USA awkwardly punishes Russia for Snowden

Another scandal is brewing between Russia and the United States. The USA has recently accused 49 Russian diplomats of medical insurance fraud in the amount of 1.5 million dollars. It was said that ten diplomats still lived in New York, while another one worked in the Russian embassy in Washington. U.S. authorities did not specify how they gained access to diplomats' accounts. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Preet Bharara said at a press conference that the diplomats, accused of Medicaid fraud, could not be prosecuted without the permission of the Russian authorities. It is worthy of note that Preet Bharara is denied entry in Russia - he appears on the so-called anti-Magnitsky list of 18 Americans, which Russia published in response to the American "Magnitsky list." The Russian list consists of two parts: "the Guantánamo list" and the list of individuals involved in violation of human rights and freedoms of Russian citizens abroad." According to Bharara, the U.S. State Department may ask the Russian authorities to revoke the diplomatic immunity of the accused diplomats so that U.S. prosecutors could continue working on the case. U.S. prosecutors accused 49 former and current Russian diplomats of obtaining obstetric assistance benefits under Medicaid program in an illegal way. Investigators claim that the diplomats were not entitled to benefits as they were not either U.S. citizens or immigrants and had incomes above the permissible level to participate in the program. According to Preet Bharara, the diplomats' salaries were much higher than the access limit for Medicaid. The defendants enjoyed subsidized housing and were exempt from federal taxation. Receiving these benefits, they supposedly acquired luxury items by Tiffany, Bloomingdale's and Jimmy Choo and went on Caribbean cruises, Bharara stated. Using their position in New York, the defendants filed multiple false statements to Medicaid, to cover prenatal care and childbirth expenses, he added. According to investigators, the Russian diplomats pretended being poor individuals, passing off their children as U.S. citizens. It was established that the criminal scheme was in effect from 2004 to August 2013. The Russian Embassy in the United States questions the validity of the accusations against the Russian diplomats. "We have heard of such allegations. Their validity raises deep doubts. All these reports, at least, need to be investigated," officials with the Russian Foreign Ministry said. The Russian Foreign Ministry believes that the accusations came as an attempt of revenge for issues not related to bilateral relations between Moscow and Washington. According to Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, the Russian side has many questions to Moscow-based American diplomats, but these questions are not to be discussed in public. "If American partners want to clear up some circumstances or details relating to family or private life of our employees in the U.S., they can do it quietly through diplomatic channels, rather than through the public sphere. We have a lot of contacts and opportunities to act so," Ryabkov said. The chairman of the Department for Applied Political Science of the Financial University under the Government of Russia, Konstantin Simonov, told Pravda.Ru: "It is quite possible that such stories appear in response to Russia's actions. Obviously, such an angry reaction from the United States could come up after Snowden's revelations that continue to shock the both Europe and South America. The United States has found itself in a very silly situation, and Barack Obama was forced to look for embarrassing excuses. However, the response from the Americans pales in comparison, because the affairs of the Russian diplomats do not mean anything when compared to the wiretapping of top politicians in Europe and South America. These are completely different things. This, of course, does not make a nice story about Russian diplomats, and the Foreign Ministry has to think about the quality of the diplomatic corps. We can see that such major scandals are usually instigated and are a part of media wars between the countries. Apparently, the U.S. is looking for a way to strike Russia back for Snowden, but the response has been insignificant so far, which is good, because it means that the United States simply does not have something bigger against Russia."

