Poroshenko meets with Hillary Clinton
KYIV – Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko met on September 20 with the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton. The president’s press service reported: “The Ukrainian head of state emphasized that Ukraine today fights for freedom and democratic values, which unite the whole democratic world. The interlocutors agreed that consolidated trans-Atlantic unity and solidarity with Ukraine is important in resisting Russian aggression. Also noted was the effectiveness of the sanctions policy against Russia. Petro Poroshenko thanked Hillary Clinton for continuous and firm supportive stance on Ukraine. The U.S. presidential candidate also highlighted the important progress Ukraine has recently made on reforms and her support for those continued steps.” In related news, reported by various media sources, it was noted that although President Poroshenko had invited both the Democratic and the Republican U.S. presidential candidates to meet with him, only Ms. Clinton accepted. Donald J. Trump, it was reported, did not even respond to the invitation. Foreign Policy carried the story under the headline “Trump gives Ukraine cold shoulder in New York.” (Presidential Administration of Ukraine, Foreign Policy)
At U.N., Obama criticizes Russia
UNITED NATIONS – U.S. President Barack Obama on September 20 called for a “course correction” on the current path to global integration, urging the world to reject models of governance that perpetuate economic inequality, intolerance, authoritarianism and isolationism. In his final address to the U.N. General Assembly after nearly eight years in office, Mr. Obama said that Russia was seeking to regain “lost glory” through the use of force and warned that interference in its neighbors’ affairs would make it less respected and less secure. Mr. Obama laid out an impassioned case for “liberal” governance based on free markets, civic engagement, transparent institutions, and respect for human rights and international law. He accused President Vladimir Putin’s Russia of “attempting to recover lost glory through force,” a reference to Moscow’s 2014 takeover of Ukraine’s Crimea territory and backing of armed separatists in eastern Ukraine, and for continuing “to interfere in the affairs of its neighbors.” He added, “It may be popular at home. It may fuel nationalist fervor for a time. But over time it is also going to diminish [Russia’s] stature and make its borders less secure.”
Nations are wrong to embrace a government model that favors “the strong man” over democratic institutions and relies on quashing dissent and stoking fears of foreign enemies, he said. The U.S. president launched a bid to “reset” troubled relations with Russia early in his first term, but ties have been severely strained by Moscow’s interference in Ukraine and tension over other issues since Mr. Putin returned to the Kremlin in 2012. (Carl Schreck of RFE/RL, with reporting by AP)
Biden, Poroshenko discuss energy reform
WASHINGTON – U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden has told Ukraine’s president that reforms to the country’s energy sector are imperative and need to be accelerated. The White House said in a statement on September 21 that Mr. Biden also told President Petro Poroshenko that he needed to do more to clean up Ukraine’s judiciary and prosecutor’s office, which have been tainted by corruption for years. The two met in New York on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. There was no immediate comment from the Ukrainian president’s office as to the meeting. Mr. Biden also told Mr. Poroshenko that the U.S. administration is prepared to go ahead with another $1 billion sovereign loan guarantee for Kyiv to help it shore up its finances. Mr. Biden has been the U.S. administration’s point person in dealings with Ukraine and one of its staunchest supporters as Kyiv struggles with Russia’s forcible annexation of the Crimean Peninsula and the Russia-backed insurgency in the eastern Donbas region. (RFE/RL)
Rada members: Russian vote illegitimate
KYIV – The Verkhovna Rada has branded Russia’s parliamentary elections illegitimate. In a resolution passed by 264 votes in favor on September 20, the lawmakers said they do not recognize the legitimacy of the elections because they were also held in the forcibly annexed Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea – the first time since Moscow’s takeover of the territory in March 2014. The lawmakers also urged the international community to follow their example. The September 18 vote strengthened the ruling United Russia party’s grip on the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian Parliament. (RFE/RL, based on reporting by Interfax and TASS)
U.S.: Duma elections in Crimea illegal
WASHINGTON – The United States has announced that it does not recognize the legitimacy, and will not recognize the outcome, of Russian Duma elections scheduled for September 18 in Crimea. “Our position on Crimea is clear: the peninsula remains an integral part of Ukraine. Crimea-related sanctions against Russia will remain until Russia returns control of Crimea to Ukraine,” U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said on September 16. “We also continue to be deeply concerned about the humanitarian situation in Crimea, including the status of the ethnic Tatar community and widespread reports of missing persons and human rights abuses,” he said. (RFE/RL, with reporting by TASS and Interfax)
Putin: Crimea not annexed, but ‘reunified’
BISHKEK – Russian President Vladimir Putin says Moscow did not annex the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea in 2014 but claimed it was “reunified” with Russia. Mr. Putin said at a Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) summit in the Kyrgyz capital on September 16 that actions by the Ukrainian government were the “root cause” for what happened to Crimea. “Russia did not annex anything,” he said, in response to comments made by Ukrainian Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan Mikolay Doroshenko. “Whatever happened with Crimea is the result of unlawful actions of certain political forces in Ukraine who had brought the situation to a state coup.” Moscow forcibly annexed Crimea shortly after thousands of unmarked Russian soldiers landed on the peninsula in early 2014. The action was widely condemned by many Western countries and in an overwhelming vote by the U.N. General Assembly. Mr. Doroshenko, who represented Ukraine at the CIS summit in Bishkek, raised objections to two items on the bloc’s agenda, including handing the CIS presidency to Russia because he said Moscow’s annexation of Crimea had breached international laws. (RFE/RL, based on reporting by TASS and Interfax)
