U.N. experts: release Sentsov
United Nations experts have called on the Russian government to “immediately and unconditionally release” Oleh Sentsov, a jailed Ukrainian filmmaker who has been on hunger strike in a Russian penal colony for more than three months. In an August 15 statement, the U.N. experts expressed “grave concern” for Mr. Sentsov’s “physical and mental integrity.” The statement said: “Sentsov’s life is in imminent danger. His hunger strike follows a trial and a conviction that has fallen short of international law. We urge Russian authorities to unconditionally release him as a matter of urgency.” The call from the U.N. experts came a day after Ukrainian Hromadske TV showed the Kremlin’s written answer to a pardon request made on July 13 by Mr. Sentsov’s mother, Lyudmyla Sentsova. The reply said her pardon request was rejected on grounds that Russian law requires that “a convicted individual must ask for clemency personally.” Mr. Sentsov has previously said that he will not ask for a pardon because he believes he was jailed on politically motivated charges and has not committed a crime. A vocal opponent of Russia’s 2014 takeover of Crimea, Mr. Sentsov was sentenced to 20 years in prison after being convicted by a Russian court in 2015 of conspiring to commit terrorist acts. Human rights groups have backed Mr. Sentsov’s contention that the charges were politically motivated. Several governments and prominent figures have called on Mr. Putin to pardon Mr. Sentsov. (RFE/RL, with reporting by Hromadske)
Prosecutors seek 15 years for Yanukovych
Ukrainian prosecutors in the treason trial against ex-President Viktor Yanukovych have asked the court in Kyiv to sentence the pro-Russian former leader to 15 years in prison. Prosecutors Ruslan Kravchenko and Maksym Krym made the request on August 16 during closing arguments of Mr. Yanukovych’s trial in absentia. Mr. Yanukovych has been charged with high treason, complicity in an aggressive war against Ukraine, and complicity in premeditated activities aimed at altering Ukraine’s state borders. He remains in Russia, where he fled in February 2014 amid rising unrest following a deadly crackdown against Euro-Maidan protesters by riot police in Kyiv. The pro-European Union protests were triggered by Mr. Yanukovych’s decision to scrap plans for a landmark trade accord with the EU. Dozens of people were killed when the authorities attempted to clamp down on the protests. Shortly after he fled, Russia seized Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula and fomented opposition to the central government in eastern Ukraine – leading to an ongoing war between Ukrainian government forces and Russia-backed separatists that has killed more than 10,300 people. After closing arguments on August 16, Judge Vladyslav Devyatko adjourned the Yanukovych trial until September 13. (RFE/RL, based on reporting by Gordon.ua and Ukrayinska Pravda)
OSCE posts video of truck convoys
The official European monitoring mission in eastern Ukraine has for the first time posted video footage showing convoys of trucks crossing from Russia into Ukraine and from Ukraine into Russia through a back road that has no border guards. “The Mission’s long-range unmanned aerial vehicle spotted convoys of trucks entering and exiting Ukraine via a dirt track where there are no border crossing facilities in a nongovernment-controlled area of Donetsk region in the middle of the night,” the Organization for Cooperation and Security in Europe’s Special Monitoring Mission for Ukraine (OSCE SMM) said in a report that for the first time mentions the convoys seen in a YouTube video that the mission later posted on August 10. The video, filmed by a drone, was mentioned in a routine report documenting cease-fire violations in the conflict between Russia-backed separatists and Kyiv forces in eastern Ukraine, which has killed more than 10,300 people since 2014. The video is potentially important because it may document claims made repeatedly by Kyiv and its allies in the West but denied repeatedly by Russia – that Moscow is supplying the separatists with materials – such as weapons, troops, and ammunition – needed to wage the conflict against the government. Russia has said it provides food, medicine and other necessities to needy people living in the eastern Ukraine conflict zone, but has insisted that it never sent weapons and that Russian natives found fighting in Ukraine have been “volunteers” contributing their efforts to the separatist cause without backing from the government. The OSCE report describes the trucks travelling between Russia and Ukraine in the video as “canvas-covered six-wheeled cargo trucks” and said they turned off the main highway about 3.5 kilometers from Ukraine’s border with Russia to take the unguarded dirt road between the countries. The convoys in the video were seen on the night of August 8, the report said, with one convoy of trucks entering Ukraine from Russia on the dirt road and passing the convoy that was leaving Ukraine and entering Russia while they were on the paved road between the countries. The OSCE said that “each of the convoys separately stopped for about three minutes next to an off-road vehicle that was parked in a field along the… dirt track, 1.7 kilometers from the border, and again next to two trucks parked at the intersection of the dirt track and the paved road.” It added, “At both spots, the occupants of the parked vehicles… can be seen interacting with the drivers of each convoy’s lead vehicle. The convoy seen heading westward into Ukraine was observed driving west and finally parking at the southern outskirts of Khrustalnyi,” a town in eastern Ukraine 56 kilometers southwest of Luhansk that is not controlled by the government. (RFE/RL)
