Kyiv: Russian terror group thwarted
Ukrainian authorities say they have arrested seven people they claim were sent by Russian security services to carry out political killings and other “terrorist” acts, including the slaying of Ukrainian intelligence agents. Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) chief Vasyl Hrytsak made the announcement on April 17, four days ahead of Ukraine’s presidential runoff vote. At a news conference, Mr. Hrytsak said the SBU thwarted “a sabotage and reconnaissance terrorist group of the Russian special services” that consisted of seven people, all of whom have been arrested. One person who assisted the group was arrested on April 17, he said, but it was not clear if that was in addition to the other seven. The SBU chief said that since early 2017 the Russian security services had sent several “autonomously operating” sabotage groups into parts of Ukraine including the separatist-held section of the Donetsk region. He said these groups were responsible for attacks, including a car bombing that killed Ukrainian military intelligence officer Maksym Shapoval in June 2017 and one that missed its apparent target, also a military intelligence officer, in Kyiv earlier this month. Prosecutors said at the time that the man suspected of planting that bomb, on April 4, was killed by the blast. However, Mr. Hrytsak said that the suspect, a Russian man, was alive and had given information to the Ukrainian authorities. Mr. Hrytsak alleged that “the true organizer” of operations that included the Shapoval killing was an officer of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), Dmitry Minayev. SBU officials identified one of the seven suspects whose arrests were announced on April 17 as Timur Dzortov, who they said was deputy chief of staff to the leader of Russia’s Ingushetia region, Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, in 2015-2017. There was no immediate comment from Russian officials. (RFE/RL, with reporting by Christopher Miller in Kyiv, RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service, UNIAN and Ukrayinska Pravda)
Huntsman on U.S. commitment to Ukraine
U.S. Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman said Washington is committed to defending Ukraine’s territorial integrity, saying the issue of Moscow’s annexation of Crimea and the conflict in eastern Ukraine was “a core part of our estrangement with Russia.” In an interview with RFE/RL’s Russian Service published on April 13, Ambassador Huntsman also called on Russia to “engage in a helpful process that will allow the people of Ukraine to see their nation restored.” He noted: “We do care deeply about the territorial integrity of Ukraine, which has been badly violated,” and added that Moscow’s 2014 “annexation of Crimea and the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine… – it has not been resolved. Nothing has been done in terms of positive steps toward recreating the contours of a whole and free Ukraine….” The U.S. envoy also stated: “It is time to get to the negotiating table and find some solutions, which has not been the case for the last many year. Mr. Huntsman said that maintaining sanctions against Russia is one of the few matters on which both major U.S. political parties agree. “This issue, in the United States Senate, has united almost 100 percent of Republicans and Democrats,” he said. The ambassador’s comments came just over five years after Russia seized the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea and then annexed it, a move that has been rejected by the overwhelming majority of United Nations members. (RFE/RL’s Russian Service, written by Robert Coalson based on interview conducted by Irina Lagunina)
Court keeps Ukrainian seamen in jail
A Moscow court has extended the pretrial detention period for the Ukrainian seamen who were jailed after the Russian Coast Guard seized their vessels near the Kerch Strait in a flare-up of tensions in November. On April 17, the Lefortovo district court was hearing requests by prosecutors to keep the seamen in jail pending further investigation and trial. With relatives of the seamen attending hearings conducted in three separate courtrooms, judges had prolonged pretrial detention until July 24 for 12 of the sailors by midafternoon. Outside the courthouse – which bears the same name as the jail where the Ukrainians are being held, Lefortovo – a lone protester held a sign that read, “Free the Ukrainian sailors.” Later, the court’s press service told Interfax that all 24 would be held in detention until either July 24 or July 26. On November 25, 2018, Russian Coast Guard vessels fired on and seized three Ukrainian Navy vessels and their crews while they were on their way from the Black Sea to the Ukrainian port of Mariupol, on the Sea of Azov. Moscow accuses them of illegal entry into Russian territorial waters, which they deny, and they are formally charged with illegal border crossing. The incident increased tension over the Kerch Strait, which is the sole passage from the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov. The strait runs between Russia and Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula that Russia seized in March 2014 after sending in troops and staging a referendum deemed illegitimate by Kyiv, the United States and a total of at least 100 countries. Western leaders have demanded that Russia release the seamen and the incident has led to the imposition of additional sanctions on Russia. (RFE/RL’s Russian Service, with reporting by Current Time and RIA Novosti)