Putin: 'Attempts to achieve military superiority over Russia will fail'

Coming a little late, at 12:03 pm, on December 12, Russian President Vladimir Putin, in the presence of some 1,100 guests, began reading his message to two houses of the parliament of the Russian Federation. Putin delivered his Address to the Federal Assembly in St. George Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace. The date of this anniversary event (the 10th one for Putin) was chosen deliberately. Exactly 20 years ago, on 12 December 1993, the Constitution of the Russian Federation was adopted. Vladimir Putin was reading the Address while standing for 1 hour and 9 minutes. A year ago, it took him one hour and 22 minutes to read the text. For media coverage, 522 Russian and foreign journalists were accredited. The Address to the Federal Assembly was broadcast live on major Russian TV channels and radio stations. At first, the president congratulated the attendees on the Constitution Day and reminded all that the provisions of the Constitution defining rights and freedoms shall be inviolable, but the law can not be considered dead, as some changes are vital. According to Putin, "pin-point" corrections of the basic law are possible. Russian President Vladimir Putin said in his Address to the Federal Assembly that defense companies would be fully loaded with orders; as much as 23 trillion rubles will be allocated for defense spending. "The funds that we are allocating for the rearmament of the army and navy, to modernize the military-industrial complex, as you know, are unprecedented. The numbers reach 23 trillion rubles. In the next decade, the country's defense companies will be fully loaded with orders and will be able to upgrade their production base and create quality jobs," Putin said. According to the president, the defense industry employs more than 2 million people, and together with their families, the number reaches 7 million people. "Specialists of this industry will have stable, well-paid jobs, and hence well-to-do families ... I ask the Military Industrial Commission to submit proposals in this regard so that our companies could timely switch to the production that enjoys demand on home and foreign markets of civilian products," concluded the president. "We are already ahead of many countries in terms of defense," he added. "No one should have any illusions: attempts to achieve military superiority over Russia will fail," he said. According to Putin, Russia is concerned about the development of new weapons, including nuclear weapons. " We are closely watching the concept of instant disarming weapons. There is such a concept that is being developed in some countries. The development of such weapons can break all agreements that were previously reached," said the president. Vladimir Putin also said in his annual address to the Federal Assembly that the 2014 Olympics in Sochi and the 2018 World Cup would be organized at a high level. Russia will host the Winter Olympic Games 2014 in Sochi on February 7-23. The 21st FIFA World Cup will be held in Russia from June 8 to July 8, 2018.