Law provides security assistance to Ukraine
U.S. President Donald Trump has signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2019, authorizing $717 billion for national defense. The signing ceremony was held at the military base at Fort Drum, N.Y., on August 13. Earlier, the NDAA was supported by the U.S. Senate. According to the newspaper Washington Examiner, the NDAA foresees the allocation of funds to counteract Russia’s influence. It also suspends sales of F-35 joint strike fighters to Turkey until the Pentagon delivers a report on bilateral military relations and Turkey’s potential purchase of the S-400 air and missile defense system from Russia. A raft of Russia measures in the NDAA clears the way for the military to pursue a new low-yield nuclear warhead, hikes authorized funding for the U.S. military presence in Eastern Europe, and provides new waivers the Pentagon says could wean allies from dependence on Moscow. “This NDAA builds on the progress we made earlier this year in the bipartisan budget agreement, which provided for the largest year-on-year increase in funding for American armed forces in 15 years,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said. The NDAA for 2019 authorizes the allocation to the U.S. Department of Defense of $250 million for the provision of security assistance to Ukraine, including $50 million for lethal weapons. The document includes the major clauses of the Ukraine Cybersecurity Cooperation Act, which, inter alia, provides assistance to Ukraine in securing government computer networks from malicious cyber intrusions, particularly such networks that defend the critical infrastructure of Ukraine. It is also aimed to provide Ukraine support in reducing reliance on Russian information and communications technology, as well as assist Ukraine in building its capacity, expanding cybersecurity information sharing, and cooperating in international cyberspace efforts. The document also reaffirms the commitment of the United States to the U.S.-Ukraine Charter on Strategic Partnership and the Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances, as well as U.S. support to cooperation between NATO and Ukraine. (Interfax-Ukraine)
Ukrainian soldier killed in Donbas
Ukraine says one of its soldiers has been killed and three wounded as a result of clashes with Russia-backed militants in eastern Ukraine. The Defense Ministry in Kyiv said on August 15 that separatist fighters violated a ceasefire 46 times during the previous 24 hours by firing artillery, machine guns, grenade launchers and mortars. The militants said Ukrainian government forces violated the ceasefire 15 times, using the same type of weapons. Since April 2014, more than 10,300 people have been killed in fighting between Kyiv’s forces and the Russian-backed 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 at resolving the conflict – have failed to hold. A new ceasefire agreement was reached in late 2017 and was meant to go into effect on December 23. But both sides have accused the other of repeated violations since then. (RFE/RL, with reporting by Interfax and TASS)
Prison service denies Sentsov at risk
Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) has denied the Ukrainian filmmaker Oleh Sentsov, on hunger strike in a Russian prison for nearly three months, has lost 30 kilograms. In a statement quoted by the TASS news agency on August 11, the FSIN said “As of today he is not seen to be underweight and a worsening in his state of health is not observed.” The statement comes a day after French President Emmanuel Macron raised the plight of Mr. Sentsov during a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Mr. Putin promised “to respond and quickly release details on Sentsov’s health,” the French presidency said. Mr. Macron has already brought up the Sentsov case several times with Mr. Putin, including during a visit to St. Petersburg in May. On August 10, the European Union urged Russian authorities to move Mr. Sentsov to a medical facility and give him appropriate medical care. The political prisoner’s lawyer, Dmitry Dinze, said on August 10 that Mr. Sentsov is “ready to die” and after visiting him on August 7 told AFP that he had lost 30 kilograms. In its August 11 statement, the FSIN specifically referred to the 30-kilogram weight-loss figure, claiming “this information does not correspond to reality.” The service said it “is taking all the necessary measures” to maintain Mr. Sentsov’s state of health and that he does not require emergency hospitalization. A vocal opponent of Russia’s 2014 takeover of Crimea, Mr. Sentsov was sentenced to 20 years in prison after being convicted by a Russian court in 2015 of conspiracy to commit terrorist acts, charges he and human rights groups say were