www.kyivpost.com: Ukraine http://www.kyivpost.com/news/nation/ Ukraine Teixeira: EU suspends assistance to Ukraine under some programs http://www.kyivpost.com/news/nation/detail/122259/ Ukraine Fri, 10 Feb 2012 21:14:47 +0200
He said that over the past one-and-a-half years, there were problems linked to the use of this assistance.

"Now it's less clear how all activities associated with the use of EU assistance, an increase in the number of administrative barriers and other difficulties are being coordinated," Teixeira said.]]> Kuchma proposes to bury CIS http://www.kyivpost.com/news/nation/detail/122256/ Ukraine Fri, 10 Feb 2012 20:37:50 +0200 Two miners die in aftermath of Pivnichna mine explosion http://www.kyivpost.com/news/nation/detail/122251/ Ukraine Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:41:00 +0200
On Friday, the Web site of the Ukrainian Coal Industry Workers Union reported that coal hewers Oleh Antoshyn, born in 1973, and Mykola Vasylenkov, born in 1971, died.

Seven survivors of the explosion are still at the burn center.

"Their condition remains critical," the report on the website says.

Earlier reports said that the explosion occurred on Feb. 6 at the depth of 1,160 meters killing one person. Nine other miners were hospitalized with burns.

A total of 136 people were working in the mine at the time of the blast and 126 returned to the surface independently.

The operation of the mine was suspended. The causes and circumstances of the blast are being investigated.]]> Kyiv, Riga sign program of economic cooperation for 2012-2013 http://www.kyivpost.com/news/nation/detail/122222/ Ukraine Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:21:42 +0200
In addition, the State Agency for Science, Innovation and Information Support of Ukraine and the Ministry of Education and Science of Latvia signed a program of cooperation in science and technology, the State Agency for Investment and National Projects Management of Ukraine and the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia signed a memorandum on cooperation.]]> Lawmakers support Yanukovych's proposal not to introduce biometric passports http://www.kyivpost.com/news/nation/detail/122220/ Ukraine Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:58:16 +0200
As reported, the parliament passed this law on Sept. 23, 2011. However, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych vetoed it, saying that it carried the risk of violating the constitutional rights of citizens, and also violated international commitments undertaken by Ukraine.

However, the introduction of biometric passports in Ukraine is also a condition necessary for the cancelation of visas requirements for Ukrainian citizens travelling to the European Union.]]> PGO investigates assault on journalist of Reporters Without Borders in Kyiv http://www.kyivpost.com/news/nation/detail/122219/ Ukraine Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:39:37 +0200
Romaniuk said that while filming the illegal construction of a kiosk in Kyiv, which was being protested against by the residents of the district, she was struck in face, the newspaper Telekrytyka has reported.

According to her, the incident happened on the evening of Feb. 7, when unknown persons were installing kiosks near the building at 24 Svoboda Avenue in Kyiv. The builders set up kiosks near the building, cutting down trees and attempted to place kiosks on children's playgrounds and sports areas, the newspaper wrote. Some citizens protested against the building, including Romaniuk, who asked the builders to show her their building permits. After that, a fight started.

"I was videoing them on my mobile phone to place this information in the mass media and social networks. I said that I was a journalist, but I had no press card with me. The builders hampered me in all possible ways, blocked the cameras, snatched my mobile phone, pushed me and finally I was hit in the face by a fist," she said.
Romaniuk then complained to police. Kyiv police have started pre-investigatory checks into the alleged assault on Romaniuk.

Ukrainian Interior Minister Vitaliy Zakharchenko has said he will take the investigation into the reasons and circumstances of the assault on Romaniuk under his personal control.

According to the head of the public liaisons department at the Interior Ministry, Volodymyr Polischuk, the person that assaulted the journalist has been identified.]]> Polish foreign minister: EU lacking political will to sign association agreement with Ukraine http://www.kyivpost.com/news/nation/detail/122217/ Ukraine Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:17:04 +0200
Sikorski noted that high-placed opinion makers in the EU believe that the trial of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko was unfair, so the European Parliament was unlikely to find enough votes to ratify this agreement.

"The highest circles shaping public opinion in Europe are not convinced that this was a fair trial. And so, I just do not see where we can take enough votes so that the agreement be approved by the European Parliament," Sikorski said.]]> Music At Its Best http://www.kyivpost.com/news/nation/detail/122197/ Ukraine Fri, 10 Feb 2012 01:43:01 +0200
So did more than 3,000 people in attendance, judging by the applause.

“I think, for the first ceremony, it was better than we expected. The interest from media, celebrities and the general public was huge,” Zahoor said. He called the show “compact and dynamic.”

The performances will be broadcast Feb. 12 at 11 p.m. on Inter TV.

See Ukraine picks its best music

]]> Horror stories continue to emerge from deep freeze http://www.kyivpost.com/news/nation/detail/122195/ Ukraine Fri, 10 Feb 2012 01:35:08 +0200
Sometime later, her 83-year-old husband Mykola Demydenko went out looking for her, using a chair as a walking aid. He tried to drag her to the house, but fell.
By the time neighbors found the couple, Korinna had already frozen to death. Demchenko is now recovering from hypothermia in a local hospital.

