Massive power outage hits Crimea
A total blackout has hit Crimea after what Russian officials said was an automatic shutoff at a substation providing power to the Russian-controlled Black Sea peninsula. Shopping centers were dark and trolleybuses stood still in Symferopol, the regional capital, which was entirely without electricity at about 4 p.m. local time on June 13. Sergei Aksyonov, the head of the Russian-imposed government in the Ukrainian region, said on Facebook that power surges at a substation across the Kerch Strait in Russia had triggered an automatic shutdown of the electricity supply. “All of Crimea is without power,” Mr. Aksyonov wrote. He called for calm and said power would be restored within three hours. Residents reported outages in cities including Yalta and Symferopol, the home of a Russian Black Sea Fleet base. The Russian newspaper Vedomosti cited a resident of another town, Sudak, as saying that there was no electricity there and reporting problems with cell-phone service, and Novaya Gazeta said there were outages also in Yevpatoria. There was no immediate word on the cause of the outages. Russia seized control of Crimea in March 2014 after sending in troops, taking over key facilities, and staging a referendum deemed illegitimate by at least 100 countries at the United Nations. Russia laid new transmission cables across the Kerch Strait to Crimea in 2016 but has continued to face problems meeting power needs of the region, which has a population of about 2 million. (RFE/RL, with reporting by Vedomosti and Novaya Gazeta)
Law on anti-corruption court signed
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed the bill on the Supreme Anti-corruption Court on June 11 at a meeting with students from the Ukrainian Leadership Academy in Kyiv. Before signing it into law, the president said it was meaningful that the ceremony was taking place “in the presence of Ukraine’s future – the future and current leaders of Ukraine. Congratulations.” On Facebook, Mr. Poroshenko called it a “key milestone in the creation of an independent anti-corruption infrastructure in our country.” In addition to the IMF and other international institutions that provide Ukraine with financial support, the legislation has been demanded by protest groups who accuse Mr. Poroshenko’s administration of failing to tackle deep-rooted corruption. Shortly after Ukraine’s Parliament passed the bill on June 7, the IMF said it still needed to review the final version, and separate legislation was needed to actually establish the court. 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. (RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service, with reporting by UNIAN, pravda.ua, Bloomberg and Reuters)
Trump calls for Russia to rejoin G-8
U.S. President Donald Trump has called for readmitting Russia into the Group of Seven (G-7) leading industrialized nations, a call that puts him directly at odds with some of the United States’ closest allies. The suggestion from Mr. Trump, made on June 8 on the eve of a summit of G-7 leaders, was the latest in a string of conciliatory statements by him toward Moscow, a stance that has clashed with many congressional Republicans and Democrats, as well as large parts of the U.S. foreign policy establishment. Russia was expelled from the group four years ago after annexing Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula and sparking a war in eastern Ukraine that has killed more than 10,300 people. Speaking to reporters outside the White House, President Trump said Russia deserved to rejoin the group. “Why are we having a meeting without Russia in the meeting?” he said. “They should let Russia come back in because we should have Russia at the negotiating table.” The call threatened to further strain what was shaping up to be a tough summit for the G-7, whose members have also been clashing with the Trump administration over a looming trade war. Aside from the United States, the G-7 consists of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Britain. Canada, which was hosting the summit, responded quickly, saying it remains opposed to readmitting Russia. European Union President Donald Tusk, who was also attending the summit, also rejected Trump’s suggestion. “Let’s leave the G-7 as it is… it’s a lucky number at least in our culture,” he said. In Italy, meanwhile, a spokesman for the new populist government that has signaled a similarly conciliatory approach toward Moscow said Rome agrees with Mr. Trump’s call. In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying that Russia is “focusing its attention on formats other than the Group of Seven.” (Mike Eckel of RFE/RL, with reporting by AP)
Kasich, Kaptur against Russia’s readmission