politically motivated. Mr. Sentsov, 42, is being held in a penal colony in the city of Labytnangi in Russia’s northern region of Yamalo-Nenets, where he has been on hunger strike since mid-May demanding that Russia release 64 Ukrainian citizens he considers political prisoners. He has vowed to continue his protest to the end. Maja Kocijancic, a spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogehrini, said in a statement that the 28-member bloc expects Russia “to provide him with appropriate treatment in an institutionalized medical setting.” The EU statement also said: “The European Union expects international human rights standards on the [Crimean] peninsula to be upheld and all illegally detained Ukrainian citizens in Russia and on the Crimean Peninsula to be released without delay.” Mr. Sentsov is being currently sustained with water and a drip with glucose and vitamins. Besides losing 30 kilograms, Mr. Dinze also said earlier this week that his client’s heart rate has slowed and his red blood cell levels were very low. A cousin of Mr. Sentsov said on August 8 that the filmmaker is in a “catastrophically bad” state and could be close to death. Ukrainian Ombudswoman Lyudmyla Denisova said on August 9 that “rapid actions” are needed to save Mr. Sentsov’s life. Several governments and prominent figures have called on Mr. Putin to pardon Mr. Sentsov, but Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said the inmate would have to ask for a pardon himself before it could be considered. Mr. Sentsov has said he would not ask for a pardon because he has not committed a crime. (RFE/RL, with reporting by AFP and Interfax)
U.S. lawmakers urge journalist’s release
A bipartisan U.S. congressional caucus has called for the immediate release of a Ukrainian journalist and blogger said to have been imprisoned on spying charges for more than a year in eastern Ukraine. “We are deeply concerned by reports that Ukrainian journalist Stanislav Aseyev continues to be held by Russia-backed separatist militants of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic,” said a statement released on August 8 by Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Steve Chabot (R-Ohio), the co-chairs of the House Freedom of the Press Caucus. Mr. Aseyev, who has reported for various Ukrainian media outlets, also contributes to RFE/RL’s Ukraine Service and writes under the name Stanislav Vasin. He disappeared in Donetsk on June 2, 2017, and 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 separatists. A friend of Mr. Aseyev and a former lawmaker, Yehor Firsov, in July said the prisoner had declared a hunger strike and was being “kept in a damp room, sick, but does not receive the necessary medications” while under separatist custody. Mr. Firsov said the separatists had accused Mr. Aseyev of espionage and threatened him with up to 14 years in prison. RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service has been unable to contact him since his disappearance and his current condition is unknown. Reps. Schiff and Cabot described Mr. Aseyev as “one of the few independent journalists to remain in the region under separatist control to provide objective reporting.” Their statement noted: “He has been denied visitation and there have been reports that he may be charged with spying – an accusation international observers say is politically motivated because of his reporting.” The statement also noted that Mr. Aseyev had reportedly gone on hunger strike and that his “situation is becoming dire.” Human rights groups have expressed concerns over Mr. Aseyev’s whereabouts and said the separatists must release him immediately if they are holding him. (RFE/RL)
EU supports public administration reform
The European Union has decided to issue 15.5 million euros of budget assistance to Ukraine for the reform of the public administration sector, the press service of the EU Delegation to Ukraine has reported. Based on the results achieved by Ukraine in reforming the public administration sector in 2017, the EU decided to increase assistance to Ukraine in this important area of public policy. Some 15.5 million euros of the total amount of 90 million euros that constitute the EU’s commitments to supporting this reform are to be transferred to the national budget of Ukraine for 2018, the agency said. The EU said this is the second payment after the first tranche of 10 million euros that was provided in May 2017. In addition, the diplomatic mission noted that in 2016 the EU approved a special program of assistance to reform the public administration sector in the amount of 104 million euros, which provides 90 million euros for budgetary support and 14 million euros for technical assistance, which is used to provide advisory services to state bodies involved in implementation of the reform. “The decision to send 15.5 million euros from the EU funds to the national budget of Ukraine for 2018 is our recognition of the tangible progress that Ukraine made in the implementation of the public administration reform,” Thomas Frellesen, chargé d’affaires of the Delegation of the European Union to Ukraine, stated. (Interfax-Ukraine)
Investment in solar power park in Ukraine
