Naftogaz’s legal victory over Gazprom
Ukraine’s energy company Naftogaz says Russia’s state-owned gas giant Gazprom will have to pay it $2.56 billion after a Swedish court on February 28 ruled in Naftogaz’s favor in the final stage of a long-running legal battle. In June 2014, Gazprom and state-owned Naftogaz lodged multibillion-dollar claims against each other with the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce, which resolves commercial disputes. The latest ruling, which concludes the legal dispute, dealt with Naftogaz’s claims that it was owed compensation for Gazprom not sending a certain amount of gas annually via Ukraine and paying too little for the gas that did transit through Naftogaz pipelines. “Naftogaz was awarded damages of $4.63 billion for Gazprom’s failure to deliver the agreed transit gas volumes,” Naftogaz spokeswoman Olena Osmolovska said. Since the court previously ordered Naftogaz to pay Gazprom for gas supply arrears, the net payment Gazprom will have to make to Ukraine is $2.56 billion, Ms. Osmolovska said. There was no immediate comment from Gazprom. (RFE/RL, based on reporting from Reuters)
Over 60% support Ukrainian language
Over 60 percent of citizens think that the only state language in Ukraine should be Ukrainian, according to a sociological survey conducted by the Rating Sociological Group. According to the results of the survey presented at the Interfax-Ukraine news agency on February 22, one in five respondents (20 percent) believe that the Russian language can be granted official status in certain regions, and 15 percent of respondents support the idea of granting it the status of a state language. According to a report released by the group in 2014, Ukrainian as the only state language was then supported by 47 percent of citizens. The new survey was conducted from December 12 to December 28, 2017. A total of 30,000 respondents over the age of 18 were interviewed in person. The poll’s margin of error does not exceed 0.6 percent. (Interfax-Ukraine)
Poroshenko awards 108 servicemen
President Petro Poroshenko signed a decree awarding 108 servicemen with state awards, the presidential administration’s press service reported. “Some 108 soldiers were awarded for the personal courage and selfless actions shown during the defense of the state sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, exemplary performance of military duty. At the same time, 105 military servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were awarded with high state awards, 43 of them posthumously. Some 62 wounded soldiers, along with one wounded soldier of the National Guard of Ukraine were awarded, while two employees of the Ukrainian Internal Affairs Ministry were posthumously granted decorations,” a news release reads. Troops honored with the orders of Bohdan Khmelnytsky and For Courage of the third degree, medals for military service to Ukraine and the Motherland’s Defender award took part in the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Among those honored posthumously was the 22-year-old commander of the parachute paratrooper battalion of the 25th Separate Airborne Brigade, Lt. Fiodor Karakonstantin. “For the perfect performance of military duty, manifested valor and honor, Fiodor Karakonstantin was awarded the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky of the third degree (posthumously),” the administration reported. (Interfax-Ukraine)
Muzhenko warns of ‘wide-scale aggression’
The commander of Ukraine’s armed forces has warned of possible “wide-scale aggression” by Russia against his country. Viktor Muzhenko, the Ukrainian military’s chief of staff, told RFE/RL in a February 23 interview that Kyiv’s army must be prepared for any type of Russian threat amid its ongoing war against Moscow-backed separatists in the east of the country. “We must be ready to stand against [aggression] now, tomorrow, a week after, a year after, three years after, until the moment when such a threat goes away,” Gen. Muzhenko said. The threats include a “possible wide-scale operation” and “wide-scale aggression” by Russia against Ukraine, he added. His comments followed Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko’s signing of a law that supporters say will help Kyiv restore control over territory that has been held by Russia-backed separatists in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions since April 2014. The new law puts all military and law enforcement activities in eastern Ukraine under the control of the Ukrainian army’s top command, a move that formally ends what Kyiv has until now referred to as an “anti-terrorist operation” in the area. The move will help to “more effectively administer Ukraine’s armed forces” in the region, Gen. Muzhenko said. Russia has denounced the legislation, saying it threatens to escalate the violence in eastern Ukraine. Gen. Muzhenko told RFE/RL that Ukraine’s army will be able to improve its tank defenses by the end of 2018. He said the recent U.S. decision to supply Ukraine with more sophisticated weaponry, including Javelin anti-tank weapons, is important for Kyiv from a military, psychological, and political perspective. “That is a strong political signal for other countries and also a very strong signal for Ukrainian society, saying that we are not alone, other countries are helping us, and first of all the United States is assisting us,” he said. (RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service)
Crimean Tatar activist defiant
A prosecutor in Russian-controlled Crimea has asked a court to sentence a Crimean Tatar activist who opposes Moscow’s rule over the Ukrainian region to a suspended sentence of three years. At a hearing in the city of Feodosia on February 28, the prosecutor also asked the court to bar Suleyman Kadyrov from “public activities” for two years – a sentence that would prevent him from demonstrating. Mr. Kadyrov is charged with public calls for the violation of Russia’s territorial integrity. The charge stems from his Facebook post of a video about a pro-Ukrainian volunteer military unit and a comment in which he wrote, “Crimea was, is, and will always be Ukraine!” Mr. Kadyrov says he is not guilty, arguing that he has the right to express his opinion. “I have never concealed my pro-Ukrainian position, I have always expressed it openly as it is my right, the right of a human being and a citizen,” he said. “I do not hide it. I do not consider myself guilty.” Rights groups and Western governments have denounced what they call a campaign of oppression targeting members of the Turkic-speaking Crimean Tatar minority and others who opposed Moscow’s seizure of the Black Sea peninsula in March 2014. The majority of Crimean Tatars opposed the Russian takeover of their historic homeland. (Crimean Desk, RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service)
Ukraine bans Saakashvili until 2021