John Kasich, the Republican governor of Ohio who challenged Mr. Trump in the 2016 election and has signaled he may do so again in 2020, expressed his staunch opposition to the readmission of Russia into the group of the world’s leading industrialized states. “Russia was kicked out of the G-8 because of its invasion and annexation of Crimea,” he said. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) stated: “It is outrageous that the president would call for the reinstatement of Russia to the Group of Seven nations. Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea and ongoing aggression in eastern Ukraine were the reason the group ejected Russia in the first place. Russia continues to illegally occupy regions of Ukraine and has since expanded efforts to disrupt democracies in Europe, proving Vladimir Putin’s Russia is no friend of the community of democracies.” She added, “Instead of further isolation and division, this is a time when we must stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our allies in the face of Russia’s dangerous and malign actions in Ukraine and beyond. I strongly urge the administration to put an end to this reckless and inexplicable talk that could only send a signal of validation to Putin’s oppressive and barbaric ways.” (RFE/RL, Office of Rep. Marcy Kaptur)
Kolchenko stops hunger strike
Ukrainian activist Oleksander Kolchenko, who is serving 10-year prison term in Russia on extremism charges that he and his supporters consider politically motivated, has stopped his hunger strike, his lawyer says. Andrei Lepyokhin wrote on Facebook on June 7 that due to health issues, Mr. Kolchenko decided to stop the hunger strike that he started on May 31. Mr. Lepyokhin also posted a letter that he said was written by his client, in which Mr. Kolchenko wrote that he “overestimated” his abilities and “turned out to be weaker” than he thought. The letter said Mr. Kolchenko hoped that his former co-defendant, Oleh Sentsov, a Ukrainian filmmaker who is on hunger strike in a Russian prison in far-northern Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Region, “will not be angry with me for giving up so quickly.” Mr. Lepyokhin wrote that his client had lost weight and now weighed 54 kilograms (119 pounds). Mr. Sentsov has been on hunger strike since May 14, demanding that Russia release 64 Ukrainian citizens he considers political prisoners. Messrs. Kolchenko and Sentsov were arrested in Crimea in 2014, after Russia seized the Ukrainian region. A Russian court in 2015 convicted them of planning to commit terrorist acts. Both men deny the accusations. Western governments and rights organizations have called for the two men to be released, and the Russian human rights group Memorial considers them political prisoners. On June 6, the British Foreign Office expressed concern over the welfare of Kolchenko, Sentsov and two other Ukrainian nationals who were conducting hunger strikes in Russian custody to protest Moscow’s detention of Ukrainian political prisoners. (RFE/RL)
Presidents discuss prisoner exchange
The Kremlin has said Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian leader Petro Poroshenko discussed a possible exchange of prisoners. “Special attention has been dedicated to humanitarian issues including an exchange of people being held” by the two sides, the Kremlin said in a statement on June 9 following the phone conversation by the two leaders. The Ukrainian president’s office said in a statement that the two leaders spoke by phone on June 9 and Mr. Poroshenko specifically requested the release of Ukrainian citizens being held in Russia who are on hunger strike. Among those whom Mr. Poroshenko urged Moscow to release was Oleh Sentsov, the Ukrainian filmmaker who is on hunger strike in a Russian prison in far-northern Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Region. (RFE/RL, based on reporting by AFP, Reuters and Interfax)
Putin: Too early to talk about details
Russian President Vladimir Putin says it is too early to discuss details of a possible exchange of prisoners with Kyiv, including imprisoned Ukrainian film director Oleh Sentsov. Speaking on June 10 at a summit in Qingdao, China, Mr. Putin indicated in responses to questions from reporters that back-channel talks were being held on the issue, which could involve the release of dozens of prisoners just days ahead of the start of the soccer World Cup in Russia this week. “It’s so far premature to say how this issue will be solved,” Mr. Putin said at a security summit. He added that he did not want to comment at this time “so as not to violate anything here and not to disrupt anything.” (RFE/RL)
Europe rebukes Trump on G-7