This story, recounted by a spokesman for the regional branch of the Ministry for Emergency Situations, is one of hundreds of harrowing accounts of the struggle to survive in temperatures that for two weeks have been stuck below zero, reaching minus 30 C in some regions.

As the cold snap that has swept Europe enters a second week, the continent has reported around 400 deaths. More than 100 of those are in Ukraine, exposing the nation as unprepared for such weather extremes.

Critics are blaming the authorities for the high death toll, and parliament has summoned Emergency Situations Minister Viktor Baloha to report and answer questions on Feb. 10.

Health Minister Oleksandr Anishchenko revised downard the cold-weather related death toll at a press conference on Feb. 8. The Health Ministry now said 112, not 135, people died from weather-related causes. Anishchenko said the revision was based on medical facts, although his rationale sounded like a “they-were-going-to-die-anyway” rationale.

“Each case is re-examined and the autopsies are performed. Some of those people who allegedly died of hypothermia turned out to have other causes of death. Some had heart conditions that only worsened with hypothermia. Some had other diseases,” Anishchenko said.

Officials also blame the high number of deaths on high levels of alcohol consumption. Emergency Situations Minister Viktor Baloha estimated that alcohol was a factor in 90 percent of the deaths reported.

Experts blame the country’s poverty and dysfunctional state system, which doesn’t do enough to help vulnerable groups such as the homeless and the elderly.

Anishchenko shifted the blame onto regional authorities who “are not always willing to execute the decisions” of the central government.
But critics say the authorities were ill-prepared.

Their main efforts to help have been setting up more than 3,000 heated tents across the country, where the homeless and those in need can have a warm meal, hot drink, basic medical treatment and also pick up some warm clothes donated by the Red Cross.

“The government could have done much more. There are not even clear figures on the number of homeless in Ukraine. While officials say 15,000, non government organizations who work with homeless say the amount is as high as 800,000,” said Pavlo Rozenko, an expert at the Razumkov Center think tank.

Around 2,500 people have been hospitalized with frostbite and hypothermia, according to the Health Ministry.

In Kyiv, with a homeless population estimated at 12,000, hospitals are filled with the homeless, as the government urged hospital officials not to release them until weather conditions improve.

Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said he is “very concerned” with the problem, adding that police are picking up people who appear to be homeless on the streets across the country and bringing them to the heated tents or hospitals. The majority of people are dying outside Kyiv, which has seen only five deaths.

“Two people were found on the streets. One was a drunken man who froze to death near his porch as he was trying to get home. Another case involved a homeless disabled woman who was found in a manhole in Svyatoshynsky district of Kyiv. As for the other three people, they died in hospitals,” said Vitaliy Pshenychny, who heads the Kyiv division of the Emergency Ministry.

In villages and small towns, officials say it is mostly old people living remotely or those who abuse alcohol who die, often freezing to death in their cold houses, porches or yards.

Local authorities say they have little they can do to help.

“All we can do is offer for people to come and warm up at our hospital. We do not have tea, but can offer boiled water. Of course, if somebody is drunk or will fall somewhere, he is likely to freeze to death and nobody will see him. These are tragic accidents,” said Ihor Chekalenko, head of Hitsky village in Cherkasy Oblast.

As people in villages try to keep their houses warm, many neglect safety rules while dealing with wooden stoves, electric and gas heaters. According to the Emergency Situations Ministry, more than 100 people died in fires or from smoke inhalation since the cold snap began on Jan. 26.

The chance for more deaths remains high. Forecasters say the extremely cold weather will continue until Feb. 15, when the temperature might finally rise to minus 3 Celsius.

Kyiv Post staff writer Svitlana Tuchynska can be reached at tuchynska@kyivpost.com and Mariya Manzhos at manzhos@kyvipost.com.]]> BYuT soldiers on without its leader http://www.kyivpost.com/news/nation/detail/122194/ Ukraine Fri, 10 Feb 2012 01:28:38 +0200
Despite growing international support for her release, Tymoshenko’s Fatherland party – which leads in the polls ahead of the Oct. 28 parliamentary election – has been losing lawmakers in the nation’s 450-seat legislature.

In the September 2007 parliamentary elections, the Bloc of Yulia Tymoshenko -- or BYuT -- won 156 seats in parliament. Since then, the faction has lost 53 members who switched alliances, shrinking to the current 103 deputies. Three left recently.

While this is hardly a large-scale exodus, the party is showing signs of division from within as the months go by since her August arrest and October conviction.

“The problem of the Fatherland party is that it is based on one leader. When we remove the leader we see the removal of the frame which held the party together,” said Oleksiy Haran, a political science professor at the National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy.

Some lawmakers who switched from Tymoshenko’s faction in parliament to pro-presidential or neutral groups are tycoons. Quitting the ranks of the leading opposition party was a matter of survival for their business interests, analysts say.

Others are ideologues. Tymoshenko’s party has claimed that pro-presidential interests have been offering millions of dollars in political bribes to such lawmakers who agree to dump her faction in parliament. And on Feb. 8, longtime Tymoshenko ally Roman Zabzaliuk claimed to have produced first-hand proof of how such alleged political corruption works.

Last December, Zabzaliuk raised eyebrows in announcing that he, considered one of Tymoshenko’s most loyal lawmakers in parliament, had quit her faction to join the quasi centrist pro-presidential Reforms for the Future parliamentary group. During a Feb. 8 press conference, Zabzaliuk shocked Ukraine’s political establishment in claiming that his switch was part of an undercover investigation.

