Ukraine visa liberalization to proceed
BRUSSELS – European Union Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn says the European Commission plans to go ahead with its proposal for visa liberalization for Ukraine – despite a Dutch referendum last week that rejected Ukraine’s Association Agreement with Kyiv. Mr. Hahn told RFE/RL on April 12 that it would be “unfair” not to go ahead with visa liberalization for Ukraine because Brussels has “always asked certain conditions” from Kyiv. He told RFE/RL: “We have worked on this issue for some years. We have always argued that we are following a certain methodology. They have accepted it. They have delivered. Now I think it is a question of fairness to fulfill what we have promised.” Sources in Brussels say the visa liberalization proposal for Ukraine is likely to come by the end of April and will allay fears in Kyiv that the non-binding Dutch referendum will slow down the establishment of visa-free rules for Ukrainian citizens. But it remains unclear when EU member states and the European Parliament would vote on the proposal. The EU’s 27 other members have ratified Ukraine’s EU Association Agreement and it went into effect in January. (RFE/RL, based on reporting by RFE/RL correspondent Rikard Jozwiak in Brussels)
No results in talks on coalition deal
KYIV – Disputes over top jobs in Ukraine’s next government on April 12 delayed a parliamentary vote on a Cabinet reshuffle that is likely to see the departure of Finance Minister Natalia Jaresko and tighten President Petro Poroshenko’s grip on key policy areas. A new coalition deal is needed to end a political deadlock that has stalled billions of dollars in foreign loans under a program of the International Monetary Fund. National deputies on April 12 were in the final stages of reaching a new coalition deal following Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk’s announcement on April 10 that he would resign. A close ally of Mr. Poroshenko, Verkhovna Rada Chairman Volodymyr Groysman, has been nominated to replace Mr. Yatsenyuk. But Oleksiy Honcharenko, a deputy in the Poroshenko Bloc parliamentary faction, told journalists late on April 12 that the coalition talks in Kyiv had ended for the day without an agreement on who would become the ministers of economy, energy, culture, and health. Mr. Honcharenko said he hopes that a vote on the coalition and government would take place in Parliament on April 13 or April 14. Mr. Groysman was nominated by the Poroshenko Bloc and has the backing of Mr. Yatsenyuk’s party, the People’s Front. However, Mr. Groysman reportedly has raised objections to some of the candidates for ministerial posts that have been proposed by the People’s Front party. Some key posts appear to have been agreed upon in the April 12 coalition talks in Kyiv. Oleksandr Danylyuk, a 40-year-old former investment manager and deputy head of President Poroshenko’s administration, has been mentioned as the likely new finance manager. He would replace U.S.-born Ms. Jaresko who has been praised for her handling of the country’s finances amid an economic meltdown and the conflict with Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine. But analysts say Mr. Danylyuk’s nomination could raise concerns among reformists that the reshuffle under Mr. Groysman will consolidate too much power in the hands of President Poroshenko and his closest political allies. (RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service, with reporting by Reuters and AFP)
EU criticizes Ukraine violence
BRUSSELS – The European Union has criticized an “unprecedented level of violence” in eastern Ukraine after international monitors came under fire. “The significant increase of ceasefire violations in the Donetsk region represents an unprecedented level of violence,” EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said in a statement on April 10. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said late on April 9 that a team of its monitors in eastern Ukraine had come under fire 50 kilometers south of Donetsk. There were no injuries in the incident. OSCE observers were also shot at on April 7 and, on the same day, another monitoring group was threatened at gunpoint by a rebel, forcing the observers to leave a checkpoint they needed to pass. The OSCE has said that it had observed a “significantly higher number of ceasefire violations” in the Donetsk region. Ms. Mogherini added that “a sustainable ceasefire is urgently needed.” More than 9,100 people have been killed in the fighting in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region and some 21,000 wounded since the conflict broke out in 2014. (RFE/RL, based on reporting by AFP and DPA)
France worried about truce violations