President arrives for debate, challenger doesn’t
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko went to Kyiv’s Olimpiyskiy Stadium on April 14 for a presidential election debate, but his challenger didn’t show up after a disagreement about the timing. Mr. Poroshenko faces Volodymyr Zelensky in Ukraine’s presidential runoff on April 21. Both candidates have agreed to hold a debate, but disagreed on the date, with Mr. Zelensky insisting that it should take place on April 19. Mr. Poroshenko, accompanied by his wife and children, walked inside a glass-encased room sandwiched between the stadium and the adjacent hotel where dozens of journalists were waiting. He took to the stage, with the moderator off to the side. “It was not me who proposed the site of the event, it was a certain man,” Mr. Poroshenko told the audience, standing next to an empty lectern bearing Zelensky’s name. He then addressed his opponent, saying, “I know you’re watching,” and added, ironically, that Mr. Zelensky must be having a rest after his trip to Paris where he met French President Emmanuel Macron. Mr. Poroshenko also called on Zelensky to show up at the stadium, saying that otherwise he would invite him to a televised debate every day. “Don’t be afraid. A debate is nothing horrible,” he said. Asked by a reporter if he would cooperate with Mr. Zelensky if the latter won the presidency, Mr. Poroshenko replied, “If, God forbid, he were to be elected, that would still be the choice of the Ukrainian people and I would respect that choice.” About 2,000 people stood outside the stadium to listen to a broadcast of Mr. Poroshenko’s statements and his answers to journalists’ questions. The president later led them into the stadium where they sang the national anthem. (RFE/RL, with reporting by Christopher Miller in Kyiv and RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service)
Rivals meet French, German leaders
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko traveled on April 12 to Berlin and Paris to seek international support ahead of the April 21 runoff. His challenger Volodymyr Zelensky traveled only to Paris, where he met French President Emmanuel Macron, who separately met with Mr. Poroshenko as well. In Berlin, Mr. Poroshenko met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel who praised the “very close relations” her country has built with Ukraine in recent years. At a joint news conference, Ms. Merkel deflected a question about the impression that she favors Mr. Poroshenko in the election. She said that she is in “permanent contact” with the incumbent. Her spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said a meeting with Mr. Zelensky “is not planned at present.” The German chancellor said, “We have built very close relations in the last few years” and added that “implementing democratic change is a complicated process. …Ukraine has made progress here, but certainly is not at the end of the road.” Germany, France, and Ukraine are part of the so-called Normandy Format of countries seeking a resolution to the conflict in eastern Ukraine, where Russia-backed separatists are fighting against Kyiv government forces. Russia is the fourth country in the format, which has not held talks in two years. “We must continue on this path, because it is the only one I can see on which we can really make progress,” Ms. Merkel said, adding that she favors continuing four-way talks involving Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France. “There have been successes in some areas, but a great deal of work remains to be done on many things, so Germany will continue – independently of the outcome of the election – to support the positive and good development of Ukraine,” Ms. Merkel said. Mr. Poroshenko said he would be prepared to hold a summit “immediately after the election.” He later met with Mr. Macron in Paris, after which he released pictures on social media of himself and a smiling French president looking comfortable and close together on the steps of the Elysee Palace. “Happy to meet with Ukraine’s sincere friend,” Mr. Poroshenko wrote on Twitter. Mr. Macron first hosted comic actor Mr. Zelensky, who told journalists that his meeting with the French president was held in a “very nice, warm atmosphere.” Mr. Zelensky added, “The meeting was very constructive. I met a leader of a united Europe. I liked it. The meeting was constructive. We discussed the most important issues for Ukrainian society and for Ukraine.” His campaign chief, Ivan Bakanov, told AFP that the two discussed the conflict in eastern Ukraine, corruption, economic reforms and, “of course, the second-round runoff.” (RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service, based on reporting by Reuters, AFP, DPA and AP)