The purpose, he said, was to document how bribes are offered and given to lawmakers who quit Tymoshenko’s faction. According to Zabzaliuk, it’s all part of the attempt by President Viktor Yanukovych’s administration to discredit the political opposition and to lay the groundwork for electoral fraud in the coming parliamentary elections.

Late last year, Zabzaliuk said that he received almost half a million dollars for quitting BYuT and joining the Reforms for Future group from its eader and ex-BYuT deputy Ihor Rybakov.

In a statement, Rybakov refuted the allegations, insisting the recordings were fake and that he merely gave Zabzaliuk some money as a gift to help him get treatment abroad for a medical condition.

But to prove his case, Zabzaliuk, a lawmaker in Tymoshenko’s party, played an audio recording of conversations during a Feb. 8 press conference in which he allegedly discusses betraying Tymoshenko’s party with Rybakov in exchange for a payoff.

In the conversation, a voice resembling Rybakov offers money to someone sounding like Zabzaliuk for switching political sides and working to undermine BYuT.

Speaking during the press conference, Zabzaliuk said: “They offer money to sell your conscience. We are talking here about $500,000 in advance payment followed up by a monthly salary of $20,000-25,000 … plus bonuses for lies against the opposition.”

In one part of the audio recording demonstrated by Zabzaliuk, a voice resembling Rybakov is heard telling Zabzaliuk to get people loyal to the current authorities into election district commissions but identified as representatives as Tymoshenko’s party.

Admitting that he accepted nearly $500,000 from Rybakov as part of the would-be undercover sting operation, Zabzaliuk says that he will donate the bounty to Tymoshenko’s party coffers.

But Zabzaliuk’s story does not alone explain why dozens of former Tymoshenko allies, some considered very loyal, have quit the party.

One prominent politician who recently left Tymoshenko’s party is lawmaker Natalia Korolevska, known as much for her snappy sartorial style and good looks as for her political work. In a surprise move late last year, she joined the Ukrainian Social Democratic Party and was swiftly elected as its head.

The marginal party has over the years been an ally of Tymoshenko’s Fatherland party, and was previously headed by another Tymoshenko faction lawmaker, former deputy justice minister Yevhen Korniychuk.

Yevhen Suslov, formerly head of the youth arm of Tymoshenko’s party, and fellow lawmaker Oleksiy Lohvynenko, swiftly joined Korolevska’s party.

It remains unclear why Korolevska and others would quit Tymoshenko’s party, which currently leads in the polls, in favor of a little known party that is not considered likely to pass the 5 percent threshold needed to get lawmakers into parliament through the party-list mandate. Analysts and insiders suggest the move was driven by Korolevska’s ambition.

Oleksandr Turchynov, a former deputy prime minister who is now running the Fatherland party in Tymoshenko’s absence, says it takes courage to remain in the party because of the constant pressure and threat of political persecution from authorities.
“Not everyone can sustain the pressure and risk their lives and their freedom,” Turchynov said.

Political scientist Haran says Tymoshenko’s imprisonment will separate those who are true believers from those who simply joined to lobby for their businesses. “In the current situation it is hard for these people to remain in the opposition,” Haran said, referring to widespread allegations of political persecution of opposition politicians under Yanukovych’s rule.

Turchynov has long been Tymoshenko’s right-handed man. But his management style, allegedly an attempt to unilaterally run the party in Tymoshenko’s absence, has been criticized by some insiders.

“Some are not happy with Turchynov,” Haran said, adding that he is not charismatic.
When asked about divisions in the Fatherland party, Korolevska did not refute them, but added that she’ll try to have the problems “solved within the bloc.”

One clear-cut case of the divisions was exposed when part of the BYuT faction joined pro-presidential lawmakers in supporting a new election law that some critics say diminishes the chances of free and fair parliamentary elections on Oct. 28.

Turchynov supported the election law. Tymoshenko did not.

Kyiv Post staff writer Yuriy Onyshkiv can be reached at onyshkiv@kyivpost.com.]]> Son of president’s ally goes free in murder http://www.kyivpost.com/news/nation/detail/122175/ Ukraine Thu, 09 Feb 2012 23:18:33 +0200
But just as outrageous, according to those who have watched the five-year investigation into the case, is what happened to the three co-conspirators in Kryvozub’s murder.

The toughest conviction, for intentional murder, went to the youngest defendant, Oleksander Kudrin, who was given a seven-year prison sentence. Another accomplice, Serhiy Levchenko, was convicted of lesser charges, including kidnapping and concealing a crime, and got five years in prison.

The lightest conviction and punishment went to the alleged ringleader, Serhiy Demishkan, whose family has close ties to President Viktor Yanukovych.

The 41-year-old Demishkan confessed to the murder, but then recanted. In the end, a judge convicted him on Nov. 13 of kidnapping, concealing a crime and other lesser offenses, but not intentional murder.

Demishkan remained free with a suspended sentence – he was set free in an earlier trial on Dec. 29, 2010 when a Kyiv appellate court judge ordered additional investigation in the case. Ostensibly, the court granted Demishkan lenience because of health problems – he provided a medical certificate saying he suffered from cancer.

