Report: North Korea makes own engines
WASHINGTON – The Reuters news agency is quoting U.S. intelligence officials as saying they believe North Korea can produce its own missile engines and does not need to import the technology from Ukraine. The Reuters report on August 15 provides backing to Ukraine, which has denied supplying North Korea with any missile technology, and runs counter to a new study by the International Institute for Strategic Studies which said that Pyongyang probably obtained the engines used in its latest ballistic-missile tests on the black market from factories in Ukraine or Russia. Reuters quoted one U.S. intelligence official as saying: “We have intelligence to suggest that North Korea is not reliant on imports of engines. …Instead, we judge they have the ability to produce the engines themselves.” An August 14 report in The New York Times, citing an analysis by a missile expert and classified assessments by U.S. intelligence agencies, said that “North Korea’s success in testing an intercontinental ballistic missile that appears able to reach the United States was made possible by black-market purchases of powerful rocket engines probably from a Ukrainian factory.” When asked about the matter on August 15, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said that Ukraine has a “very strong nonproliferation record.” (RFE/RL, based on reporting by Reuters and TASS)
Poroshenko orders probe into claims
KYIV – Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko says he has ordered an “urgent, thorough and full investigation” into a media report alleging that North Korea may have purchased rocket engines from a Ukrainian factory. Mr. Poroshenko wrote on his Facebook page on August 16 that the probe will be led by the secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine. The investigation will include the participation of the interagency commission for military-technical cooperation policy and export control, as well as state-run missile factory Yuzhmash, Mr. Poroshenko wrote, with a report on the results due within three days. The announcement comes two days after a report in The New York Times, citing an analysis by a missile expert and classified assessments by U.S. intelligence agencies, said that “North Korea’s success in testing an intercontinental ballistic missile that appears able to reach the United States was made possible by black-market purchases of powerful rocket engines, probably from a Ukrainian factory.” Ukrainian officials have already denied the story. (RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service)
U.S.: Respect Georgia’s sovereignty
WSHINGTON – U.S. State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert on August 9 issued a statement in which the United States calls on Russia to respect Georgia’s sovereignty. The statement read: “The United States views the visit of President [Vladimir] Putin to the Russian-occupied Georgian territory of Abkhazia as inappropriate and inconsistent with the principles underlying the Geneva International Discussions, to which Russia is a party. The United States fully supports Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders and rejects Russia’s recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The United States urges Russia to withdraw its forces to pre-war positions per the 2008 ceasefire agreement and reverse its recognition of the Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.” (U.S. Department of State)
Appeal in case of Volodymyr Balukh
OTTAWA – The Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union stated on August 9, “On August 4, 2017, violating the fundamental human rights and international humanitarian law provisions, the Crimean Occupation Court passed a sentence on Mr. Volodymyr Balukh, Ukrainian. Ms. Maria Bedritskaya, ‘a judge of Razdolnensky District Court,’ handed him a three-year and seven-month sentence in the penal colony settlement as well as imposed a fine of 10,000 rubles. The persecution of Mr. Balukh is politically reasoned, he being himself a prisoner of conscience, for he is in custody only because of his opinions peacefully expressed.” The Helsinki union said it was appealing to the governments of European Union member-states, Switzerland, Norway, Montenegro, Iceland, Albania, Liechtenstein, the United States, Canada, Australia and Japan and asking them “to introduce personal sanctions for the persons linked to the persecution of Mr. Volodymyr Balukh, a Crimean prisoner of conscience, as well as for strengthening sectoral sanctions against the Russian Federation for gross and repeated violations of human rights in Crimea.” (Ukrainian Canadian Congress Daily Briefing)
Rights group reports on Chiygoz trial
