner” of the self-proclaimed Donetsk Peoples Republic (DNR), said the separatists are conducting negotiations with the Ukrainian authorities on arranging a possible prisoner swap. She gave no details about where the talks are being held. Ms. Morozova said the separatists are holding about 30 Ukrainian service personnel, and added that she estimated Ukrainian forces are holding about 220 people from the DNR. On December 26, 2014, the two sides exchanged 149 Ukrainian service personnel for 222 detained people from the separatist areas. (RFE/RL, with reporting by Interfax and gazeta.ru)
Merkel vows united European stance
BERLIN – German Chancellor Angela Merkel has pledged to maintain a strong and united European position against Russia over the crisis in Ukraine. She said in a December 30, 2014, early release of her New Year’s address to Germans that Europe “cannot and will not accept the purported right of the strong who violate international law.” She says that Europe in 2014 had witnessed a nation’s right to self-determination threatened. Chancellor Merkel, who has spoken frequently with Russian President Vladimir Putin since Moscow annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in March, said such a right is a foundation of the “European peaceful order.” She added that Europe wants security “together with Russia, not against Russia.” (RFE/RL, based on reporting by Agence France-Presse and theguardian.com)
U.S. armored cars for border guards
KYIV – The United States officially on December 19, 2014, provided to the Ukrainian State Border Guard Service 35 armored cars that are part of the United States’ ongoing U.S. security assistance to Ukraine (more than $118 million this year). The Director of the United States Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement’s Ukraine office, Christopher Smith, presented the armored vehicles and gave remarks at a brief ceremony. He said: “In addition to these wonderful armored vehicles, we are expecting a large delivery of protective equipment for the personnel of the Ukrainian State Border Service in January and February. The aid will include bulletproof vests, webbing systems, backpacks, sleeping bags, boots, protective suits, etc. There will also be thermal vision systems. The U.S. government is constantly increasing its assistance to Ukraine both in general and to its law enforcement bodies. This year, our assistance program alone has increased the amount of its aid to the State Border Service more than 10 times. Over just the past six months, we have provided assistance to the State Border Service of more than $10 million. And there are a few such programs funded by the U.S. government that have successfully cooperated with the Ukrainian State Border Service.” (U.S. Embassy Kyiv)
Oliver Stone: U.S. instigated Ukraine crisis
WASHINGTON – U.S. filmmaker Oliver Stone, who is working on a documentary film about recent events in Ukraine, says he believes the February 20 shootings in Kyiv that left dozens dead and injured were carried out by “foreign elements” and the incident had “CIA fingerprints on it.” Mr. Stone made the comments in a December 30, 2014, post on Facebook, saying he just returned from Moscow where he interviewed former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. Mr. Stone did not say why “it seems clear” that the shooters were “outside third party agitators,” but added that details would be included in his film. He also asserted that “well-armed, neo-Nazi radicals forced Mr. Yanukovych to flee the country with repeated assassination attempts” and compared the situation to a 2002 attempted coup against Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Mr. Stone said “the West has maintained the dominant narrative of ‘Russia in Crimea’ whereas the true narrative is ‘U.S.A. in Ukraine.’” He calls it “a dirty story through and through.” (RFE/RL)
Separatist commander ‘Batman’ killed
KYIV – Following the killing of a commander of a separatist military unit in eastern Ukraine, information has surfaced claiming the commander ran a secret prison that regularly used torture and that he was apparently killed by fellow separatists. The prosecutor’s office of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic (LNR) released a statement on January 2 confirming the death of Aleksandr Bednov, known as “Batman,” who led the LNR’s 4th Brigade. The prosecutor’s office also said in its statement that arrest warrants had been issued at the end of December for Mr. Bednov and several other members of his unit on charges they ran a torture chamber in the basement of a separatist-held building. The prosecutor’s office said Mr. Bednov was killed on January 1 when he attempted to resist arrest. Mr. Bednov’s unit has accused LNR leader Igor Plotnitsky of killing Bednov. A video was posted on YouTube showing one of the members of the “Batman” gang, identified as Aleksei Dakhnenko, who described how people were tortured in the basement. (RFE/RL, based on reporting by tvrain.ru, kyivpost.com and lug-info.com)
Russian-language TV program for Latvia
WASHINGTON – “Nastoyashchee Vremya,” a new Russian-language television program, launched on the evening of January 5 in Latvia, expanding its reach to audiences in five countries bordering Russia. “The aim of the program is to provide audiences in countries neighboring Russia with an alternative point of view on current events in their countries, in their region, and in the world,” said Nenad Pejic, RFE/RL editor in chief and co-CEO. “It is committed to providing professional, intelligent journalism, and is guided by the belief in the power of good journalism to promote peace and democracy,” he said.