Poroshenko: Crimea a ‘concentration camp’
KYIV – Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has accused Russia of transforming Crimea into a “concentration camp” and urged Western states to impose new sanctions on Moscow. Speaking at the annual Yalta European Strategy (YES) forum in Kyiv, Mr. Poroshenko said Russia had pursued a “repressive policy” against Ukrainian citizens in Crimea, including Crimean Tatars, since it seized control of the peninsula in March 2014. He said the United States, the European Union and others should maintain existing sanctions on Russia over its interference in Ukraine and impose new sanctions targeting specific industries. “It is necessary to introduce new sectoral sanctions, we won’t achieve anything without sanctions,” Mr. Poroshenko said. The Ukrainian president has long sought lethal weapons for the conflict with Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine, but he said “unity and solidarity” are more important than Western arms. He suggested implementation of the Minsk peace accord hinges on Russia, saying, “Not a single step forward will be taken until Russia withdraws its troops to a safe distance and carries out measures in the sphere of security.” Addressing reforms, Mr. Poroshenko promised 200 new judges would be appointed, calling Ukraine’s judiciary “the last bastion of corruption.” (RFE/RL)
Putin visits Kerch bridge site
KERCH, Ukraine – Russian President Vladimir Putin has inspected construction work on a bridge aimed at linking the annexed Crimean peninsula to Russia. Mr. Putin, who was in the Crimean city of Kerch on September 15, visited the construction site for the 19-kilometer bridge set to open in December 2018. The president said the construction of the Kerch bridge will ensure a full integration of Crimea into Russia’s transport system and will create opportunities for economic growth. The project includes construction of a two-lane railroad and a four-lane highway across the Kerch Strait. “This year, we provided an additional 5 billion rubles [$77 million] for road construction in Crimea, a total of 18 billion rubles [$231 million] was provided for this year,” Mr. Putin also said. (RFE/RL, based on reporting by AP, TASS and Interfax)
Kremlin critic flees Russia
PRAGUE – A Russian journalist known for his anti-Kremlin stance has left Russia, saying he feared for his life. In a video posted on YouTube on September 20, Aleksandr Sotnik said he had received threats in a telephone call. “We are going to tolerate you until October and after that we will transfer you to a vegetable department,” Mr. Sotnik quoted the unknown caller as telling him. Mr. Sotnik said that he would temporarily stay in Georgia, from where he plans to continue his online video channel. The channel, called Sotnik-TV, has been available on YouTube for five years. Mr. Sotnik has criticized the Russian leadership, including President Vladimir Putin, and expressed support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia-backed separatists. (RFE/RL)
Uzbek suspected of spying for Russia
KYIV – Ukraine says it has detained a 25-year-old Uzbek national on suspicion of spying for Russia. The State Border Guard Service says the suspect was detained at a border checkpoint on September 19 while entering Ukraine’s eastern Kharkiv region from Russia. The agency said border guards found a camera hidden in a button on the suspect’s clothes as well as video- and audio-recording devices in his pockets. The Uzbek citizen, whose name was not disclosed, told border guards that he received the devices from Russian officials after he was detained in Russia for staying in the country illegally. The suspect was handed over to the Security Service of Ukraine for further investigations. (RFE/RL, based on reporting by 112.ua and Ua.today)
Anti-Maidan activist killed in Moscow
MOSCOW – Russian investigators say a prominent Ukrainian separatist has been shot dead in an upscale restaurant outside Moscow by a gunman disguised in a fake moustache and a panama hat. Investigators said the most likely motive in the September 19 slaying of 40-year-old Yevhen Zhylin, who is sought by authorities in his native Ukraine on terrorism charges, is a business dispute, although they added that they were exploring other possible motives that include personal enmity. Authorities said the gunman waited 20 minutes at a neighboring table for Mr. Zhylin, who arrived with another man for a business meeting. After they placed their order, the suspect rose, approached them, and opened fire. Mr. Zhylin reportedly died on the scene, while the second man, identified by local media as Andrei Kozyrev, was hospitalized in critical condition. A former police officer from the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, Mr. Zhylin was a key pro-Russian figure opposing the Euro-Maidan unrest that unseated President Viktor Yanukovych and led to a more Western-oriented government in Kyiv. Mr. Zhylin led a militant anti-Euro-Maidan group called Oplot (Stronghold), which evolved out of a local fight club of the same name. The organization sent fighters, known as “titushky,” to Kyiv to combat and menace anti-government protesters. Oplot enjoyed an ambiguous relationship with the authorities in Kharkiv. After Mr. Yanukovych fled Ukraine in February 2014, Ukraine’s new authorities opened a criminal investigation into Mr. Zhylin, but he had fled the country. An Oplot offshoot was soon set up in Donetsk and reportedly helped seize strategic buildings from Kyiv’s control in eastern Ukraine in April 2014, contributing to the Moscow-backed conflict that has now claimed over 9,600 lives. In March 2015, the Security Service of Ukraine accused Zhylin of funneling money from Kharkiv firms to the Luhansk and Donetsk people’s republics (DNR). In November, a Ukrainian military prosecutor wrote that Mr. Zhylin was being tried in absentia for financing “terrorism.” He was reportedly arrested in absentia in February. (Tom Balmforth of RFE/RL)