OTTAWA – The Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group (KHPG) reported on the illegal “trial” of the deputy head of the Crimean Tatar Mejlis, Akhtem Chiygoz, who is illegally imprisoned by Russian occupation “authorities” in Russian-occupied Crimea. Calling him a “recognized political prisoner,” KHPG stated: “He and other Crimean Tatars are on trial, as Chiygoz said in his final address, for upholding the law and for defending Ukraine’s territorial integrity, with Russia’s prosecution carried out by people who themselves turned traitors. Although Chiygoz has officially not been convicted, he has already been held in custody for two and a half years on openly lawless charges and an acquittal is not anticipated. Akhtem Chiygoz is himself clear not only that a prison sentence is awaited, but also that this is ‘a sentence directed against the entire Crimean Tatar people on behalf of the Russian Federation which has occupied my homeland.’ ” (Ukrainian Canadian Congress Daily Briefing)
Zakharchenko says ‘Malorossiya” a bust
KYIV – The leader of Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region says his plan to create a country called “Malorossiya” has failed. In a statement on August 9, Aleksandr Zakharchenko said the name Malorossiya – which means Little Russia – “was rejected by many.” Mr. Zakharchenko had announced the initiative on July 18, suggesting that Malorossiya would encompass all of Ukraine and saying Donetsk would be its capital. It was met with derision and criticism from Kyiv and the West, and did not receive the Kremlin’s support. In his new statement, Mr. Zakharchenko claimed that the idea of re-establishing Ukraine with a less powerful central government and a new name “has won a broad support,” but gave no evidence of that. More than 10,000 people have been killed since April 2014 in the conflict between Ukrainian forces and the Russia-backed separatists in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. (RFE/RL, with reporting by TASS and Interfax)
Russia claims Ukrainian officer detained
PRAGUE – Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) says it has detained a senior reconnaissance officer from a Ukrainian military unit and claims he was planning acts of sabotage in Crimea. The FSB said on August 15 that Hennadiy Limeshko was detained on August 12 while attempting to disrupt power lines on the Russian-controlled peninsula. He was placed under pretrial arrest. According to the FSB, the suspect had explosive devices in his possession. A spokesman for Ukraine’s armed forces, Yuzef Venskovych, said on August 15 that Mr. Limeshko is not an active-duty serviceman. Mr. Limeshko served in the Ukrainian army between November 2016 and May 2017, Mr. Venskovych said, adding, “He was discharged in May this year due to incompatibility with service.” The announcement came days after a Russian court sentenced two Ukrainian nationals in separate cases to lengthy prison terms on terrorism charges.Rights activists say Russia has jailed several Ukrainians on trumped-up, politically motivated charges since Moscow seized Ukraine’s Crimea region in March 2014. In March, the European Parliament called on Russia to free more than 30 Ukrainian citizens who are in prison or who have had their freedom of movement restricted in Russia, Crimea and parts of eastern Ukraine that are controlled by Russia-backed separatists. (RFE/RL, with reporting by UNIAN, RIA Novosti and Interfax)
Ukraine GDP grows in second quarter
OTTAWA – Ukraine’s GDP grew by 2.4 percent in the second quarter of 2017, compared to the second quarter of 2016. The GDP grew 0.6 percent in the second quarter of 2017, compared to the first quarter of this year, according to data released by the State Statistics Service of Ukraine. The Ministry of Economic Development and Trade stated that the “the key prerequisite for growth is economic reform, improvement in business confidence and growth in consumer activity with an increase in wages. In addition, a positive impact was provided by external market conditions, namely, growth in commodity prices, particularly metals, iron ore and grain, as well as a high level of construction activity at industrial and infrastructure facilities. The Ministry of Economic Development and Trade forecasts GDP growth at 1.8-2 percent for 2017. (Ukrainian Canadian Congress Daily Briefing)
CPJ cites ‘hostile’ press environment
NEW YORK – The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has condemned the “harassment” of reporters in Ukraine after security services raided the offices of an independent news website and a member of Parliament criticized the head of the national press union for his response to the raid. Ukrainian authorities should “end their harassment” of Strana.ua and “stop fostering a hostile environment toward the press,” said CPJ Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator Nina Ognianova in a statement on August 14. Strana.ua said security service agents searched its Kyiv premises and the homes of two of its journalists last week as part of an investigation into allegations that the website disclosed confidential government information. The raid was criticized by the chairman of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine, Serhiy Tomilenko, who in turn was accused by National Deputy Dmytro Tymchuk of supporting anti-Ukrainian activities. CPJ quoted Mr. Tomilenko as saying that he has since received threatening messages on social media. “Politicians are creating a toxic atmosphere for the media by dividing Ukrainian journalists into patriotic and unpatriotic, when they should be encouraging a wide variety of viewpoints to inform the public,” Ms. Ognianova said. (RFE/RL)