The 30-minute program, a dynamic mix of live news coverage, interviews, original features, and political satire, will air nightly at 11 p.m. on Latvia’s private Russian-language channel, TV5. In a press release announcing the program, Baiba Zuzena, the head of TV5’s parent company, MTG TV Latvia, explained, “The broadcast of ‘Nastoyashchee Vremya’ on TV5 is not an attempt to convince someone of something, but an opportunity we present to our viewers. Everyone can decide for himself or herself what information to believe, but it’s important that Latvians hear every side and be aware of every point of view.” “Nastoyashchee Vremya,” or “Current Time“ as it known in English, is a joint production of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and the Voice of America. It began airing in October 2014 and is carried by TV channels and Internet portals in Georgia, Lithuania, Moldova and Ukraine, in addition to Latvia. RFE/RL is a private, independent international news organization whose programs – radio, Internet, television and mobile – reach influential audiences in 21 countries, including Russia, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the republics of Central Asia and the Caucasus. VOA reaches a global weekly audience of 171.6 million people in 45 languages. VOA programs are delivered on satellite, cable, shortwave, FM, medium wave, streaming audio and video and more than 2,350 media outlets worldwide. Both RFE/RL and VOA are funded by the U.S. Congress through the Broadcasting Board of Governors. (RFE/RL)
TV channel under fire over broadcast
KYIV – Ukraine’s biggest television channel is under fire after broadcasting a New Year’s Eve concert featuring Russian singers who have publicly supported separatists in eastern Ukraine. National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksandr Turchynov has urged the National Council on Television and Radio to immediately consider stripping the channel, Inter, of its license. Mr. Turchynov accused Inter of “acting against the Ukrainian state” by showcasing Russian singers “who have mocked our country by supporting terrorists and welcoming the seizure of Crimea and the Donbas.” Ukraine’s minister of information policy, Yuriy Stets, said he planned to introduce a bill under which Russian performers will be barred from Ukrainian broadcasts. The New Year’s Eve concert was recorded in Moscow and featured Iosif Kobzon, a prominent crooner and ruling-party Russian Parliament deputy who has been declared persona non grata in Ukraine, along with a string of Russian celebrities known for their pro-Kremlin views. One of the acts in the concert showed Mr. Kobzon standing behind a border gate with fellow singers Valeria and Oleg Gazmanov. The trio performed a song ridiculing Western sanctions imposed on Russia for its actions in Ukraine. The show sparked a storm of criticism on social media in Ukraine. Inter denied wrongdoing and denounced what it described as “political pressure on the media.” “The programming schedule was established in accordance with longstanding traditions of celebrating the New Year and in line with Ukrainian law,” it said in a statement. Ukrainian activists have accused the channel of carrying an increasing amount of Russian content in 2014, including films glorifying the Russian Army. (RFE/RL)
Critics omitted from Putin’s greetings
MOSCOW – Russian President Vladimir Putin has issued his New Year’s greetings to fellow world leaders and dignitaries, but Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is not among the dozens of recipients. A summary of Mr. Putin’s messages to the leaders of more than 30 countries, plus Pope Francis and the heads of the breakaway Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and a select group of former world leaders, was posted on the Kremlin’s website on December 31.
The leaders of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland – all countries that have led global criticism of Russia’s actions in Ukraine – were also omitted. Norway and Sweden were also skipped. Estonian President Toomas Ilves quipped on Twitter that he was “crushed.” In his message to U.S. President Barack Obama, Mr. Putin mentioned that the two countries fought “shoulder to shoulder” during World War II and stressed the “responsibility of Russia and the United States” in maintaining peace and international stability. He said relations should be based on equality and mutual respect. Addressing German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Mr. Putin expressed the hope of “constructive dialogue and active joint work” in 2015. (RFE/RL)
OSCE to double size of mission
HAMBURG – The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) plans to double the number of monitors it has in Ukraine by the end of this month. OSCE spokesman Michael Bociurkiw made the announcement on January 4 in an interview with the Hamburg-based dpa news agency. The monitoring mission will be increased from 250 monitors to 500 because the security situation in eastern Ukraine has improved, Mr. Bociurkiw said. He added, however, that there continue to be violations of the fragile ceasefire on a daily basis. He said the withdrawal of heavy equipment that was agreed by all parties in Minsk in September has not been implemented. Ukrainian military officials and spokespeople for the pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine on January 4 accused one another of violating the ceasefire. The separatists said their positions were shelled 16 times by Ukrainian forces “using tanks and heavy artillery.” The Ukrainian military said its forces had been shelled 10 times overnight. Three Ukrainian troops were reported killed. More than 1,300 of the deaths have come after the ceasefire deal, and efforts to build on the agreement have made little progress despite a decrease in fighting in recent weeks. (RFE/RL, based on reporting by Deutsche Presse-Agentur)