You're reading: Batkivschyna labels Ukrainian government’s litigations with Russia on UESU debt as provocation

The Batkivschyna United Opposition has said that the authorities are attempting to blacken the name of former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko on the eve of the parliamentary election through the reports about the debt of the United Energy Systems of Ukraine Corporation to the Russian Defense Ministry.

“We would like to remind Mr. Yanukovych (President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych),who is the author of such a fresh and extraordinary publicity stunt, that Justice Minister Oleksandr Lavrynovych on behalf of his own government has repeatedly denied the existence of such debt,” Batkivschyna United Opposition said in a statement released on Friday.

The United Opposition quoted a letter from the Justice Ministry and Finance Ministry of Mykola Azarov’s government, which stated that the Finance Ministry had no information about any debts of the United Energy Systems of Ukraine to the Defense Ministry of Russia.

As the evidence of this, the United Opposition published on its Web site a copy of a letter of the Justice Ministry signed by Minister Lavrynovych dated June 24, 2011 and a copy of the letter of the Finance Ministry dated June 16, 2011.

“We cannot view today’s ruling of Kyiv Economic Court as anything other than the pre-election provocation by the authorities,” the United Opposition said in a statement.

As reported, the Defense Ministry of Russia filed to Kyiv Economic Court a lawsuit against the Ukrainian government for non-payment of UAH 3.239.45 billion under the criminal case on the activities of the United Energy Systems of Ukraine (UESU) Corporation.

This is stipulated in a court ruling dated September 5, 2012 that published in the single state register of judgments.

According to the document, Russia demanded to summon the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the State Treasury Service of Ukraine as defendants in the case.

The UESU is the third party on the side of the defendant in the case.

Meanwhile, one of Kharkiv-based district courts is hearing the criminal case against former Ukrainian Premier Yulia Tymoshenko on the activities of the UESU.

Prosecutors claim that the UESU Corporation concealed from the government over $160 million in currency incomes from exports of metal. Tymoshenko, who was the manager and the actual owner of the UESU Corporation, is accused of attempting to embezzle funds from the national budget in an especially large amount in collusion with former Ukrainian Premier Pavlo Lazarenko, by obliging the Cabinet of Ministers to return to the Russian Defense Ministry $405.5 million instead of the UESU Corporation.

The Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine (PGO) has filed a lawsuit against Tymoshenko with a demand that she pay UAH 19.5 million under the UESU case. Ukrainian Prosecutor General Viktor Pshonka said that the UESU case against Tymoshenko was illegally closed in 2005 under pressure from former Ukrainian President Viktor Yuschenko following the appointment of Tymoshenko as prime minister.