CPJ denounces journalist’s deportation
NEW YORK – The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called on Ukrainian authorities to remove “all restrictions” on Russian journalist Tamara Nersesian’s ability to report from Ukraine, after she was deported from the country. “We call on Ukraine to allow Tamara [Nersesian] and all journalists to report freely from the country, regardless of their country of origin or the editorial line of their employers,” CPJ Europe and Central Asia program coordinator Nina Ognianova said in a statement on August 15. “Banning Russian media from Ukraine is neither democratic nor conducive to resolving the crisis between the two countries,” Ms. Ognianova added. Earlier, Olena Hitlyanska, a spokeswoman for the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), wrote on Facebook that “Russian propagandist” Ms. Nersesian had been deported overnight over national security concerns and barred from entering Ukraine for three years. Ms. Nersesian is a correspondent for the Russian state broadcaster VGTRK. She told the Russian media holding RBC that security officials had detained her in Kyiv, brought her to the SBU headquarters, and questioned her for three hours. Ms. Nersesian also said she was told she was being expelled from Ukraine and banned from the country because of her reporting, which officials told her inflamed the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Kyiv has banned more than a dozen Russian television channels since 2014, accusing them of spreading war propaganda. (RFE/RL, with reporting by RIA Novosti, UNIAN, and RBC)
U.S. reports on religious liberties
WASHINGTON – In the first annual International Religious Freedom Report since President Donald Trump took office in January, the U.S. State Department said on August 15 that non-state groups imperil religious liberties in the Middle East, Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, as well as in areas of eastern Ukraine controlled by Russia-backed separatists. The report, which covers 199 countries and territories around the world for 2016, was little changed in tone from the previous year. The report notes that, in Russia and on Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014, members of Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Church of Latter-Day Saints, or Mormons, have suffered numerous attacks on their freedom to worship. “[Russian] government authorities continued to detain and fine members of minority religious groups and minority religious organizations for alleged extremism,” the report said. “The government also fined and issued deportation orders for a number of U.S. citizens for engaging in religious activity, in particular volunteers from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.” The Russian Supreme Court ruled in April that the Jehovah’s Witnesses were an extremist organization and prohibited them from operating in the country. The court upheld the ruling on appeal in July. Freedom of religion is formally guaranteed in Russia but legislation sets out Orthodox Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Buddhism as the country’s four traditional religions, and smaller denominations frequently face discrimination. Despite this guarantee, the State Department report said that the Russian government “continued to grant privileges to the [Russian Orthodox Church] not accorded to any other church or religious association, including the right to review draft legislation and greater access to public institutions.” (RFE/RL)
Saakashvili plans return to Ukraine
PRAGUE – Mikheil Saakashvili, the former Georgian president and ex-governor of Ukraine’s Odesa region who was stripped of his Ukrainian citizenship in July, says he plans to return to Kyiv next month. “I am returning to Ukraine. I will arrive on September 10 travelling from Poland through the Krakovets checkpoint [in the Lviv region],” he said in a live broadcast on Facebook on August 16. President Petro Poroshenko stripped Mr. Saakashvili of his Ukrainian citizenship on July 26, a move the former Georgian president condemned as an “illegal way to move me from the political scene in Ukraine.” The 49-year-old Mr. Saakashvili, who served two terms as president from 2004 to 2013, is an adamantly pro-Western reformist who came to power in Georgia as a result of the peaceful