OSCE’s mission concerned about spy leak
Russian intelligence has acquired internal documents of the international team monitoring the conflict in eastern Ukraine, including dossiers with personal information about its hundreds of staff members, from a spy, likely a staff member, according to German broadcaster ARD. In a report aired on July 16, ARD’s Fakt program reported that Russia’s domestic intelligence agency, the Federal Security Service (FSB), was now in possession of the data. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Special Monitoring Mission (OSCE SMM) in Ukraine on July 16 expressed concern over the alleged spy activities. “The mission is concerned about any alleged breach of its security and is determined to examine all the allegations thoroughly in accordance with established procedures,” the Ukraine mission said in a statement. Reached by RFE/RL via e-mail, the OSCE SMM declined to provide further comment. The dossiers reportedly contained personal information about monitors, including their telephone numbers and habits, the types of women they were attracted to, their financial situations and whether they were susceptible to alcohol. “Without proper verification, the OSCE SMM cannot comment or speculate on documents of unknown origin,” the Ukraine mission said. “However, the mission is concerned that alleged breaches may carry a potential risk for its staff, compromising their privacy and security.” The OSCE’s Ukraine monitoring mission is the largest field operation within the pan-European security body, focused on monitoring and reporting on the security situation in Ukraine. Its role is to observe the conflict between Ukrainian government forces and Russia-backed forces in the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions and facilitate dialogue. (RFE/RL)
Sentsov’s mother asks Putin to pardon son
The mother of Ukrainian film director Oleh Sentsov, who is serving a 20-year prison term in Russia and has been on a hunger strike for nearly two months, has asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to pardon her son. Mr. Sentsov is serving his term in Russia’s northern region of Yamalo-Nenets after being convicted on terrorism charges that he and human rights groups say were politically motivated. “I will not try to persuade you that Oleh is innocent, although I believe he is,” Lyudmila Sentsova wrote in a letter addressed to the Russian president and published on the website of Ekho Moskvy radio. “I just want to say that he did not kill anyone. He has served four years in prison already. His children are waiting for him, his youngest son suffers from autism,” she wrote. “It’s hard for them without him. They will never be happy without their father.” She continued: “I beg you, Vladimir Vladimirovich, to show mercy and pardon Oleh Sentsov. Don’t ruin his life and the lives of his loved ones.” Mr. Sentsov, a native of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula, which was seized by Russia in 2014, marked his 42nd birthday on July 13. He has been on hunger strike since May 14, demanding the release of 64 Ukrainian citizens he considers political prisoners. Western governments and rights organizations have called for Mr. Sentsov to be released, and the Russian human rights group Memorial considers him to be a political prisoner. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on July 13 that the letter from Mr. Sentsov’s mother “will certainly be looked into,” but did not comment on whether Mr. Putin might heed her request. Several groups have called on the Russian president to pardon Mr. Sentsov, but Mr. Peskov told reporters earlier that the Ukrainian film director would have to ask for a pardon himself before it could be considered. Mr. Sentsov’s lawyer, Dmitry Dinze, said last month that Mr. Sentsov would not submit a request for a pardon because he considers himself innocent. (RFE/RL, with reporting by Ekho Moskvy and Interfax)
Panov sentenced to eight years in prison
A court in Russian-controlled Crimea has sentenced Ukrainian national Yevhen Panov to eight years in prison on sabotage charges that Kyiv contends are groundless. The Supreme Court of Crimea sentenced Mr. Panov on July 13 after finding him guilty of illegal weapons possession, attempted arms and explosives smuggling, and plotting acts of sabotage. Russian authorities arrested Mr. Panov and fellow Ukrainian national Andriy Zakhtey in Crimea in August 2016, and accused them of being partners in a two-person “saboteur group” and of plotting a series of attacks on the peninsula. Mr. Zakhtey, who made a plea deal, was tried in February and sentenced to six and a half years in prison. Mr. Panov’s trial started in April. He pleaded not guilty. Kyiv has rejected Russian charges against the two men and has called their arrests “a provocation.” Russia has prosecuted and imprisoned several Ukrainians on what rights activists say are trumped up, politically motivated charges since Moscow seized control of the Crimea region in March 2014. In March 2017, the European Parliament called on Russia to free more than 30 Ukrainian citizens who were in prison or other conditions of restricted freedom in Russia, Crimea and parts of eastern Ukraine that are controlled by Russia-backed separatists. (Crimea Desk, RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service)
Hryb trial begins, then adjourns