Russia shows red flag to Georgia

Russia continues to erase trade borders with partially recognized republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Vladimir Putin signed free trade agreements with the authorities of the two countries. Experts argue heatedly whether the move opens new economic opportunities for the three parties and what to expect from Georgia and members of the Customs Union. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed agreements on free trade with the governments of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The agreements embrace all commodity groups, except sugar, alcohol, tobacco and (partially) diesel fuel and gasoline. The maximum volume of fuel is set for Abkhazia at 35,000 tons per year, and for South Ossetia - 50,000 tons. Russian experts had mixed reactions to the news, wondering whether these agreements are indeed beneficial to the three parties. "The benefits are obvious for Abkhazia and South Ossetia," the head of the Department for Caucasus at the CIS Institute, Mikhail Alexandrov told Pravda.Ru. Lower duties mean larger exports to Russia, especially agricultural products. Russia will receive more profitable business terms. Russia has canceled export duties on oil products for Abkhazia and South Ossetia, that will cut the price on these products on the domestic market. Naturally, this will be an incentive to develop their economies and improve the living standards of the citizens of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, many of whom are Russian citizens as well. Therefore, this is an absolutely correct and timely measure that everybody needs." However, we can not ignore the fact that Abkhazians and Ossetians will lose profits, which they previously received from the duties on imports of goods from Russia. However, according to the head of the analytical bureau Alte et Certe, Andrei Epifantsev, the republics will not suffer great losses, and the trade agreement will not affect the Russian Federation either. "The economic issue is not so advantageous to these republics, it is not so fundamental, because somehow these republics are financed by the budget of the Russian Federation," Epifantsev said in an interview with Pravda.Ru. "In South Ossetia, it is a lot, it is based nearly entirely on the budget of the Russian Federation. In Abkhazia, the figure is around 60-70 per cent in direct enumeration, plus about 30 per cent they earn on Russia, on tourists and so on. But the way of how to get this money is not so important. This money can either be sent under a federal assistance programs, or it can be counted to calculate that the money was obtained from the fact that one did not have to pay the customs duty. It does not matter much, the most important thing for the Russian authorities now is that Russia will support these republics in financial terms." One should not forget Russia's relations with Georgia that worsened against the background of Russia's recognition of the sovereignty of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. After 2008, business ties between the two countries were suspended, Georgian goods were allowed to return to the Russian market only a short while ago. Russian customers can buy Georgian wine, citrus fruit and famous Borjomi water now again. Will Russia's another move towards the republics, whose independence is a thorn in the side for Georgia, affect the relations between Russia and Georgia again? "Georgia has already expressed its dissatisfaction with the new state of affairs. But Georgia has to be realistic. Russia recognized the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The fact that Russia lifts duties neither worsens nor improves the situation," Mikhail Alexandrov said. "Georgia should come to terms with reality. It should build relations with Russia regardless of the factor of Abkhazia and South Ossetia," he added. According to the representative of the Institute of CIS Countries, the situation must take a new turn now: the improvement of relations with Russia, on the contrary, should contribute to finding a solution to the Abkhaz and South Ossetian issue. The only thing that pushes back the solution to this issue is the persistence of Georgia "in its negative actions," while it could take a friendly look at Russia and consider an opportunity to join the Customs Union, and then all these barriers could be eliminated naturally. However, one can only fantasize about the positive future of relations between the two countries. Georgian Deputy Foreign Minister David Zankaliani has recently said that the above-mentioned agreements were "illegal and contradictory to the principle of the WTO." Russian experts were surprised to see such a reaction from Georgia. They believe that statements from Tbilisi should not lead to negative actions, since the Georgians are well aware of Russia's position with respect to both Abkhazia and South Ossetia. This, however, did not stop the two countries from doing something to improve their cooperation. "Any of Georgia's plans to restore its jurisdiction over the republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia may materialize only if Georgians agree with Abkhazians and Ossetians. And if that happens, Russia will accept that. Both Putin and Medvedev repeatedly voiced this position. In this respect, Russia, by the way, constantly makes steps that promote economic and political development of these republics. These steps purposefully cause protests on the part of the Georgian authorities. These protests say that they have no other methods - they can do nothing else but say that they do not like the situation. But in practical terms, these steps do not lead to specific decisions to cause damage to our relations. Georgia has already tasted the benefits from resuming economic relations, and Georgia will not risk them by taking political steps against Russia." To crown it all, the specialist said, most Georgians are already disappointed with the United States. The people of Georgia would like to have Russia back, Epifantsev suggested. However, we can only guess what the Georgians really think of Russia. Tbilisi responds to Russia's moves towards South Ossetia and Abkhazia like a bull to a red rag. It is too early to speak about the membership of the two republics in the Customs Union. "Currently, this seems impossible, because it will be a step that will prevent the further development of the Customs Union. The countries that can theoretically enter the Customs Union have their own conflicts. If Russia tries to bring these countries to the Customs Union, it may complicate the relations with other countries. For example, if we are going to take Abkhazia and South Ossetia to the CU, Russia will then raise the issue of Karabakh. Armenia will raise the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh, and then Kazakhstan will have to decide what to do next, as the country has serious plans to continue pumping oil through the territory of Azerbaijan. Kazakhstan is strongly against it. It will raise many questions for Belarus, as Azerbaijan purchases arms from Belarus. What will Armenia have to do? If Armenia favors the entry of Abkhazia and South Ossetia into the CU, Georgia will pull the plug immediately, and Russia's border on Armenia goes only on Georgia," Epifantsev said. Thus, according to the analyst, there is no point in the integration of partially recognized republics into the Customs Union. Most importantly, there is no danger that Georgia may invade these republics. Yet, Taiwan, for example, serves as an APEC member together with China, because Taiwan is considered as an independent economic territory rather than an independent state here. The same option can be used in relation to Abkhazia and South Ossetia, experts believe. At this point, it is obvious that neither Russia nor Georgia are ready to weaken their positions despite some improvement in trade relations.