But critics think the true leniency came because of his connections to Yanukovych.

Demishkan’s father is Volodymyr Demishkan, head of the state roadway service Ukravtodor, and reportedly a hunting buddy of Yanukovych.

Serhiy Demishkan

The father could not be reached for comment, but has previously denied interfering on his son’s behalf. The president's press service said that the "president of Ukraine neither influences judicial sentences nor police investigations." The press service added that it didn't know the nature of Yanukovych's relationship with Volodymyr Demishkan.

The older Demishkan is believed to be a co-founder of Dom Lesnika, the company that owns 17.5 hectares of prime hunting ground in the Vyshorod District of Kyiv Oblast, near Yanukovych’s lavish Mezhyhiria estate, according to news media investigations. Yanukovych is an avid hunter and reportedly uses the hunting ground.

Whatever the reason, the case is being cited as the latest egregious example of injustice in Ukraine’s broken criminal justice system, where political opponents of Yanukovych are given severe jail sentences for dubious crimes while allies of the president get off lightly for serious crimes – murder included.

“This isn’t the sentencing of Serhiy Demishkan, this is the sentencing of the judicial system,” said Andriy Mamaliga, the lawyer for the family of the murder victim, a 62-year-old Soviet Afghan war veteran. “The verdict will enter the annals of judicial and prosecutorial arbitrariness.”
The verdicts and sentences were even too much for the Kyiv Oblast prosecutor’s office.

On Jan. 31, prosecutors appealed Serhiy Demishkan’s “light sentence,” its website read. “Grounds for appealing this judgment were the disparity between the sentencing and the severity of crimes. The High Specialized Civil and Criminal Court of Ukraine will inspect the sufficiency of punishment handed out,” according to prosecutors.

Questions were raised about the presiding judge early on. A TVi news report said the judge, Iryna Hryhoryiva, who ordered additional investigation into the case in December 2010 was later promoted to the newly created High Specialized Civil and Criminal Court headed by former Party of Regions member of parliament Leonid Fesenko.

A May 13, 2008 indictment approved by Prosecutor General Viktor Pshonka, then a deputy, sheds light on the crime.

Serhiy Demishkan confessed to police early on, reportedly drawing a map that located where Kryvozub’s body was tossed into the water.

According to the indictment, Serhiy Demishkan and Kryvozub were involved in a $46,000 business dispute over the lease of an airplane from Kryvozub’s company.

Kyvozub, the indictment read, was kidnapped with the intent of being coerced to signing a contract to hand over an airplane at a price favorable to Serhiy Demishkan.

On Sept. 19, 2007, following days of surveillance, the indictment alleges that Kryvozub was kidnapped after work in Kyiv, taken to a summer cottage where he was handcuffed to a bed inside a military vehicle, had copious amounts vodka forced down his throat, has his thyroid cartilage fractured and two ribs broken prior to drowning.

But the case was marked by testimonies that changed substantially and Serhiy Demishkhan’s recanted confession.

Yet, after reading the verdict on Nov. 13, Kyiv Oblast Baryshivsky District Court Judge Volodymyr Yeremenko told journalists that “there was no intent of premeditated murder…. They wanted to take him (Kryvozub) to a notary public … Maybe there was careless manslaughter in their actions.”

The Baryshivsky District Court also showed compassion by considering a medical certificate that stated Serhiy is terminally ill with a form of plasma cell cancer in its verdict.

Kyiv Post staff writers Mark Rachkevych and Vlad Lavrov can be reached at Rachkevych@kyivpost.com and Lavrov@kyivpost.com, respectively.]]> Ukraine missing chance to join Smithsonian Folklife Festival http://www.kyivpost.com/news/nation/detail/122173/ Ukraine Thu, 09 Feb 2012 23:05:14 +0200
Founded in 1846, the Smithsonian bills itself as the world’s largest museum and research complex. The Smithsonian Folklife Festival is an international exposition of living cultural heritage. It takes place annually on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

“It looks like nobody could get the right people’s attention,” says Morgan Williams, president of U.S.-Ukraine Business Council, which supported Ukraine’s participation.

A lot of people will be disappointed if Ukraine doesn’t participate.

Ihor Poshyvailo, professor and deputy head of National Center of Folk Culture Ivan Honchar Museum, visited the Smithsonian Institution in 2010 with the idea of securing Ukraine an official invitation to be involved in the festival. Poshyvailo succeeded and an official invitation was made to President Viktor Yanukovych during his first official visit to Ukraine as president that year.

The year 2014 was chosen for symbolic reasons, since it is the 200th anniversary of the birth of national hero Taras Shevchenko.
Ukraine’s government didn’t follow up on the invitation, despite reminders from the Smithsonian about an end of 2011 deadline.

Poshyvailo blames bureaucracy. “I personally approached the government many times asking if they are going to do this,” he said. “And I was told to go to Ministry of Culture, where they would send me to the Ministry of Finance or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. As I understand this whole thing just got stuck somewhere between the departments and nobody was willing to take responsibility of doing anything real.”

Oleh Voloshyn, spokesman for Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the Ministry “knows nothing about the festival.”
Hanna Herman, a top presidential aide, is identified by Poshyvailo and Williams as a key figure in the saga.


