Ukraine one of “bright spots” in report
NEW YORK – Populists’ recent successes at the polls in the West have increased fears of instability in post-Communist Europe and Eurasia against a backdrop of setbacks for democratic governance, democracy monitor Freedom House has warned. It says that over the past year, the United Kingdom’s “Brexit” vote to leave the European Union, Dutch voters’ opposition to an EU Association Agreement with Ukraine, and political outsider Donald Trump’s election as U.S. president “all raised fresh doubts about the fragile post-Cold War order.” The findings are published in the New York-based group’s latest annual “Nations In Transit” report, subtitled “The False Promise of Populism.” Freedom House calls 2016 a triumph for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who for the past decade “has backed populists in Europe and the United States as part of a covert effort to destabilize the transatlantic order.” The report says that despite Russia’s continuing economic stagnation, Mr. Putin “seems tantalizingly close to his goal of a new division of Europe into Western and Russian spheres of influence.” The “Nations in Transition” report covers 29 post-Communist countries of the former Soviet Union and in Central and Eastern Europe and the Balkans. The report says 18 of them suffered declines this year in their so-called democracy scores, leaving more “consolidated authoritarian regimes” in the region than “consolidated democracies.” The group called Ukraine, Kosovo and Romania “bright spots” in the “Nations in Transition 2017” report. In Ukraine, corruption is still widespread and the ongoing military conflict in its eastern regions undermines the country’s economy. But despite the setbacks, it says, there have been “significant changes” as civil society in Ukraine – with the backing of the United States, European Union, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) – has kept pressure on the government. As part of Ukraine’s reforms, the parliament approved wide-ranging judicial reforms, including items that required constitutional changes, and put in place a comprehensive anticorruption framework modeled on EU best practices, the report says. “In our survey, we saw Ukraine continuing to make progress in 2016, but at the same time there are seriously troubling signs that an old guard resistant to building an accountable state could still defeat reforms,” Mr. Schenkkan said. “What is needed is that Ukraine’s international supporters continue the ‘tough love’ approach of the last three years supporting local civil society.” (RFE/RL)
PEN America to honor Sentsov
NEW YORK – PEN America has announced that it will honor imprisoned Ukrainian writer and filmmaker Oleh Sentsov with its 2017 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award. Mr. Sentsov, a native of Crimea who opposed Russia’s March 2014 annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula, is currently serving a 20-year prison term in a maximum-security facility on terrorism charges that he and international rights groups call politically motivated. The charges against Mr. Sentsov “have been condemned by human rights groups as fabrications by a Russian government intent on silencing dissent,” PEN America said in a statement on March 29. Mr. Sentsov was arrested in May 2014 on suspicion of planning the fire-bombings of pro-Russian organizations in Crimea. A Russian court convicted him on multiple terrorism charges in August of the same year. Mr. Sentsov has denied all charges against him, saying that a “trial by occupiers cannot be fair by definition.” PEN America said Mr. Sentsov is widely regarded for work that includes two short films, “A Perfect Day for Bananafish” and “The Horn of a Bull,” and a full-length feature film, “Gamer,” which debuted to acclaim at the 2012 International Film Festival in Rotterdam. His writings include scripts, plays and essays, and he has continued to produce prolifically from prison, the statement said. Since 1987, PEN America – the U.S. branch of the world’s leading international literary and human rights organization, PEN International – has honored more than 50 writers worldwide with the Freedom to Write Award. “The PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award is a reminder of the heavy price that writers pay to speak out in societies where free expression is not respected,” said Peter Barbey, owner of the Village Voice and director of the Edwin Barbey Charitable Fund, which sponsors the award. In January, several high-profile members of the Russian PEN chapter, including Nobel Prize laureate Svetlana Alexievich, novelist Grigory Chkhartishvili (who writes under the name Boris Akunin) and poet Lev Rubinshtein, quit the organization over its failure to speak out in defense of Mr. Sentsov. (RFE/RL)
Semena trial adjourned until April 18
SYMFEROPOL – The trial of Crimean journalist Mykola Semena, an RFE/RL contributor who has been indicted on separatism-related charges by the Russian authorities controlling the Ukrainian peninsula, has been adjourned until April 18. The cause of the latest delay was not immediately apparent. Mr. Semena’s attorney, Emil Kurbedinov, told RFE/RL on April 4 that two officers of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), the man who initially alerted Russian law enforcement officials to Mr. Semena’s article about the status of Crimea and an individual who read the article testified at the trial on April 3. Shortly after the proceeding initially got under way on March 20, the presiding judge adjourned it until April 3 in order to grant a defense request to move the trial to a larger courtroom. Mr. Semena is being prosecuted for a 2015 article he wrote for RFE/RL’s Krym.Realii (Crimea Realities) website criticizing Moscow’s 2014 seizure of Crimea from Ukraine. Mr. Semena, 66, faces up to five years in prison if convicted. He denies the charges. The United States, the European Union, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and international media watchdogs have expressed concern over the Semena case, which activists say is part of a Russian clampdown on independent media and dissent in Crimea. (Crimean Desk, RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service)
NATO chief urges more defense spending