Terrorists declare war on Russia. Will Russia respond?

Two terrorist attacks in Volgograd, at the railway station and in the trolleybus, have taken the lives of 32 people and wounded more than 70. Russian law enforcement authorities, and, in fact, the state, had to face a serious challenge. Who is standing behind the bombings and what goals they pursue - there are no doubts about that. But what is the reason of the frightening frequency and the constant character of such attacks? What measures should be taken to root out terrorism in Russia? Suicide bombers do not explode themselves from excessive emotions or religious fanaticism. This is always a result of a well-planned operation. There are Western intelligence agencies and money from Saudi Arabia and Qatar that stand behind terrorist groups and gangs operating in Russia. "This is definitely the beginning of a planned action," Yevgeny Lobachev, a retired Major General of the Russian Federal Security Bureau. The expert sees two purposes. The bombings were conducted to destabilize the situation in the country before the New Year holidays and prior to the Olympic Games in Sochi. "A number of public and state Western leaders are now calling to boycott the Russian games. Every now and then they keep on reporting that someone else is not coming for the Olympics. These attacks are financed from abroad, most likely from Saudi Arabia, as the two Chechen wars showed. This is foreign influence, foreign control, foreign maintenance," said Evgeny Lobachev. "There is every reason to believe that this is the beginning of a large-scale operation to destabilize Russia. We have a lot of enemies who seek to undermine our credibility, especially in the run-up to the Olympics," Saeed Gafurov, the scientific director of the Institute of Oriental and African Studies said. He believes that the bombings were an act of revenge to the Russian Federation for Syria and a result of the flabbiness of Russian diplomacy. "Russia made several mistakes in the Middle East and in the Persian Gulf, where it showed generosity and softness in response to barbaric actions. We shouldn't have, for example, turned a blind eye on the beating of Ambassador Titarenko in Qatar. Officers of Qatari security forces received no punishment. It was a reason for war, and we just swallowed it. Russia said nothing when Saudi Arabia invaded Bahrain either," said the expert. According to him, the Gulf monarchies "understand only fear and it is impossible to negotiate with them." "They found this behavior as a sign of Russia's weakness and increased the funding for Wahhabi and other radical Islamist underground in Russia." Moreover, the expert said, the funding is conducted through public organizations that may not always be headquartered in Doha or Al Riyadh - some of them can be located in London, for instance." "Now, when it appears that government troops in Syria are winning the war, revenge to our country will only grow," says Gafurov. These opinions can be supported with the data that transpired in August through Russia Today and several Western and Arab publications about the visit of the chief of military intelligence, Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan, to Moscow. Bin Sultan said back then that he guaranteed safety at Winter Olympics in Sochi next year, if Russia made concessions in relation to its position on Syria. "Groups of Chechen fighters, who express different threats to the Olympic Games, are under our control," The Guardian quoted the prince. Apart from financing and administration from outside, there are internal Russian factors that create fertile grounds for Islamic radicalism and terrorism.The problem is not only about foreign funding, but also about our internal reasons, Alexey Filatov, retired FSB colonel, veteran of anti-terrorist group Alpha said. It goes about high level of social stratification and corruption, the expert explained. For example, the financing of criminal groups is carried out through taxation of local officials, who obtain their money from the federal budget. In addition, our police are too busy with less important things, like, for example, migration issue," Filatov said. These social causes, in his opinion, are the basis for steady influx of new candidates for suicide bombings, and it is highly difficult for security services to handle the problem. "One should also understand that in the 1990s, Russian security forces lost many professionals. It now takes decades to bring that all back," says Evgeny Lobachev. Political analyst Saeed Gafurov does not share such fatalism. "Terrorists' financial, organizational, human, logistical resources are not limitless. Fatalism, therefore, is inappropriate. We should improve vigilance. If we can not completely exclude terrorist attacks today, then we can make them very expensive. To do this, we must all raise vigilance," he said. The head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, does not share a fatal point of view on the problem either. According to experts, he solved the issue of illegal criminal groups by calling to enact a law that "infinitely increased punishment" for terrorist activities and outlawed all radical movements, parties and groups." Alexey Filatov believes that Russia should follow the example of the United States. "We need to do what Americans do. We have to keep tabs on each and every person. This technology that Snowden exposed - prevention and control - has a real effect. Metal detectors are useless. One should be able to follow the enemy, rather than prohibit radical movements. Metal detectors on all exists and entrances do not help, this is a waste of money." What other measures should the state take? It appears that Russia should strengthen diplomatic activities on the international arena, find leverage over Saudi Arabia and Qatar. One should prove facts, put up the question to discussion at international forums and organize diplomatic scandals. To crown it all, as Lebanese newspaper As-Safir wrote, President Vladimir Putin promised Prince Bandar to strike a "massive military blow" on terrorist training camps. Western analysts concluded that Russia was threatening Saudi Arabia.