The Dalai Lama (L), Tibetan Buddhism's spiritual leader, greets Tibetan refugees during the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in 2000 in Washington, D.C. (AFP)

“I was in several meetings with [U.S.] Ambassador [John F.] Tefft and Hanna Herman where Herman told the ambassador that Ukraine would do this and not miss the great opportunity,” Williams said. “So much for what she told Tefft.”

When the Kyiv Post asked Herman by telephone about the Smithsonian issue, she referred calls to the Ministry of Culture and hung up the phone.

The Ministry of Culture gave this statement: The ministry “expressed interest in participating in the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in 2014, provided that suitable funding would be supplied. However, the Ministry of Finance found it inexpedient to sign the Memorandum of Understanding and made it impossible for Ukraine to participate in the Festival.”

According to the Ministry of Culture’s information, the festival budget is $1.4 million to $2.6 million.

The Kyiv Post has learned that China is applying for Ukraine’s slot, and that the first nation to sign an agreement will get to participate.
This means that Ukraine still has a chance, according to Folklife Festival director Stephan Kidd.

“Since 2010, we have been meeting with representatives of the government of Ukraine and with representatives of the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine to determine the feasibility of a Smithsonian Folklife Festival program on Ukraine,” Kidd said. “Although no decision has been reached to date, we are still very much looking forward to the possibility of producing a Folklife Festival program in a future year.”

However, apparently the Ukrainian government hasn’t set aside the required $800,000 for the event.
Williams and Poshyvailo say Ukraine will be the big loser if officials don’t participate.

“This festival could make a return of 30 to 1 on their meager PR investment,” Williams says. “They’ve spent $100,000 for just one Washington Post [advertising supplement], and it was here for just one day and then gone. People don’t remember things like that. But they definitely would have remembered a two-week festival.”

Moreover, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs last year spent $1 million on a program to improve Ukraine’s image abroad.
Also, Poshyvailo says that sponsors could have been found to come up with some of the $800,000 entrance fee.

If Ukraine misses the 2014 festival, it will have a chance in future years. “The Smithsonian Center for Folklife has great experience since 1967. It can distinguish between the country itself and its governmental bureaucracy,” Poshyvailo says.

Williams is not so optimistic about the ease with which Smithsonian officials will forget how difficult it is to work with the Ukrainian government.

Kyiv Post staff writer Olga Rudenko can be reached at rudenko@kyivpost.com.]]> Yanukovych tightens power grip by putting loyalists in key security posts http://www.kyivpost.com/news/nation/detail/122172/ Ukraine Thu, 09 Feb 2012 22:59:19 +0200
Dmytro Salamatin was appointed defense minister on Feb. 8, five days after Ihor Kalinin was tapped as the new head of the SBU, the nation’s KGB successor agency.

Salamatin replaced Mikhailo Yezhel, who resigned without giving a reason. Kalinin takes over from Valeriy Khoroshkovsky, who last month was appointed finance minister.

Under Ukraine’s constitution, the president can make government appointments without the approval of parliament or any other government body or agency.
Former Russian citizen Salamatin, 46, recently headed the state company that exports and imports arms. He has no military experience.

While serving as a lawmaker with the ruling Party of Regions, he is notoriously remembered for fighting in parliament on April 27, 2010 after Yanukovych extended the lease of Russia’s Black Sea naval fleet in Crimea to at least 2042.

Yanukovych called Salamatin a reformer, but critics saw other reasons behind the appointment.

“It’s very clear, the main feature of his appointment is loyalty and his readiness to fulfill any order,” said Anatoliy Hrytsenko, a former defense minister. “We cannot afford such appointments, which aren’t normal in European states. Such people cannot be former journalists or librarians.”

Oleksandr Skipalsky, a former SBU lieutenant-general and ex-head of the military intelligence department within the Defense Ministry, said Salamatin’s appointment shows that “creative or strategic state builders aren’t being sought after as candidates … Yanukovych is stepping on the same rake that his predecessor did by appointing people who aren’t competent.”

New SBU chief Kalinin, 52, was born and raised in Russia, where he served in the Soviet KGB. He had headed the state body responsible for guarding the nation’s high-ranking officials since April 2010, including the president.

Skipalsky said Kalinin’s father and he were career KGB officers “who were brought up in the Chekist traditions,” referring to the Cheka, a predecessor of the KGB.

Kalinin moved to Ukraine in 1992, after the nation gained independence, to teach at the SBU academy. From 2005-2010, he reportedly worked for a private security firm comprised of former SBU officers called Alpha.

However, Hrytsenko said Kalinin will find it difficult to go from managing 3,000 people to a state security operation of 35,000 people, and from “being a bodyguard to protecting the nation’s security. I doubt he understands the structure he’ll be leading.”

Political scientist Vadym Karasiov of the Global Strategies Institute said Kalinin’s appointment means he’ll be tasked with the priority of protecting the “Yanukovych regime” first and the nation’s interests second.


The measure, which replaced mogul Khoroshkovsky at the SBU, also is a political sign that Yanukovych has removed any influence the nation’s oligarchs can have on the nation’s security, defense and law enforcement agencies, Karasiov said.

“The oligarchs may have to start searching for alternative ways of influencing these structures. It’s a sign that Yanukovych fears betrayal from within,” Karasiov said.