DUSSELDORF, Germany – NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has urged Germany and other European nations to spend more on their defense. The comments were published on April 4 in the German business newspaper Handelsblatt, based in Dusselfdorf. U.S. President Donald Trump has been outspoken in calls for NATO members to spend more on their defense to ease the burden on the United States. Mr. Stoltenberg said his call for increased defense spending by European countries was not directly linked to Trump’s demands. He said the move was more because of Europe’s proximity to such countries as Russia, Syria and Iraq, which are causes of potential tensions for Europeans. “After the end of the Cold War, it was right to cut defense spending,” Mr. Stoltenberg told Handelsblatt. “But if we reduce spending when tensions are going down, we also must be able to increase defense spending when tensions are going up – and now they are going up.” U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson urged his counterparts at a March 31 NATO meeting to boost defense spending or come up with plans to reach the alliance’s budget targets. He said Washington is spending a “disproportionate share” on defense compared with its partners. At the meeting, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said it was “completely unrealistic” that his country could reach a defense spending target of 2 percent of gross domestic product, set by NATO in 2006. (RFE/RL, based on reporting by DPA and Handelsblatt)
NATO-Russia Council discusses Ukraine
BRUSSELS – NATO representatives have told Russia that the situation in Ukraine is of “deep concern” at the first session of the Russia-NATO Council to be held this year. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told journalists after the Brussels meeting on March 30 that the meeting was “frank” and “constructive,” although the two sides “continue to have clear disagreement” on the crisis in Ukraine. Mr. Stoltenberg said the alliance urged Moscow to use its influence with militants in eastern Ukraine to compel them to meet their obligations under the so-called Minsk process to resolve the crisis. He added that NATO was firm in its support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. “The allies do not and will not recognize Russia’s illegal annexation of [the Ukrainian region of] Crimea,” Mr. Stoltenberg said. In turn, Russia’s ambassador to NATO, Aleksandr Grushko, criticized NATO for “continuing to provide political and practical support to Kyiv,” a policy that he said is “at odds with genuine interests of conflict settlement.” He urged NATO to pressure Kyiv to resume trade and transit with the rebel-held areas. On March 15, Kyiv announced the suspension of all cargo traffic with separatist-held areas of eastern Ukraine, essentially putting a blockade launched by activists in January under state control. The NATO-Russia Council also discussed various military activities and ways of improving “risk reduction” following numerous incidents of close encounters between Russian and NATO military assets. “It is not an easy dialogue,” Mr. Stoltenberg said. “But it is a dialogue we are committed to. And when tensions run high, it is even more important to keep talking with each other to increase predictability and reduce risks.” Ambassador Grushko told Russian media that “it is not possible to build confidence until NATO abandons its military-domination policy.” He criticized NATO for purportedly adopting a “policy aimed at restraining Russia and demonstrating their military capabilities near our borders.” He added that such meetings of the Russia-NATO Council are important “but they are not enough to improve the security situation.” He warned against pursuing “dialogue for the sake of dialogue.” (RFE/RL, with reporting by DPA and TASS)
Security officer killed in Mariupol
KYIV – Ukraine says one of its top regional security officers was killed on March 31 in a car explosion in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Mariupol. Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) chief Vasyl Hrytsak said that Col. Oleksandr Kharaberyush was killed and that “The SBU will do all it can to locate and punish those involved.” Donetsk regional police chief Vyacheslav Abroskyn wrote on Facebook that an investigation has been launched into the car blast. He wrote that investigators do not exclude that it was conducted by pro-Russian separatists who are controlling parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The government-controlled city of Mariupol is about 30 kilometers from the frontline in the conflict between the Ukrainian army and separatists that has killed more than 9,900 people in eastern Ukraine since April 2014. On March 30, President Petro Poroshenko ordered the military to implement a ceasefire and weapons pullback beginning on April 1, but said he was “not very optimistic” that the separatists would abide by the truce agreement reached in Minsk the previous day. (RFE/RL)
PM faults anti-corruption agency
KYIV – Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman has called on the entire state anti-corruption agency to resign over persistent technical problems on a website where government officials electronically declare their assets. Mr. Groysman said on March 29 that the employees of the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption “are not capable of managing the website” and have left “hundreds of thousands of people” potentially facing imprisonment for missing a deadline for submitting declarations. There have been numerous complaints from government officials who have said that due to the technical problems they were unable to declare their income and assets electronically before the March 31 deadline. “I can’t submit my own declaration,” Mr. Groysman said. As part of efforts to fight widespread graft, Ukraine has introduced a new anticorruption rule that requires all senior public officials to declare their wealth in a publicly searchable electronic database. The system is aimed at increasing transparency in government. The anti-corruption agency said more than 100,000 forms were submitted when the online declaration system was first launched in October 2016. (RFE/RL, based on reporting by unian.net and 24tv.ua)
Is tobacco giant funding ‘separatists’?