European leaders are fighting back against U.S. President Donald Trump after the American leader threw a summit of the Group of Seven (G-7) leading industrialized nations into disarray by withdrawing his endorsement of a statement he initially had accepted. Late on June 9, Mr. Trump tweeted that based on “false statements” by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who hosted the G-7 summit in Quebec, he had instructed U.S. representatives not to endorse the final communiqué, which the Canadian leader had said was agreed to by all G-7 nations. In recent weeks, trading partners of the United States have criticized new tariffs on steel and aluminum imports imposed by the Trump administration. The final G-7 communiqué expressed the need for trade cooperation, took a hard line on Russia and stressed the importance of containing Iran’s nuclear program. At a news conference after the summit, Mr. Trudeau reiterated his opposition to the U.S. tariffs and vowed to “move forward with retaliatory measures” in July. “I have made it very clear to the president that it is not something we relish doing, but it something that we absolutely will do,” he said. “Canadians, we’re polite, we’re reasonable, but we also will not be pushed around.” As Mr. Trump flew from the summit to a planned meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore, he lashed out at Mr. Trudeau, saying he “acted so meek and mild during our G-7 meetings only to give a news conference after I left saying that, ‘U.S. tariffs were kind of insulting’ and he ‘will not be pushed around.’” Mr. Trudeau’s office released a statement quoting the prime minister as saying that he said nothing at the G-7 that he hadn’t told Mr. Trump in person and voiced publicly before. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on June 10 that Mr. Trump’s revocation of support for the joint communiqué was “sobering and a little depressing,” adding “but that’s not the end” of the G-7. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas made a veiled barb at the U.S. president, tweeting: “With one tweet, an unsettling amount of trust can be very quickly destroyed.” He added, “It is even more important that Europe stands together and even more aggressively represents its interests.” Mr. Trump’s economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, told CNN that Trudeau “stabbed us in the back.” White House trade adviser Peter Navarro told Fox News” “There is a special place in hell for any leader that engages in bad faith diplomacy with President Donald J. Trump and then tries to stab him in the back on the way out the door.” Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland later said that Canada “does not conduct its diplomacy through ad hominem attacks.” She added, “We don’t think that that is a useful or productive way to do business, and perhaps we refrain particularly from ad hominem attacks when it comes to our relationship with our allies.” The eight-page G-7 communiqué issued earlier stated that “we stand ready to take further restrictive measures to increase costs on Russia” if its behavior makes it necessary. It also demanded that Russia “cease its destabilizing behavior, to undermine democratic systems, and its support of the Syrian regime.” British Prime Minister Theresa May also welcomed that the G-7 statement recognized the need to maintain sanctions on Russia. The statement made no reference to Russia being invited back into the G-7, but the leaders did say they would continue “to engage with Russia on addressing regional crises and global challenges, where it is in our interests.” (RFE/RL, with reporting by AP, AFP, DPA, Reuters and the BBC)
U.K. urges release of political prisoners
The United Kingdom’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office stated on June 6: “Four Ukrainian nationals currently in Russian detention are on hunger strike in protest against Russia’s treatment of Ukrainian political prisoners. The four men were detained by the Russian authorities for expressing opposition to the illegal annexation of Crimea, and given lengthy jail sentences following trials that appeared to fall well short of international standards. These cases, including over 70 others against Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars, underline the Russian Federation’s systematic persecution of those who voice their opposition to Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea.” A Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokesperson said: “We are deeply concerned about the welfare of the four Ukrainian nationals held by Russia, who are on hunger strike in protest against Russia’s continued detention of Ukrainian political prisoners. Their imprisonment, and that of many more Ukrainians who have been jailed by Russia, appears politically motivated. We call on the Russian authorities to release them immediately. Russia’s control over Crimea remains illegal and illegitimate, and is a flagrant violation of a number of Russia’s international commitments.” The four Ukrainian nationals who are on hunger strike are: Oleh Sentsov; Oleksander Kolchenko, Oleksander Shumkov and Volodymyr Balukh. (Ukrainian Canadian Congress Daily Briefing)