Lithuania’s Modus Group, uniting companies engaged in the car trade, real estate and energy, is investing 30 million euros into a new solar power park in Ukraine. Green Genius and Modus Energy International, part of Modus Group, will implement the 35 megawatt project, the group said. “We are constantly looking for opportunities to invest into solar power projects across Europe. Countries which are only starting to actively develop their renewable energy sectors are the most favorable markets for that at the moment,” Ruslanas Sklepovic, a board member of Modus Group, said in a statement. The group has implemented similar projects in Lithuania and Belarus, and is implementing new projects in Spain and Poland. The new solar power park will be installed in Ukraine’s Zhytomyr region by the second half of 2019 and will produce 45,000 megawatt hours of power a year. Ukraine has set special feed-in tariffs for solar energy and the state buys electricity for them. Last year, solar power plants with a total capacity of 300 megawatts were installed in Ukraine, and another 180 megawatts were added in the first six months of this year, bringing the total capacity of solar power plants in the country to 841 megawatts. Renewable energy projects in Ukraine are funded by the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development and the World Bank. (The Baltic Course)
Ukraine seeks ‘Magnitsky list’
Ukraine will insist on urgent consideration by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) of a lawsuit against Russia about Ukrainian political prisoners and expects that the fact of filing a suit will be the basis for Ukraine’s international partners to impose additional personal sanctions against those involved in violating the rights of Ukrainians, Ukraine’s Justice Minister Pavlo Petrenko has said. “As new information is received for every Ukrainian who has been illegally incarcerated by Russia’s law enforcement system, we will supplement our application to the ECHR. Our goal is to obtain a decision from ECHR that enumerates violations of all the specified norms of conventions and Russia’s obligation to free Ukrainians, and to return them to the territory of Ukraine,” Mr. Petrenko said at a briefing in Kyiv on August 13. “Ukrainians …are persecuted in Russia on grounds of nationality, on the grounds of religion, …on the basis of their political or public views,” Mr. Petrenko noted. “We will appeal to our international partners with a proposal to form a separate sanctions list akin to the ‘Magnitsky list,’ in which those persons involved in kidnapping, imprisonment and torture of Ukrainian citizens will be listed,” Mr. Petrenko said. (Interfax-Ukraine)
Alexievich cancels event amid threats
Belarusian writer and Nobel Literature Prize winner Svetlana Alexievich says she has canceled her meeting with readers in the Ukrainian city of Odesa amid threats. Ms. Alexievich said in a video statement on August 8 that she learned about threats against her and the organizers of the meeting and therefore decided to cancel the event planned at the Green Theater in the Black Sea port city. The Green Theater wrote on Facebook that Ms. Alexievich’s name was added to a list of “enemies of Ukraine” by the Ukrainian nationalist website Myrotvorets (Peacekeeper) four hours before her scheduled meeting with readers on August 8. The Myrotvorets site accused Ms. Alexievich of “propagating interethnic discord and manipulating information important for society” in a speech she delivered in Brooklyn in 2016. Although the site removed Ms. Alexievich’s name from the list several hours later, the writer and the theater decided to cancel the event “to avoid possible risks for Alexievich and the audience in the theater.” In her video statement, Ms. Alexievich called Myrotvorets’ statement about her anti-Ukrainian stance “absolutely far-fetched.” She noted: “My mother is Ukrainian. I was born in Ukraine and I have always felt my Ukrainian blood… It is always important for me to meet with Ukraine.” Ms. Alexievich grew up in Belarus and has Belarusian citizenship. In her very first public statement after she was announced the Nobel Prize winner in literature in 2015, Ms. Alexievich condemned Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, calling it an armed intervention. (RFE/RL)
Poroshenko speaks with Merkel
President Petro Poroshenko held a phone conversation with Federal Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel on August 16. The two leaders coordinated positions on the eve of the meeting between the chancellor of Germany and the president of the Russian Federation. Mr. Poroshenko and Ms. Merkel discussed the situation in the Donbas and further efforts, including the use of peacekeepers, to ensure progress toward a peaceful settlement of the war. Mr. Poroshenko paid special attention to the issue of the release of Ukrainian hostages and political prisoners illegally detained in the temporarily occupied territories and in Russia, in particular the need for the immediate release of Ukrainian film director Oleh Sentsov. The president and the chancellor also discussed security challenges related to the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. The interlocutors discussed the scheduling of further contacts in the framework of bilateral dialogue. (Presidential Administration of Ukraine)