KYIV – Ukraine’s Tedis Ukraine tobacco giant has been accused of tax evasion and financing Russia-backed separatists that control parts of the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. Ukrainian Internal Affairs Minister Arsen Avakov and Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko told journalists in Kyiv on March 31 that some 1,000 law enforcement officers are conducting about 100 searches at the firm’s offices in Kyiv, Odesa and Dnipro. Tedis Ukraine is suspected of tax evasion and of large-scale illegal money transfers to Russia – some of which might have been used to support the Russia-backed separatists, Messrs. Avakov and Lutsenko said. The officials said Tedis Tobacco’s actual owner is Russian citizen Igor Kesayev, who was officially banned by Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council from transferring finances abroad. Despite the ban, the company transferred at least 2.5 billion hrv ($91.7 million U.S.) to Russia in 2015-2017, Mr. Lutsenko charged. Mr. Lutsenko also said that Tedis Ukraine was led by people linked to the Degtyaryov Armaments Factory – a Russian firearms-producing company in Vladimir Oblast that is believed to provide the separatists with weapons. The offices of the Antimonopoly Committee in Kyiv are being searched as well, as it is suspected of assisting Tedis Ukraine to evade taxes and carry out other financial misdeeds. Tedis Ukraine is a monopoly company controlling Ukraine’s tobacco-distribution business. (RFE/RL, based on reports by UNIAN and Lb.ua)
Poroshenko orders ceasefire in Donbas
KYIV – Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko ordered the military to implement a ceasefire and weapons pullback in the conflict region in eastern Ukraine beginning on April 1. Mr. Poroshenko made the announcement on March 30 in Malta, where he was meeting with European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker. Mr. Poroshenko said he was “not very optimistic” that the Russia-supported rebels controlling parts of two eastern Ukrainian regions will abide by the agreement, which was reached in Minsk on March 29. According to the Russian state news agency TASS, a spokesman for the militants in Luhansk said on March 30 that his forces are “always ready to ensure the ceasefire.” During a meeting of the Russia-NATO Council in Brussels, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg pressed Russia to compel the militants to implement the ceasefire and withdraw their heavy weaponry. He also asked Moscow to ensure that international observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe have complete access to the conflict area. (RFE/RL, based on reporting by DPA, Reuters and TASS)
New cultural center of Israel in Kyiv
KYIV – The new cultural center in the Embassy of Israel in Ukraine was opened in Kyiv on March 16. “This is an Israeli House… You can touch the state and become its part. Someone would be able to learn in Israel what he or she learned in the center,” Minister of Immigrant Absorption Sofa Landver, a member of the Knesset, said at the ribbon-cutting ceremony in Kyiv. Israel’s Ambassador to Ukraine Eliav Belotserkovsky said the center is functioning in modern premises and more people will be able to visit it. “We have finally moved to a center that presents our state in the right way. Here we have modern premises where more programs could be held. More and more people are interested in our programs and cultural ties,” the ambassador noted. (Interfax Ukraine)
Rada ratifies Canada-Ukraine trade pact
KYIV – On March 14, the Verkhovna Rada ratified the Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement. Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko praised the ratification, and called it a historic moment for Canada-Ukraine relations. Mr. Poroshenko stated, “Conclusion of the FTA Agreement with Canada is the recognition of progress of our state on the track of reforms. It is a symbol of trust in principles and values of doing business that are being formed in Ukraine under the best standards and practices. …This agreement initiates a symbolic trans-Atlantic bridge of free trade. Thus, Ukrainian business will get access to the North American market. And this provides for the increase of the Ukrainian exports.” The president also noted: “The agreement is a very important response to the Russian hybrid aggression that threatens not only Ukraine, but also the EU countries, Canada and the whole free world, which is the evidence of our unbroken trans-Atlantic unity and solidarity.” (Ukrainian Canadian Congress Daily Briefing)
OSCE prolongs mission in Ukraine