Poroshenko creates anti-corruption court
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, who has been repeatedly accused of turning a blind eye to corruption, has ordered the creation of a special anti-corruption court. “By setting up the anti-corruption court, we are completing the creation of an independent anti-corruption infrastructure,” Mr. Poroshenko said on April 11 during an official ceremony in Kyiv where he signed a decree to appoint judges to the new High Anti-Corruption Court. “Today… 38 new judges will take up their duties in a completely new court,” the president said. The creation of the court has been a longtime demand of both the United States and the European Union. Mr. Poroshenko has been accused of failing to tackle graft or rein in influential magnates. The exposure of a military embezzlement scheme that allegedly involved top Poroshenko associates as well as a factory controlled by the president has badly dented his popularity. Mr. Poroshenko has denied any links to the scheme. The creation of the High Anti-Corruption Court comes ahead of the April 21 presidential runoff where Mr. Poroshenko will be facing comic actor Volodymyr Zelensky who has a commanding lead in some polls. (RFE/RL, based on reporting by AP and Interfax)
More soldiers killed in action
Ukraine says one of its soldiers was killed and eight others wounded in clashes with Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine in April 12. The Ukrainian Defense Ministry said separatist fighters fired machine guns, anti-tank missiles, and grenade launchers, violating a cease-fire 20 times in a 24-hour period. Earlier, on April 8, the Ministry of Defense reported that one member of the Ukrainian Armed Forces was killed in action and three service members were wounded in action. A day earlier, one Ukrainian service member was wounded in action. On April 5 and 6 the Russian-terrorist forces opened fire 31 times on Ukrainian positions in the Luhansk and Donetsk sectors, using heavy weapons in 17 instances. Three Ukrainian service members were killed in action and two were wounded in action. Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense also reported that during the week of March 29 to April 4, three Ukrainian service members were killed and 12 service members were wounded in action. Since April 2014, some 13,000 people have been killed in fighting between Kyiv’s forces and Russia-backed separatists who control parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. (Ukrainian Canadian Congress Daily Briefing, RFE/RL)
Car rams Ukrainian Embassy vehicle
London police fired gunshots at a man who rammed into a diplomatic car parked outside Ukraine’s Embassy, and then tried to drive into officers. Metropolitan Police said on April 13 that officers also fired Taser stun guns at the man, who was then arrested without injury. Police said the incident was not considered terrorist-related, and that several other cars parked on the street near the Embassy, in London’s Holland Park neighborhood, had also been hit. In a statement, the Embassy of Ukraine said the car belonged to the ambassador and that no Embassy staff were injured. The Embassy identified the car as the ambassador’s official vehicle, and said it had been parked in front of the diplomatic post. The Evening Standard newspaper reported that the street leading to the Embassy, in the Holland Park neighborhood of London, had been cordoned off. (RFE/RL)
Drop in Russian support for annexation
The share of Russians who consider the annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula to be useful has fallen from 67 percent in the spring of 2015 to 39 percent now, according to the results of a Public Opinion Foundation poll released on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of Vladimir Putin’s signature achievement, the Crimean Anschluss. And while the percentage saying that this action was harmful rose only from 5 percent to 7 percent, those saying that the pluses and minuses were nearly equal rose from 15 percent in 2015 to 39 percent now, hardly the verdict the Kremlin would like Russians to have on this event. According to the Newsru agency, sociologists say that this pattern reflects the fact that even those who passionately supported Mr. Putin’s actions early on have begun to feel the impact of sanctions and of Moscow’s spending on Crimea rather than on the needs of the rest of the country. The scholars with whom Newsru consulted say that “the initial euphoria from the annexation of Crimea led to a growth of collective self-assessment, pride, patriotic self-respect, and at the same time to ‘the growth of unaccountable concerts and a cloudy understanding that the growing confrontation between Russia and the U.S. and Russia and NATO can lead to the outbreak of a real major war.” (Paul Goble in Window on Eurasia)