Rose Revolution protests of 2003. But his popularity declined in his later years in office, in part because of the 2008 five-day war with Russia during which Moscow’s forces drove deep into the South Caucasus country. Mr. Saakashvili was stripped of his Georgian citizenship in 2015 after he took Ukrainian citizenship in order to become governor of the Odesa region. Georgia is seeking Mr. Saakashvili’s extradition to face charges related to the violent dispersal of protesters and a raid on a private television station. He says those charges are politically motivated. Mr. Saakashvili resigned as Odesa’s governor in November 2016 – complaining of official obstruction of anticorruption efforts, accusing Mr. Poroshenko of dishonesty, and charging that the central government was sabotaging crucial reforms. Now, without Ukrainian citizenship, Mr. Saakashvili cannot seek political office in Ukraine, where his party is calling for early parliamentary elections. However, he said in the Facebook broadcast that he has been travelling on his Ukrainian passport. Ukraine is scheduled to conduct its next presidential election in March 2019. (RFE/RL)
Georgian party demands independent probe
TBILISI – Georgia’s opposition United National Movement (ENM) party has called for an independent forensic testing of an audio recording in which the Ukrainian and Georgian internal affairs ministers are apparently discussing the possible extradition of Mikheil Saakashvili, a former Georgian president and ex-governor of Ukraine’s Odesa region. Nika Melia, leader of Mr. Saakashvili’s ENM party, said on August 14 that the party would conduct its own testing if Georgian authorities failed to commission an independent testing from a foreign organization. Russian prankster Aleksei Stolyarov, known as Lexus, said on August 13 that he tricked Georgian Internal Affairs Minister Giorgi Mgebrishvili, introducing himself by phone as his Ukrainian counterpart, Arsen Avakov, and recorded the talk. In the audio recording, which appeared on August 12 on the Ukrainian news portal Strana.ua, a man with a voice similar to Mr. Mgebrishvili’s says that Tbilisi does not want Mr. Saakashvili back in Georgia. He adds that Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and the Georgian authorities had discussed Mr. Saakashvili’s possible extradition before. Georgia’s Internal Affairs Ministry said on August 13 that the recoding was fake. (RFE/RL’s Georgian Service)
Crimean Tatars detained during pickets
SYMFEROPOL – Five Crimean Tatar activists have been detained while protesting the jailing of Server Karametov, a 76-year-old man who has Parkinson’s disease, by the Russian-imposed authorities. The activists picketed the buildings of the Russia-controlled Supreme Court, Internal Affairs Ministry, Parliament and government in the Crimean capital, Symferopol, on August 14. Lawyer Emil Kurbedinov told RFE/RL that his colleague, Edem Semedlyayev, was with four of the activists who were being questioned at a police station. The fifth activist was detained separately earlier in the day, local rights activists told RFE/RL. Mr. Karametov was detained on August 8 while demonstrating in Symferopol in support of Crimean Tatars who have been prosecuted by Russia since it seized the Ukrainian peninsula in 2014. He was found guilty of disobeying police, jailed for 10 days and fined 10,000 rubles ($165). Amnesty International has urged Russia to release Mr. Karametov immediately, calling him “a prisoner of conscience, with Parkinson’s disease.” Russia has been sharply criticized by international rights groups and Western governments for its treatment of members of the indigenous Turkic-speaking Crimean Tatar minority. The majority of Crimean Tatars opposed the Russian takeover of their historic homeland. (Crimean Desk, RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service)
Ukrainian sentenced on ‘terror’ charges
KYIV – A court in Russia has sentenced a Ukrainian citizen to 8 years in prison on terrorism charges. The North Caucasus Regional Court on August 11 found Artur Panov guilty of planning a terrorist attack in the city of Rostov-on-Don. It issued the sentence the same day. Mr. Panov’s co-defendant, Russian citizen Maksim Smyshlyaev, was sentenced to 10 years on the same charges. Mr. Panov was arrested in Rostov-on-Don in December and Mr. Smyshlyaev in January. Both went on trial in February. Rights activists say Russia has jailed several Ukrainians on trumped up, politically motivated charges since Moscow seized Ukraine’s Crimea region in March 2014. In March, 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. The list included filmmaker Oleh Sentsov, who is serving a 20-year sentence in a Russian prison after being convicted of plotting terrorist attacks in a trial supporters called absurd, and reporter Roman Sushchenko, held in Moscow on suspicion of espionage. (RFE/RL, based on reporting by TASS and Interfax)