PARIS – France has voiced concern over rising ceasefire violations in eastern Ukraine between Kyiv’s forces and pro-Russia separatists. The French Foreign Affairs Ministry statement on April 11 comes days after the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said its observers monitoring the ceasefire had been shot at for the second time in a week. “The recent incidents targeting monitors close to the contact line are not acceptable,” the Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a statement, urging both sides to guarantee OSCE access to their respective areas. “The situation can only be stabilized by the full application of the Minsk agreement,” it said, referring to the peace deal backed by Kyiv, its Western allies, and Moscow. Late on April 9, the OSCE said a group of its monitors had been shot at in Zhovanka, northeast of the city of Donetsk, which is controlled by pro-Russia separatists. The report did not say who fired the shots. (RFE/RL, based on reporting by Reuters and DPA)
Lithuania blacklists 46 in Savchenko case
VILNIUS – Lithuanian Foreign Affairs Minister Linas Linkevicius announced on April 12 that Lithuania blacklisted several dozen Russians and Ukrainians for their role in the detention and sentencing of the Ukrainian pilot Nadiya Savchenko and two other Ukrainians, according to Reuters. Ukraine expanded sanctions against Russia last month after a Russian court found Ms. Savchenko, 34, guilty of complicity in the killing of two Russian journalists and sentenced her to 22 years in prison. Ukraine called on the European Union to follow suit, and Lithuania became the first EU state to do so. The 46 people it blacklisted are banned from entering Lithuania for 10 years. Those blacklisted include Russian investigators, prosecutors and judges, as well as separatists from the Ukrainian rebel strongholds of Luhansk and Donetsk, Minister Linkevicius told Reuters. “We blacklisted them to show our solidarity with Ukraine and to focus attention on the unacceptable and cynical violations of international law and human rights in Russia. We are convinced that the court cases against those people were falsified,” Mr. Linkevicius told Reuters by phone. Russia has ignored calls from the European Union and the United States to free Ms. Savchenko, who is now on a dry hunger strike, on humanitarian grounds. (UNIAN, with reporting by Reuters)
OSCE says it regrets staffers’ behavior
KYIV – The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Ukraine has expressed “regret” after photos appeared online showing two of its staff at the wedding celebrations of the daughter of a pro-Russia separatist in Ukraine. One of the images shows an unidentified OSCE monitor – employed to be an impartial observer “to contribute to reducing tensions and fostering peace, stability and security,” in the words of the OSCE website – being embraced by the separatist, Volodymyr Tymofeyev. Yevhen Spirin, a journalist for Ukraine’s Hromadske TV, published the photos, taken from VKontakte screenshots, on his Facebook page on April 6. Among the guests at the June 2015 wedding of Anastasia Bessedina, Mr. Tymofeyev’s daughter, were the OSCE monitor and his translator. Another image shows Mr. Tymofeyev himself hugging the OSCE monitor and smiling for the camera. After Mr. Shirin’s post was shared more than 700 times on Facebook, the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) confirmed the photos but insisted that the monitors were not actual guests at the celebrations. “The OSCE SMM regrets the incident. Even though the monitors did not attend the wedding as such, the photo clearly shows misjudgment on their part. These monitors are no longer with the Mission,” OSCE wrote on its official Facebook page on April 7. “The unprofessional behavior displayed by the monitors in the picture is an individual incident that should not be abused to cast a shadow on the reputation of other mission members.” In an e-mail to RFE/RL’s Current Time, a representative for the SMM press service said the monitors had been passing by the main square where members of the wedding party were taking photos. They stopped by to chat with the people with whom they were later photographed. The press service added that they could not disclose personal information about when or under what circumstances the monitors left the mission. (Anna Shamanska of RFE/RL)
Eight Ukrainian soldiers wounded
KYIV – Ukraine’s military has said that eight of its soldiers were wounded in fighting against Russia-backed separatists in the east of the country during the previous 24 hours. Military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said on April 13 that all eight were injured in fighting in the Donetsk region, where 53 “hostile attacks” were registered since April 12. Col. Lysenko said there had been 29 shelling incidents around Mariupol, the Ukrainian-government-held strategic city on the shores of the Azov Sea. No injuries were reporting in those shellings. The news came amid rising concerns about ceasefire violations in eastern Ukraine. (RFE/RL, based on reporting by Interfax)