A court in Russia adjourned the trial of Ukrainian citizen Pavlo Hryb, who is charged with abetting terrorism, shortly after the trial started on July 17. The North Caucasus Regional Court in Rostov-on-Don adjourned the trial until July 23 after the defendant’s lawyer did not show up. Mr. Hryb, a 20-year-old Ukrainian citizen, went missing in late August after he traveled to Belarus to meet a woman he met online in what his relatives believe was a trap set by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB). Russia’s FSB informed Kyiv later that Mr. Hryb was being held in a detention center in Russia on suspicion of abetting terrorism. Investigators say Mr. Hryb used the Internet to instruct a teenage girl in Russia’s southern city of Sochi to carry out a terrorist act using an explosive device. Mr. Hryb’s father, Ihor Hryb, has said that the case against his son was Russia’s retaliation for him openly expressing opinions on the Internet critical of Russia’s interference in Ukraine. The Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Ministry has condemned what it called Russia’s “persecution of Ukrainian citizens in Russia and elsewhere, groundless detentions of Ukrainians, violation of their rights to have fair trials, and their convictions on fabricated and politically motivated charges.” Kyiv and Moscow have been locked in a standoff over Russia’s seizure of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in March 2014 and Moscow’s backing of armed militants in a war that has killed more than 10,000 people in eastern Ukraine since April 2014. (RFE/RL, based on reporting by TASS and Interfax)
Anti-corruption activist attacked in Kyiv
A top Ukrainian activist who campaigns against government corruption says he suffered chemical burns when an assailant threw green liquid in his face as he took part in a demonstration outside a prosecutor’s office in Kyiv. The July 17 attack left most of Vitaliy Shabunin’s face and left hand covered in bright green stains similar to marks left by “zelionka,” a liquid sold in Ukraine as an antiseptic. “I’m sorry my eyes are closed. I have a chemical burn,” the head of the non-governmental Anti-Corruption Action Center said in a video posted online. The incident is the latest in a series of violent attacks against activists and minority groups in Ukraine. Non-governmental groups and Ukraine’s Western allies have said the attacks highlight a culture of impunity at odds with commitments from Ukrainian authorities. Transparency International Ukraine said the attack against Mr. Shabunin represented “a negative tendency: escalation of unpunished violence against anti-corruption activists,” adding, “This situation is a shame for the law enforcement system. We demand that the management of law enforcement agencies pay attention to these cases and report on their investigation.” The Internal Affairs Ministry of Ukraine did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the case. (RFE/RL, with reporting by Reuters)
Government soldier killed in east
Ukraine says one of its soldiers was killed in clashes in the country’s east on July 17. The Defense Ministry says Russia-backed militants used grenade launchers and assault rifles in two attacks that day, killing one Ukrainian soldier. Earlier on July 17, the ministry said that the so-called separatists violated the ceasefire 19 times during the previous 24 hours, injuring one Ukrainian soldier. Meanwhile, the militants claimed that Ukrainian government forces violated the ceasefire seven times, wounding a civilian. Since April 2014, more than 10,300 people have been killed in fighting between Kyiv’s forces and the separatists who control parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Ceasefire deals announced as part of the Minsk accords – September 2014 and February 2015 pacts aimed to resolve the conflict – have failed to hold. A new ceasefire agreement was reached in late 2017 and was meant to begin on December 23, but both sides have accused each other of repeated violations since then. (RFE/RL, with reporting by Interfax and TASS)
NATO presence in Baltics ‘necessary’
NATO’s deployment of additional resources to the Baltic region despite Russia’s opposition was a “necessary step” based on Moscow’s “aggressive actions,” the Western military alliance’s supreme commander says. U.S. Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, speaking to RFE/RL on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Brussels on July 12, said that “four battalions is not a threat to Russia,” referring to the additional forces stationed on the alliance’s eastern flank and in Poland in recent months. “But what four battalions is, is an actual deterrent to any aggression by Russia with respect to the boundaries of the NATO alliance,” Gen. Scaparrotti added. “Those four battalions are connected to all of our air domain, our sea, our cyber [capabilities], they are connected to our headquarters from tactical to strategic. So they represent NATO at large as a guarantee of the security of the boundaries of the Euro-Atlantic [region] as NATO sees it.” Asked if he sees Russia as a threat or a potential friend for NATO and the United States, Gen. Scaparrotti said that “we want them to be a productive member of Europe, but they have to honor and work within the international world and within the rules that have been established.” He continued: “It’s Russia’s malign activity that concerns me. You know, they violated boundaries. They’ve reset territory for the first time since World War II by aggression. They occupy countries without their permission. They are somewhat aggressive in our military domain at times. That’s the activity I would like to change.” As to Russia’s activities in Ukraine, the general reiterated that NATO did “not accept the occupation of Crimea, actually, Ukraine, nor their presence in eastern Ukraine today.” (RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service)