Asked about Salamtin and Kalinin being former Russian nationals, former SBU Lieutenant General Skipalsky said that it isn’t a global practice to give key government positions to former citizens of foreign countries: “There is an element of alarm in these appointments,” he said.

Kalinin and Salamatin have yet to comment publicly on their appointments and roles.

Kyiv Post staff writer Mark Rachkevych can be reached at rachkevych@kyivpost.com.]]> EX.ua reopens; officials shy from piracy fight http://www.kyivpost.com/news/nation/detail/122171/ Ukraine Thu, 09 Feb 2012 22:53:07 +0200
The decision followed a backlash from hackers and citizens who in protest brought down several government websites, including the Interior Ministry and presidential sites, bombarding them with massive amounts of traffic.

Supposedly blocked outside Ukraine, the website is once again accessible to domestic Internet users. In an apparent bid to win over support of cash-strapped Ukrainians who have grown used to downloading Hollywood movies free of charge, several lawmakers stepped up in support of the file-sharing site.

In a public demonstration, Viktor Yanukovych Jr., son of Ukraine’s president and a lawmaker with the Party of Regions, sent a letter to Interior Minister Vitaliy Zakharchenko.

He asked him to check why access to EX.ua was blocked. In his letter, the younger Yanukovych said that blocking the portal without a court ruling will not solve the problem.

Human rights commissioner Nina Karpachova defended EX.ua, describing it as “the only form of access to humanity’s cultural heritage.”

Some lawmakers are willing to go even further in helping the file-sharing industry. Oleksandr Feldman from the Party of Regions on Feb. 6 submitted a draft law which might make operation of file-sharing websites safer.

If the law is adopted, then deleting content from the web or closing Internet access to a specific website will only be allowed on the basis of a court ruling. Feldman said that only access to specific content should be blocked, not the entire website.

“The problem is that Internet is developing much faster than our criminal code,” said lawyer Artem Stoyanov.

Despite the uncertainty, copyright holders can still defend their rights and demand compensation in court for any violations.

Some analysts, like Viktor Levandovsky, head of the Association of Internet Space Development, believe that authorities are often used as tools in raiding businesses and the EX.ua flap is a case in point.

“In the case of EX.ua, the case was falsified in order to change ownership of the website. And the police helped out in this,” Levandovsky said in an interview with Deutsche Welle.

Police deny such allegations and insist that their fight against piracy is genuine. EX.ua officials could not be reached for comment.

But Microsoft issued a Feb. 9 press release saying the company's illegally pirated software reappeared on the EX.ua website, despite the ongoing criminal investigation into alleged copyright infringement. “Management of the portal still lets users upload illegal content,” said Dmytro Shymkiv, general director of Microsoft Ukraine.

Kyiv Post staff writer Yuriy Onyshkiv can be reached at onyshkiv@kyivpost.com.]]> Yanukovych issues instructions on preparations for EuroBasket 2015 http://www.kyivpost.com/news/nation/detail/122143/ Ukraine Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:06:08 +0200
According to the document, the government's organizing committee must develop and approve an action plan for the preparations for the championship in 2012-2015 within two months.

It is planned to build and modernize sports arenas and other sports facilities in Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Lviv, Odesa and Kharkiv to put them in line with the requirements of International Basket Association, FIBA Europe.

The facilities will be put in operation not later than December 2014. In addition, funding will be allocated for the construction, investments will be attracted for the preparation of the infrastructure for the championship, security of public order will be ensured and medical services will be organized in the abovementioned cities.

According to the document, the cabinet has to develop a state program for basketball development in Ukraine within a month. By June 1, the Cabinet of Ministers jointly with the Basketball Federation of Ukraine will have to expand the list of cities that would host the EuroBasket 2015 finals according to the requirements of FIBA Europe.

The president also ordered Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Lviv, Odesa, Kharkiv city state administrations and Kyiv City State Administration to form relevant organizing committees, as well as draft and approve within two months regional action plans for the preparations for EuroBasket 2015.

The administrations will have to comply with the regulations of FIBA Europe, stimulate investment activity in this direction, and allocate funds for the preparations from their local budgets.

According to the document, the State Committee for Television and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine has to organize coverage on the preparations for and holding the EuroBasket 2015 finals in Ukraine in the media.

As reported, on December 17, 2011 Ukraine received the right to host the European Basketball championship among male teams in 2015. Ukraine proposed to host the championship in its largest cities, including Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Lviv, Kharkiv and Kyiv.]]> Poll: Most Ukrainians back law on smoke-free environments http://www.kyivpost.com/news/nation/detail/122136/ Ukraine Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:12:32 +0200
Regionally, this figure is the following - 88% in the country's eastern and northern regions and 78% in the western regions.

The law was supported by 92% of women and 76% of men.

A complete ban on smoking in restaurants and cafes was approved of by 77% of Ukrain ians, and in bars by 74%.

In addition, 94% of respondents support a ban on smoking in hospitals and clinics, shops, theaters, cultural institutions and other public places.

Some 91% of respondents stressed the expediency of protecting all employees of restaurants, cafes and bars from passive smoking in the workplace.

The institute conducted a nationwide survey of 1,000 randomly selected Ukrainians aged over 18 from Nov. 27 to Dec. 7, 2011.