OSCE mission’s mandate extended
VIENNA – The Permanent Council of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe on April 7 decided to extend the mandate of the OSCE Observer Mission at the Russian border checkpoints of Gukovo and Donetsk by three months, until July 31. The mandate of the mission remains unchanged. Operating under the principles of impartiality and transparency, the observers will monitor and report on the situation at the two Russian checkpoints, as well as on the movements across the border. As of April 7, the Observer Mission is composed of 21 border observers, including the chief observer. The mission is supported administratively by a Vienna-based staff member. The mission has been on the ground since July 29, 2014, following a consensus decision of the OSCE Permanent Council. (OSCE)
Dutch PM predicts months of talks
THE HAGUE – The Dutch vote against an agreement to strengthen ties between the European Union and Ukraine could lead to lengthy negotiations over changes in the pact, the Netherlands’ premier said. “It could be months before a solution will be found,” since many different parties are involved, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte told the Dutch news agency ANP on April 8. “It’s a complex process. It’s uncharted waters,” he later told a press conference at the Hague. Dutch voters by 61 percent to 38 percent rejected the pact with Ukraine on April 6, though only 32 percent of eligible voters participated in the referendum. The vote was not legally binding, so the Dutch government is not required to follow the preference of voters. But Mr. Rutte has said he cannot ignore the overwhelmingly negative sentiment. Still, experts expect large parts of the agreement to be implemented without the Netherlands or with negotiated changes. The EU’s 27 other members have ratified the pact and it went into effect in January. The Dutch Parliament, which originally ratified the pact, will revisit the issue next week and should take the vote into account, Mr. Rutte said. (RFE/RL, based on reporting by DPA and AFP)
Russia considers freeing Sentsov, others
MOSCOW – Russia has indicated it is considering freeing four imprisoned Ukrainians, including filmmaker Oleh Sentsov, who were convicted by Russian courts on charges related to Russia’s forcible annexation of Crimea and derided by critics as politically motivated. The Russian Justice Ministry said in a statement on April 8 that it had asked the Federal Penitentiary Service to prepare documents for the transfer of the four men back to Ukraine following a March 10 request from Kyiv. However, the ministry said any final decision to hand over Mr. Sentsov, Hennadii Afanasyev, Oleksander Kolchenko, and Yurii Soloshenko would be made by Russian courts. The four are among at least 12 Ukrainians in Russian jails on convictions condemned by the Ukrainian and Western governments and some international rights groups. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko earlier this year indicated he would consider exchanging two Russians captured in eastern Ukraine for some of the Ukrainians being held in Russia. Russian prosecutors accused Messrs. Sentsov and Kolchenko of plotting sabotage and terrorist attacks around Crimea. They built their case largely on testimony from Mr. Afanasyev, another activist, although he has recanted and said he was tortured into testifying against the two. A court in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don convicted Messrs. Sentsov and Kolchenko in August and sentenced them to 20 and 10 years in prison, respectively. Mr. Afanasyev was sentenced to seven years in prison. Mr. Soloshenko was convicted in October 2015 by a Moscow court of espionage. Russia’s main security agency insisted he was trying to buy secret components for an air-defense missile system used in both Russia and Ukraine. (RFE/RL, with reporting by Interfax)
Arson attack destroys judge’s office
KYIV – An arson attack has destroyed the office of a Ukrainian judge presiding over the case of two Russian nationals charged with fighting alongside pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine. Ukraine’s chief military prosecutor Anatoliy Matios said the attack on the Kyiv office of Judge Mykola Didyk was carried out around 3 a.m. on April 8. Mr. Matios said Mr. Didyk’s office was destroyed but added that legal documents related to the case of the two Russian nationals were not damaged. Mr. Matios said the attack was “an attempt to frighten” Mr. Didyk, who is the presiding judge in the cases of Aleksandr Aleksandrov and Yevgeny Yerofeyev, Russian nationals who were arrested in Ukraine’s eastern Luhansk region in May last year and charged with fighting alongside Russian-backed separatists. Mr. Aleksandrov’s lawyer, Yuriy Hrabovskyi, was found murdered in Ukraine last month. Ukrainian authorities arrested two people in connection with the killing. Messrs. Aleksandrov and Yerofeyev first admitted in a video that they were on active duty with the Russian military when they were captured, but later retracted that. Moscow contends the two men were not serving in the country’s armed forces when they were detained by Ukrainian forces. (RFE/RL, based on reporting by 112.Ukraine and Mediazona)