VIENNA – The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on March 16 prolonged its monitoring mission in Ukraine by one year – until March 2018. Three years after Moscow illegally annexed the Crimean region, tensions between Ukraine and Russia-backed separatists are still high and a 2015 ceasefire agreement is violated regularly. Fighting has claimed the lives of at least 20 civilians since the start of the year and wounded almost 100 more, according to the United Nations. In recent weeks, the observers have reported a deteriorating security situation in eastern Ukraine and an increase in the number of ceasefire violations. The unarmed civilian OSCE mission, with more than 700 international observers, seeks to reduce tensions and report on the situation on the ground. The 57 member states of the OSCE, which include Ukraine, Russia and the United States, decided by consensus to extend the mandate of the mission until March 31, 2018, the OSCE said. The mission was first deployed in 2014, and this was its third extension. It will have a budget of 105.5 million euros for the year, enabling the staff to upgrade monitoring equipment. (RFE/RL, based on reporting by Reuters and TASS)
U.S.-led battalion heads to Poland
WASHINGTON – A U.S. military commander said a U.S.-led battalion of more than 1,100 NATO soldiers is being deployed in Poland from the start of April as the alliance sets up a new force in response to the Russian occupation and annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula. U.S. Army Lt. Col. Steven Gventer, who heads the battle group, said on March 20 that the battalion was “a mission, not a cycle of training events.” He said “the purpose is to deter aggression in the Baltics and in Poland,” and that the force is “fully ready to be lethal.” More than 900 U.S. soldiers, about 150 British troops and some 120 Romanian soldiers will make up the battalion in northeastern Poland. It is one of four multinational formations across the Baltic region that Russia has condemned as an aggressive strategy on its frontiers. Britain, Canada and Germany are leading the other three battle groups in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Those deployments are due to be operational by June and will have support from a several other NATO nations, including France. (RFE/RL, based on reporting by Reuters and AP)
Lithuania wants NATO command closer
VILNIUS – Lithuania’s president says NATO should move its command centers closer to the alliance’s eastern borders to deter the “growing threat from Russia.” President Dalia Grybauskaite on March 16 said NATO’s current location in Western Europe is a relic of the Cold War and that more forces should be redeployed. “The current NATO command structures and military forces were positioned according to the Cold War logic – in Europe’s west and south,” Ms. Grybauskaite said after talks with U.S. Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, NATO’s supreme allied commander. With the “growing threat from Russia, it is necessary to redeploy allied forces to the eastern flank,” the Lithuanian president said. She said NATO has been “too slow” to redeploy its command structure from Western Europe. Gen. Scaparrotti told reporters that advanced technologies enable the Western military alliance “to command and control from different locations.” Since World War II, U.S. and NATO forces have been stationed in Western Europe, mainly in Germany, Britain and Italy. But NATO is beefing up its presence in Eastern Europe, deploying four multinational battalions to the Baltic states and Poland on a rotational basis in an effort to reassure Eastern members in the face of Russia’s military support for separatists in eastern Ukraine and its illegal annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula. Hundreds of NATO troops and heavy equipment have been moved to Lithuania as part of that process. (RFE/RL, based on reporting by AFP and DPA)
Sanctions-hit Russians get tax breaks
MOSCOW – Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law that exempts Russians who are under Western sanctions from paying taxes in Russia if they are registered as taxpayers abroad. The amendment to the Tax Code that Mr. Putin signed into law on April 4 also relieves such individuals of the requirement that they declare their incomes. The legislation, initiated by the ruling United Russia party, also grants Russians under sanctions the right to receive a refund on taxes paid to the Russian treasury since 2014 if they prove their status as a foreign tax resident. In 2014, Western countries imposed asset freezes and travel bans on dozens of Russians – some of them close to Mr. Putin – after Moscow seized the Crimean Peninsula and backed separatists in eastern Ukraine. A 2013 law prohibits Russian officials and lawmakers from owning bank accounts, securities or companies abroad, but allows them to have property in foreign countries that is taxed by local authorities. (RFE/RL, based on reporting by Kommersant, TASS and Interfax)