Katya Gorchinskaya

There is a new danger for Yulia Tymoshenko hanging in the air. Just a couple of weeks ago Ukraine seemed to have a window of opportunity to let her walk free, by having President Viktor Yanukovych issue a pardon. As of Wednesday, though, it looks like the former Prime Minister is headed for a life sentence in the case of a 1996 mafia-style murder.

A key witness in the high-profile criminal case against Yulia Tymoshenko told a Kyiv court she ordered and paid for the 1996 murder of a business rival. Prosecutors are expected to make his testimony the focal point of their legal arguments despite it being purportedly read via video link and based exclusively on second-hand information. 

The main witness in the high-profile criminal case against Yulia Tymoshenko told the court she ordered and paid for the 1996 murder of a business rival. The statement, which is expected to become the prosecutors' main argument, comes amid a growing controversy around the witness.

The April 30 ruling of the European Court for Human Rights on Yulia Tymoshenko’s unlawful and politically motivated detention has not improved her status in Ukraine. In fact, the nation and political elite remain further divided in their interpretations and speculations over the ruling and indicated that for Ukraine’s former prime minister, freedom is nowhere in sight.

The European Court of Human Rights ruled on Tuesday that the pre-trial detention of Ukraine's former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko was unlawful, adding to Western pressure on Kiev to release her.

CHORNOBYL, Ukraine – A turbine hall adjoining Chornobyl’s destroyed fourth reactor has a gaping 600-square meter opening where the roof collapsed in February. The roof has not been fixed yet, letting in rainwater that mingles with radioactive dust and elements inside and oozes out.

We’re about to witness an epic battle. A battle of the giants.

CHORNOBYL, Ukraine — Despite the scary name, the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone is a bustling community full of gossip and colorful stories.

The recent pardon of former Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko, imprisoned for political reasons in the West’s opinion, improved the mood in the European parliament. 

 Purple-faced and choking, yet clinging on to two loaves of bread as she begs for her life, a teenage girl from Mariupol in a recent video released on YouTube went through horrors at a tender age that most of us never experience in our lifetimes.

 The special mission of the European Parliament to Ukraine, headed by former President of European Parliament Pat Cox and former Polish President Alexander Kwasniewski has been extended to September, according to Jacek Protasiewicz, vice president of the parliament. There are also indications that the mission's mandate might also be extended, but it's not yet clear how.

 A new high-profile witness in the murder case against Yulia Tymoshenko told a Kyiv court on April 16 that he had no evidence of the former prime minister's involvement.

Ukraine's friends in the West reacted with elation and hope at the news that President Viktor Yanukovych pardoned ex-Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko and freed him from prison on April 7.

  President Viktor Yanukovych has appealed to the commission on pardons to immediately consider freeing  one of the nation's top political prisoners, former Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko, his press service said.

Ukraine’s parliament split in two groups on April 4, as the pro-presidential majority conducted an alternative parliament session, while the opposition gathered in the regular session hall. The majority’s decision was branded as “a coup” by the opposition, which is calling for demonstrations.

 Ukraine's parliament split in half on April 4, as the pro-presidential majority conducted an alternative parliament session, while the opposition gathered in the regular session hall. The majority's decision was branded as “a coup” by the opposition, which is calling for demonstrations.

High Specialized Court of Ukraine upheld former Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko's earlier sentence of four years in prison, and reduced the sum of damages he was due to pay by near $4,000 (from Hr 643,000 to Hr 609,000).

 A key witness in the high-profile murder case against Yulia Tymoshenko told a Kyiv court on April 2 that the former prime minister was innocent.

Ukraine is in an economic recession again and borrowing on international and domestic markets to make ends meet. But the government still plans to dole out cash to the nation’s richest people.  

Ukraine's capital shut down as heavy snowfall paralyzed transportation, leaving shelves bare at some food stores and authorities struggling to get the city moving. The government declared Monday a day off for all state workers in the capital and surrounding region after it was covered by around 20 inches of snow, the largest amount to fall in one weekend since records began in 1889, according to Liudmyla Savchenko, head of the forecast department in the State Weather Service.