To the outside world Ukrainian politics might apear amusing, but now that the former Prime Minister has been jailed, the spotlight should fall on the guns, gangsters, oil and oligarchs that stain the politics in the former Soviet state. The jailing this week of the former Ukrainian Prime Minister, Yulia Timoshenko, was the latest chapter in the tumultuous saga that is Ukrainian politics – a tale that is as colourfully entertaining for outsiders as it is painful for the Ukrainian people who have to live through their politicians’ antics. Timoshenko was imprisoned for contempt of court during a trial on a charge of abuse of power. The charge relates to her previous term as Prime Minister and signature in 2009 of a deal that ended the blockage of gas supplies from Russia to European consumers via Ukraine. Read the story here.