Ukraine’s border service has banned Mikheil Saakashvili from entering Ukraine for three years, days after he was expelled from the country. Mr. Saakashvili on February 21 posted on Facebook a document from the border service that said his entry ban runs until February 13, 2021. Ukrainian Border Service spokesman Oleh Slobodyan confirmed that Mr. Saakashvili was banned on the orders of the commander in charge of the Ukrainian border section he crossed in September 2017, eluding a blockade. Mr. Saakashvili responded defiantly to the ban, writing on Facebook, “With or without me, the end has already come for these authorities, and I will return home to Ukraine very soon now, much, much sooner than in three years.” (RFE/RL, with reporting by AFP and UNIAN)
U.S. sends night vision devices to Ukraine
On February 14, the United States delivered 2,500 night vision devices to Ukraine’s armed forces. At the transfer ceremony, Marie Yovanovitch, U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, stated, “Those opposition forces who would threaten the sovereignty of Ukraine can no longer hide under the cover of darkness. We have already seen night vision devices being put to good use defending Ukrainian territory in the east, and improving the training capacity of the armed forces. These Night Vision Devices are critical to building Ukraine’s capacity but they are really only a small part of the over $850 million in security assistance the United States has provided to Ukraine since 2014.” The ambassador added: “The United States provides this assistance because we are committed to helping Ukraine defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity. That means helping to increase the capacity of Ukrainian armed forces. That means helping to train and equip the Ukrainian armed forces. It also means helping Ukrainian armed forces to reform itself.” (Ukrainian Canadian Congress Daily Briefing)
Boryspil airport among fastest growing
Ukraine Business Journal reported that Kyiv’s Boryspil International Airport was Europe’s third fastest growing airport for its size last year, according to the Airports Council International Europe reports. “With 22.1 percent growth, to 10.5 million passengers, Boryspil was bested only by Keflavík, Iceland, up 28.3 percent; and Naples, up 26.6 percent. With its growth, Boryspil outgrew its category, the 5 to 10 million passenger group,” Ukraine Business Journal noted. Boryspil saw a record $152 million in revenue last year, the Kyiv-based Center for Transport Strategies reported. The journal added that “After recording 10.5 million passengers, Boryspil’s management starts a six-year, $224 million modernization program designed to double traffic by 2023, to 20 million. Boryspil accounts for 60 percent of Ukraine’s air traffic and offers direct flights to about 100 cities.” (Ukrainian Canadian Congress Daily Briefing)
Pussy Riot members detained in Crimea
Three members of the Russian Pussy Riot punk protest band have been detained in the Russia-annexed Crimea region. Olga Borisova said that she and another member of the band, Aleksandr Sofeyev, were detained on February 25 when they arrived in the Ukrainian peninsula. Ms. Borisova later said that a third member of the group, Maria Alyokhina, was detained upon her arrival in Crimea on February 26. She said that Ms. Alyokhina texted her that she was with the police, after which communication stopped. Crimean lawyer Emil Kurbedinov said on February 26 that the trio was brought to a medical institution for testing. He could not provide further details. An RFE/RL correspondent reported later that Ms. Borisova was brought to a police station after the test, while Ms. Alyokhina was released. Mr. Sofeyev’s whereabouts remain unknown. Russia-imposed Crimean authorities have not officially commented on the detentions. In August of last year, Ms. Alyokhina and Ms. Borisova were detained and fined after staging a protest near the remote prison in Siberia where Ukrainian filmmaker Oleh Sentsov is incarcerated. Mr. Sentsov is from Crimea. He is serving a 20-year prison sentence on terror charges that he and supporters say are groundless. Pussy Riot achieved prominence in 2012 after Ms. Alyokhina and fellow Pussy Riot performer Nadezhda Tolokonnikova were convicted of “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred” for a stunt in which band members burst into Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral and sang a “punk prayer” against then-Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who was campaigning for his return to the presidency at the time. Ms. Alyokhina and Ms. Tolokonnikova were close to the end of their two-year prison sentences when they were freed in December 2013, under an amnesty they dismissed as a propaganda stunt to improve Mr. Putin’s image ahead of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. They have focused largely on fighting for the rights of prisoners since their release. (RFE/RL, with reporting by Mediazona)
Ukraine rearrests cybercrime suspect
Authorities in Ukraine have rearrested the alleged mastermind of an international cybercrime gang that was busted in international raids more than a year ago. Russian-born Hennadiy Kapkanov, who is believed to have headed the complex and sophisticated criminal network of computer servers known as Avalanche, was arrested in Kyiv by Ukrainian cyberpolice on February 25, a spokesperson for the Internal Affairs Ministry confirmed to RFE/RL. Artem Shevchenko, the spokesperson, said Mr. Kapkanov was found carrying a Ukrainian passport under a pseudonym, a copy of which was provided to RFE/RL. A laptop, a flash drive, and cash were also seized from the apartment he had rented in the Ukrainian capital, according to a statement by the ministry. A video published by Ukrainian police showed Mr. Kapkanov in custody and officers collecting evidence inside the apartment where he was found. The cybercrime network Avalanche was active for seven years, and it took the efforts of law enforcement agencies from 40 countries to shut it down. That operation, which unfolded on the territories of four countries, took place on November 30, 2016. The FBI and its international partners described the operation as an unprecedented global law enforcement response to cybercrime. Mr. Kapkanov, then 33, was detained in the Ukrainian city of Poltava on the same day following a brief shootout with police. The following week, however, he was released when a local judge said prosecutors had failed to properly file charges. The decision caused a firestorm among law enforcement agencies, and Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko threatened to have the judge removed. Mr. Kapkanov then disappeared. His whereabouts and movements between then and his rearrest remain unknown, but Mr. Shevchenko said he is believed to have been in Ukraine the entire time. (Christopher Miller of RFE/RL)