Ukraine Opposition Calls For Mass Protest

KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukraine's opposition has vowed to continue its protests in Kiev, expecting thousands of anti-government demonstrators to gather in Independence Square on Sunday. Vitaly Klitschko, the UDAR party leader, said on Saturday the next day's rally would "question the authority of the president, the prime minister and the chairman of the parliament". Anti-government activists are planning to drive a motorcade to the residences of the three leaders and deliver a list of demands, including a call for their resignation. The opposition held a similar "protest drive" on Saturday towards the house of the country's Prosecutor General Viktor Pshonka when about 50 cars drove from central Kiev to the village of Gorenichi, about five kilometres outside the capital. Two days ago a protest was held outside the house of Ukraine's Interior Minister Vitaly Zakharchenko. "Our revolution is not limited to just Independence Square. Criminals and executioners of the Ukrainian people must feel uncomfortable not only in their ministerial offices but at their homes as well. It concerns not only Yanukovich and his Mezhegorye residence, this concerns every state official who harms the country, and each of them should know that we will come to where he lives," said Oleksandr Briginets, an opposition MP and one of the organisers of the protest drive. Start of demonstrations President Viktor Yanukovych has faced more than a month of mass demonstrations across the country since he decided to ditch an EU deal - that would bring Ukraine closer to Europe - in favour of forging closer ties to Russia. The rallies were galvanised by a brutal police action to disperse the demonstrators on the capital's main square on November 30, and the number of protesters reached hundreds of thousands. Pro-EU demonstrators have been occupying central Kiev but their numbers have been falling since Russia offered Ukraine a $15bn bailout this month. The holiday season has also contributed to winding down the opposition movement.