Anti-corruption court amendment OKd
Ukrainian lawmakers on July 12 approved an amendment to a law establishing an anti-corruption court in an effort to secure more funding under a $17.5 billion aid-for-reforms program with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Establishing an anti-corruption court is one of three conditions that the IMF has laid down for Ukraine to get further loans. The other two issues involve raising natural-gas prices closer to market levels and honoring commitments to restrain budget spending. Four days after Ukraine’s Parliament passed the bill on establishing an anti-corruption law, President Petro Poroshenko signed it into law on June 11. But the IMF wanted the law amended so that appeals to existing corruption cases would fall under the new court’s jurisdiction. It was not immediately clear if the amendment was fully in line with the IMF’s requirements. The IMF has called the establishment of an anti-corruption court a “benchmark” of Ukraine’s progress toward Western legal standards and has said it would help ease the release of its loans in the future. Corruption was among the problems that prompted Ukrainians to take to the streets and oust a Moscow-friendly government in 2014, but it remains a major hurdle to prosperity in Ukraine. Western officials say Ukraine will be far better equipped to resist interference from Russia – which seized its Crimea region in 2014 and backs separatist militants who hold parts of two eastern provinces – if it takes serious steps to combat graft. (RFE/RL, based on reports by Gordonua.com and Reuters)
Kyiv wants to exchange prisoners
A senior Ukrainian lawmaker has named 23 Russian nationals she says Kyiv is prepared to exchange for Ukrainian citizens held by Russia in a potential prisoner swap. Iryna Herashchenko, a vice-chair of the Verkhovna Rada, said on July 2 that the 23 have been convicted of plotting terrorist acts in the Odesa, Kharkiv, Kherson and Ternopil regions or of fighting against government forces in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in eastern Ukraine. “There also are Russian citizens among them who are currently on trial,” Ms. Herashchenko said. At the top of the list announced by the national deputy is Viktor Ageyev, who is serving a 10-year prison term after being convicted of terrorism and illegal weapons possession. Mr. Ageyev, who was sentenced in January, was captured by Ukrainian forces in the Luhansk region during a combat operation in which two Russia-backed separatists and a Russian military officer were killed, according to Ukrainian authorities. Several days later, Mr. Ageyev said in a televised statement that he had been serving in the Russian military on a contractual basis when he was captured. The Russian Defense Ministry denied that Mr. Ageyev was an active-duty serviceman when he was captured. Despite ample evidence, Russia denies accusations by Kyiv and the West that it is providing weapons, training and personnel to support militants fighting government forces in the war in eastern Ukraine. Ukraine’s Foreign Affairs Ministry has said that 23 Ukrainian citizens are currently being held on politically motivated charges or convictions in Russia, and more than 40 others are being held on the Crimean peninsula, which Moscow seized in March 2014 by sending in troops and staging a referendum widely seen as illegitimate. The most prominent Ukrainian behind bars in Russia is Oleh Sentsov, a film director and Crimea native who is serving a 20-year prison term after being convicted on terrorism charges he and human rights groups contend are politically motivated. He has been on a hunger strike since mid-May. (RFE/RL)
Blogger declares hunger strike
A Ukrainian blogger being held by Russia-backed militants in Ukraine’s eastern region of Donetsk has declared a hunger strike, a longtime friend and former lawmaker says. The friend, Yehor Firsov, posted on Facebook on July 5 that Stanislav Aseyev, who writes under the name Stanislav Vasin and contributes to RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service, began the hunger strike a week earlier. Mr. Firsov said Mr. Aseyev is being “kept in a damp room, sick, but does not receive the necessary medications” while under separatist custody. The blogger went missing in Donetsk on June 2, 2017. Weeks later, Amnesty International said it had received information from sources in the Donetsk region saying that Mr. Aseyev was being held by the self-styled security organs of the Russia-backed separatists. RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service has been unable to contact him since his disappearance. Mr. Firsov wrote on Facebook in July 2017 that the separatists had confirmed they were holding Mr. Aseyev and that his mother had been allowed to visit him. He said the separatists have accused Mr. Aseyev of espionage and threatened him with up to 14 years in prison. Last month, RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service published a book of Mr. Aseyev’s essays for distribution free of charge. Ukraine’s National Union of Journalists, Reporters Without Borders, the Committee to Protect Journalists and Amnesty International have expressed concerns over Mr. Aseyev’s whereabouts and said the militants must release him immediately if they are holding him. (RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service)