The poll's margin of error does not exceed 3.2%.]]> Polish visa center opens in Donetsk http://www.kyivpost.com/news/nation/detail/122133/ Ukraine Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:46:05 +0200
The ceremony was opened by Polish Consul General in Kharkiv Jan Granat.

"A protocol on cooperation between the Association of Local Government Agencies in Donetsk Region and the Union of the Voivodeships (provinces) of the Republic of Poland was signed on March 11 last year. Five mutual visits were made within the year. In January 2012, our experts underwent training in Poland, and an exchange of delegations will continue. The opening of the visa center will further strengthen our cooperation," Kravtsov said during the opening of the center.

Granat said that this was the fifth such visa center in Ukraine. Poland is planning soon to open its seventh consulate general in Ukraine – in Donetsk.]]> Iranian Ambassador: Ukrainian nuclear scientists cooperate with Iranian colleagues at Bushehr nuclear http://www.kyivpost.com/news/nation/detail/122103/ Ukraine Thu, 09 Feb 2012 10:40:46 +0200 Over 65,000 people without electricity in Crimea due to weather http://www.kyivpost.com/news/nation/detail/122077/ Ukraine Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:26:37 +0200
About 200 food and heating shelters are operating in Crimea in order to provide assistance to local residents, and 27 of them are working around the clock.

Crimean non-governmental organizations also launched the work of mobile food and heating points that are operating at filling stations and in tents.]]> EU Commission denies reports of freezing of technical aid to Ukraine http://www.kyivpost.com/news/nation/detail/122066/ Ukraine Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:45:42 +0200
Stano said that the European Commission had not postponed, frozen or stopped the provision of technical assistance to Ukraine.

"Some individual assistance is currently being reviewed in connection with the need for Ukraine to fulfill certain conditions, in particular, issues related to financial management and macroeconomic stability. But the main assistance is continuing. We, as the European Commission, are planning to resume the allocation of assistance as soon as possible. What was written in Kommersant isn't true," he said.

Earlier, Kommersant-Ukraine wrote that a senior European Commission official allegedly stated that the implementation of all budget sector support programs, in which grant funding was allocated to Kyiv, had been suspended.

The main reason for this, the newspaper alleged, was the ineffective distribution of the funds provided by the European Commission.



×èòàéòå îá ýòîì íà www.kyivpost.ua]]> Polish minister: EU wary of Ukraine over Tymoshenko http://www.kyivpost.com/news/nation/detail/122063/ Ukraine Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:19:19 +0200
At the same time, Sikorski noted that it looked like Ukraine and its allies, especially Poland, which during its presidency of the EU had done more for Ukraine than any other European country, had not explored every possibility for establishing full democracy in the country.

The Polish foreign minister also said that during his country's presidency of the EU, Warsaw and Kyiv had made progress in terms of Ukraine's integration with the European Union, however they could have done more still.

"The fact that complicates, or at least does not help our work in the EU in this area (European integration) is the ever-increasing climate of mistrust with regard to the policies pursued by Ukraine. This is the matter of the quality of the trial of Yulia Tymoshenko," Sikorski said.



×èòàéòå îá ýòîì íà www.kyivpost.ua]]> Polish observers to come to parliamentary elections in Ukraine http://www.kyivpost.com/news/nation/detail/122056/ Ukraine Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:25:09 +0200
At the same time, Sikorski said that democratic elections were not just a fair vote count.

"Democratic elections aren't just a fair vote count - there is also everything around it, connected with the mass media and the institutional preparations for this process," he said.]]> Dzerzhynsk prosecutor's office opens case on accident at Pivnichna coal mine http://www.kyivpost.com/news/nation/detail/122054/ Ukraine Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:58:43 +0200
"It was discovered that the accident occurred due to an explosion of gas mixture without further burning. Ten miners were hospitalized with burns of various degrees as a result of the accident. One of those injured, a 54-year-old pitman, died. The work at the coalmine was suspended. Initial investigatory actions are being carried out," reads the statement.

One pitman died, nine sustained injuries on Monday as a result of a gas-air mixture explosion at the depth of 1,160 meters in the Pivnichna coal mine run by state enterprise Dzerzhynskvuhillia in the city of Dzerzhynsk, Donetsk region.]]> Russia bars imports of cheese by three Ukrainian factories http://www.kyivpost.com/news/nation/detail/122030/ Ukraine Wed, 08 Feb 2012 10:18:55 +0200
"To bar falsified products from getting to the Russian consumer market and ensuring Russia's food safety, documents have been signed to suspend imports of cheese produced by the said producers to Russia and its circulation in Russia, in line with Articles 9 and 16 of the law On Quality and Safety of Food Products and a government directive of June 2011," he said.

The documents have been forwarded to the Federal Customs Service and Rospotrebnadzor's territorial divisions "to totally remove these products from circulation as not complying with the technical regulations for dairy products and milk," he said.

Such cheese has already been removed from retail outlets as not complying with Russian standards in Moscow, the Oryol and Rostov regions and in Dagestan.



×èòàéòå îá ýòîì íà www.kyivpost.ua ]]> Ukrainians advised to refrain from trips to Maldives http://www.kyivpost.com/news/nation/detail/122010/ Ukraine Tue, 07 Feb 2012 20:06:07 +0200
According to the Ukrainian Embassy in India and Maldives, after President of Maldives Mohamed Nasheed announced his resignation on Feb. 7, the situation in the country sharply deteriorated, and at least three people were injured in clashes between the military and police officers.