Training limited to avoid provoking Russia
WASHINGTON – “The White House has boosted aid for Ukrainian forces battling Russian-backed separatists but limits training to mainly defensive tactics, triggering criticism the policy is too cautious to blunt President Vladimir Putin’s aggressive moves in the region,” reported Jim Michaels of USA Today. He noted in the April 11 story: “The United States recently turned down Ukraine’s request for sniper training for its armed forces because that is considered an offensive skill. The U.S. policy is aimed at teaching defensive skills in order to avoid escalating the conflict. U.S. officials said the distinction between defensive and offensive tactics makes little difference, since the training is focused on building basic soldier skills, which are similar for offensive and defensive operations.” Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, commander of U.S. Army Europe, explained that, “At the company and maybe even at the battalion level, there’s not really a big distinction between offensive and defensive things. What we’re trying to do is make sure the Ukrainians at the tactical level are as capable as they can be.” The story went on to cite
Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., and other Republican lawmakers, who have criticized the administration of President Barack Obama for limiting aid to Ukraine’s military to “non-lethal” supplies. “If you’re there, why not train them in the way Ukrainians need to be trained to counteract the Russian offensive,” said Rep. Hunter, a member of the House Armed Services Committee who recently visited Ukraine, told USA Today. “How nice can you be while Putin takes over the world?” Col. Nick Ducich, commander of the multinational training group in Ukraine, said there are some offensive tasks that U.S. trainers are not teaching Ukrainian troops, including how to establish an ambush, which is considered an exclusively offensive skill, in addition to avoiding sniper training. Canada and Lithuania, which also train Ukrainian forces, do not have similar restrictions, USA Today reported. Michael Carpenter, a deputy assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Defense, said the U.S. has to walk a line, helping Ukraine without provoking a Russian response. “The goal has been to help the Ukrainians be more effective in defending their territory without escalating the conflict.” He noted that the U.S. is providing Ukraine’s military with about $600 million in training and equipment. “There is no other country that is doing even close to what we’re doing,” he noted. (USA Today)
OSCE helps improve safety in east
SLOVIANSK, Ukraine – The project coordinator in Ukraine of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), at a ceremony in Sloviansk, Donetsk Oblast, on April 7, presented representatives of the Infrastructure Ministry’s State Special Transport Service with 15 sets of protective equipment, including vests and helmets, which are to be delivered to local deminers working along transport routes in the east of the country. The State Special Transport Service is responsible for ensuring the safety of the transport network and for restoring railways and bridges destroyed by hostilities. This often involves clearing mines and unexploded ordnance that threaten civilian transportation routes. ”Safety of communications is extremely important in the context of sustainable post-conflict recovery, future peace and security in the region,” said Vaidotas Verba, the OSCE project coordinator in Ukraine. “I hope that with our help the service will be in better position to swiftly and efficiently ensure safer conditions for the movement of people and goods in the conflict-affected areas.” Since July 2014 the State Special Transport Service has cleared over 300 kilometers of railways in government-controlled areas of Donbas and disposed of more than 4,500 unexploded ordnance, mines and booby traps. This is among the more than 100,000 such dangerous items discovered and destroyed by all organizations working in the region, which are involved in dealing with these remnants of conflict. To help Ukraine address this new challenge, the Office of the OSCE Project Coordinator is also training the country’s humanitarian deminers on international mine action standards, helping to introduce a modern information management system to improve operations and the inter-agency coordination of efforts, and assisting in developing relevant legislation and standards. (OSCE)