Two convicted in insider-trading case
A jury on July 6 convicted two men in a $30 million insider-trading case that U.S. authorities have called one of the largest on record, using sensitive business information stolen by computer hackers based in Ukraine. Vitaly Korchevsky, a former Morgan Stanley vice-president, and his co-defendant, Vladislav Khalupsky, were each found guilty on two securities fraud and three conspiracy counts, U.S. Attorney Richard Donoghue said. The two face a maximum of 20 years in prison. Mr. Donoghue said the men were key players in what he called a “massive” and “sophisticated” scheme involving 10 defendants, a “criminal network” including seven New York-based traders and three Ukraine-based hackers, who remain at large. Authorities said more than 150,000 corporate press releases were hacked before their scheduled release from February 2010 to August 2015, with the hackers giving the sensitive business information in the releases to the traders so it could be used to generate more than $30 million of illegal trading profits. Traders allegedly gave the hackers “shopping lists” or “wish lists” of releases they wanted to see in advance, targeting such companies as Advanced Micro Devices, Caterpillar, Home Depot, Panera, Qualcomm and Weight Watchers International. The hackers then broke into the computer networks of three business newswires that distribute corporate press releases – Marketwired, PR Newswire and Business Wire – to obtain the requested information. Mr. Korchevsky, 53, an émigré to the United States who was born in Kazakhstan, and Mr. Khalupsky, 48, who has lived in Brooklyn and Odesa, Ukraine, were convicted after a month-long trial. Mr. Korchevsky’s lawyer Steven Brill called the verdict “sad” and said he plans “a full appeal.” Mr. Khalupsky’s lawyer Mildred Whalen said he was “disappointed” and also plans to appeal. (RFE/RL, with reporting by Reuters)
EU court cancels some sanctions on Klyuyev
The European Union has retroactively canceled some sanctions against Andriy Klyuyev, the former head of ex-Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych’s administration, but did not lift sanctions against him that were prolonged in March. The EU’s general court on July 11 ruled that restrictive measures imposed by Brussels against Mr. Klyuyev for the period March 2017-March 2018 that consist of asset freezes should be annulled. Those sanctions against Mr. Klyuyev and 12 others were extended in March for another year, and Mr. Klyuyev will not be completely removed from the sanctions list unless the extension of sanctions beyond March is also canceled. Mr. Klyuyev has appealed the current measures and a ruling is expected later this year. The court concluded that, since Mr. Klyuyev informed the European Council that Ukrainian criminal proceedings against him had been suspended before the renewal of the bloc’s restrictive measures, the council should have sought clarification on the issue from the Ukrainian authorities. Messrs Klyuyev and Yanukovych, and 11 associates of the former president remain under EU sanctions for the misappropriation of Ukrainian state funds. The EU imposed the asset freezes shortly after the collapse of Mr. Yanukovych’s government in February 2014. Andriy Klyuyev’s brother, Serhiy Klyuyev, was removed from the list earlier this year. Serhiy Klyuyev, who was a businessman and lawmaker from Mr. Yanukovych’s Party of Regions, was the nominal owner of Mezhyhiria, the lavish Yanukovych residence outside Kyiv that is now a museum highlighting corruption. (RFE/RL)
Rally demands new rules for imported cars
Ukrainian owners of some 4,500 foreign-registered cars staged a rally in downtown Kyiv on July 11, demanding new customs regulations to reduce the costs of re-registering their vehicles in Ukraine. Many of the protesters blocked the traffic from Kyiv’s central Square of Glory to the buildings housing the Parliament and the government on July 11. According to data published by Ukraine’s State Fiscal Service, more than 170,000 foreign-registered, mostly second-hand, cars were brought into the country last year. The protesters held Ukrainian national flags and posters saying, “Affordable customs fees for every Ukrainian” and “Why should we pay more when roads are ruined?” Oleh Yaroshevych, the head of AvtoEvroSila, an organization that groups Ukrainians who bought second-hand cars abroad, said that the protests will continue until their demands are met. Mr. Yaroshevych said authorities must reduce import taxes for foreign-bought vehicles and abolish hefty fines for those who refuse to re-register such vehicles in Ukraine. Nina Yuzhanina, the head of Ukraine’s parliamentary Committee on Taxation and Customs Policies, told RFE/RL that the protesters’ demands will be discussed and most likely approved either this week or next week. (Crimea Desk, RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service; RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service)