The Ukrainian Embassy in India is continuing to closely monitor the situation in the Maldives.]]> Poll: Ukrainians alcohol consumers prefer beer and vodka http://www.kyivpost.com/news/nation/detail/122008/ Ukraine Tue, 07 Feb 2012 19:38:54 +0200
The most popular alcoholic beverages are beer (preferred by 45% of Ukrainians who consume alcohol) and vodka (41%). Ukrainians also drink dry wine (23%), champagne (18%), cognac/brandy (14%) and fortified wines (12%).

Regarding measures to combat alcoholism, most Ukrainians approved of a ban on the sale of alcoholic beverages to persons under the age of 18 (45%).

It is followed by health promotion in educational institutions (34%), a ban on alcohol advertising on television until 2300 (25%) and an increase in penalties for violating the law on the sale and consumption of alcohol (24%).

Respondents also strongly supported social advertising and a ban on drinking alcohol in public places (22%).

Restrictions on alcohol sale in terms of time (the sale of beer and other alcoholic beverages only in the daytime) are supported by 14% of those polled, and an increase in the price of alcohol is backed by 12% of Ukrainians. Equating beer and low-alcohol drinks to alcohol is positively viewed by 9%.

Research & Branding Group conducted a survey of public opinion about the attitude of the Ukrainian public to alcohol in the period from Dec. 4 to Dec. 14, 2011.

Data was collected using personal interviews in 24 regions in Ukraine and Crimea.

A total of 2,078 respondents participated in the survey. The poll's average margin of error is 2.2%.]]> Regions Party asks Ashton to convince opposition to join Constitutional Assembly http://www.kyivpost.com/news/nation/detail/122005/ Ukraine Tue, 07 Feb 2012 18:58:53 +0200
The letter said that on Jan. 26 Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych signed a decree on the formation of the Constitutional Assembly of Ukraine.

The authors of the letter said that "the Regions Party welcomes this initiative, which grants the possibility to implement all of the requirements of a new constitution on the basis of a national consensus and an agreement between various political forces of the country."

"In connection with this, we are very disappointed by the refusal of the united opposition to participate in the work of the assembly. We would like to ask you to persuade the opposition parties that work in the assembly is extremely important to bring Ukraine closer to the European Union and fulfill its main obligations in this direction," reads the letter.

In addition, Yefremov and Kozhara said that they are ready to discuss with Ashton "all issues connected with the project."

"We hope that the EU institutions would convince political forces in our country that participation in such an important project is necessary," reads the letter.

As reported, the Dictatorship Resistance Committee has refused to work in the Constitutional Assembly created by Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.]]> NBU deputy governor Krotiuk resigns http://www.kyivpost.com/news/nation/detail/122003/ Ukraine Tue, 07 Feb 2012 18:30:15 +0200
The NBU has not yet named the reason for Krotiuk's resignation.

According to the NBU, Director of the NBU's Financial Department Valeriy Prokhorenko has been appointed the acting deputy head of the NBU.



×èòàéòå îá ýòîì íà www.kyivpost.ua]]> Greece expects about 150,000 Ukrainian tourists in 2012 http://www.kyivpost.com/news/nation/detail/121989/ Ukraine Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:16:39 +0200
The ambassador noted that after he had taken up the post of ambassador, he had made every effort to simplify visa procedures for Ukrainians in Greece and the embassy is constantly looking for ways to have a more flexible approach to the question of issuing Schengen visas and improving discipline between the members of consular institutions so that they have a more friendly attitude to citizens who want to get visas.

"The number of issued visas has doubled since 2009, and the number of denials shrank by four times," Georgountzos said.

The ambassador said that 31,000 visas for Greece were issued to Ukrainians in 2009, while the number of visa denials reached 3,000, and in 2011, 65,000 issued visas accounted for only 850 denials.]]> Yanukovych says Ukraine should step up its energy security in 2012 http://www.kyivpost.com/news/nation/detail/121979/ Ukraine Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:37:34 +0200
According to Yanukovych, bills on the reform of Naftogaz Ukrainy, on attracting investors to the coal industry, and on a transition to a new model for the energy market should be submitted to parliament.

Among other priorities, the president named the development of domestic production based on an effective policy of import substitution and increasing export potential. In this regard, the president stressed the importance of the adoption of the law on state financial support of export activities.

Another priority, mentioned by Yanukovych is the development of the transport sector. He suggested that the Verkhovna Rada should consider the bills on regulation of railway transport and seaport infrastructure.

The president also stressed the importance of the implementation of new agricultural policies aimed at reforming land relations and the revival of the rural area.

"We're still to make the final and probably hardest step - to pass the bill on land market. And here we have no right to make a mistake," the president said.

The head of state also spoke of the reform of housing and utilities sector. In this context, he noted that the government prepared a series of bills aimed at promoting more transparent and civilized activities of associations of homeowners.

Yanukovych also said that the bill on the system of measuring heat consumption would be soon sent to the parliament.

The president also said that the laws on regulating management of house land plots and rent of municipal facilities should be adopted.]]>