Beaten Reporter Planned Yanukovych Expose

KIEV, Ukraine -- Tetiana Chornovil, an anti-government protest activist who survived a ferocious attack by three assailants on Tuesday, said she was about to report on a previously unknown lavish mansion allegedly owned by President Viktor Yanukovych. Chornovil, who is also a journalist, for several years worked to expose alleged massive corruption schemes involving the family of Yanukovych and his closest allies. She once even sneaked into Yanukovych’s super-protected property known as Mezhyhiriya in Novi Petrivtsi to take pictures of palaces and other properties before she had been detained by his guards. But the new mansion apparently dwarfs and outclasses the president’s Mezhihiriya property, which is the size of London ’s Hyde Park . “The attack may have been caused by the fact that I had recently discovered Yanukovych’s new ‘Mezhyhiriya,’ not the one in Novi Petrivtsi, but the one in Koncha Zaspa that he has built and that is even more luxurious than the previous one. It only needs to be finished,” Chornovil told Channel 5 television from her hospital bed. Chornovil was attacked late night on Tuesday as three unknown assailants had rammed her car on a highway just outside Kiev . She tried to escape, but was chased and savagely beaten by the assailants. The new revelations may shed more light on what caused the attack on the activist, leaving her with a concussion, a broken nose and multiple bruises on a disfigured face. On the day of the attack Chornovil traced down and visited lavish residences of Interior Minister Vitaliy Zakharchenko and Prosecutor General Viktor Pshonka, both close allies of Yanukovych. She managed to publish photos of Zakharchenko’s home in her blog just hours before the attack. Pictures from Pshonka’s property have not yet been published. The ferocious attack was captured by her dashboard camera, while the video was taken and released on Youtube by opposition lawmakers and activists who had arrived to the scene before the police. The video captured the license plates of the black SUV Porsche Cayenne and the three assailants, leading to the detention of two alleged attackers on Wednesday. A third alleged attacker was detained by police on Thursday and is currently being questioned by investigators, the Interior Ministry reported. The name the attacker was not disclosed, but the ministry on Wednesday named Serhiy Kotenko as the only suspect at large in the case. “Police detained the third suspect wanted in the case in line with the investigation of the criminal case," the ministry said in a statement. Kotenko, who apparently owns the SUV that has rammed Chornovol’s car, was earlier reported to have been involved in a raider attack on a TVi television channel. Hundreds of protesters on Thursday marched to the residence of Zakharchenko that had been mentioned in Chornovol’s blog to demand his resignation. “Here lives the butcher” sign was put by the protesters on the fence along with Zakharchenko’s portrait covered in red paint.

EU ‘Should Offer Ukraine Protesters Lifeline’

BRUSSELS, Belgium -- The EU needs to offer Ukrainian protesters a lifeline if the pro-accession movement is to survive the winter, MEP candidate Stefano Mallia has warned. Mr Mallia, who recently formed part of an EU delegation to the nation-wide protest, fears the hard-fought stand in favour of EU alignment may be extinguished by the harsh winter cold and dwindling media attention. “The occupy movement is very well organised but there is a hidden sense of desperation. There isn’t much sense of hope and there are fears that the international community has lost interest. They need support,” Mr Mallia said. The pro-EU movement has staged huge rallies in Kiev over the past several weeks after President Viktor Yanukovych refused to sign an association agreement with the EU following months of negotiation, apparently under strong pressure from Russia. The protesters want Mr Yanukovych to hold an early election. Their momentum has recently faltered however, especially after a $15 billion financial package, secured by Mr Yanukovych from Russian premier Vladimir Putin, pushed the country further away from European integration and closer towards maintaining its traditional ties with Russia. There are fears that the international community has lost interest “The country has a longstanding relationship with Russia, especially President Yanukovych, who has toed the Kremlin’s line for years. The people, however, want a change in the way the country is run,” Mr Mallia said, adding that the protesters’ slogan was “change the system not the faces”. He said President Yanukovych was strongly against an early election. “Joining the EU will mean going through tough economic measures which will affect the country. We know what that can be like. The new Russian deal will see the Ukrainian President have enough money to make it to the end of his term without forcing any such measures. “An early election would change that,” he said, adding protesters felt that a relationship with the EU would offer the transparency and accountability, the country needed. Mr Mallia claimed the EU had played a poor hand on the Ukrainian front, forcing people to choose between Russian and European alignment. “The harsh accession criterion the country has had to meet was not coupled with the promise of membership. Instead they were looking at an agreement with the EU. They need a light at the end of the tunnel. They need stronger support from the EU,” Mr Mallia said. Mr Mallia’s delegation held talks with social partners in Independence Square – the venue of protests in Kiev – in an attempt to build a plan of action and offer support. “The square was safe. The only danger was that if something happened, say a police surge, then you risked getting locked in the square as they shut wooden barricades." “We held talks with all the unions and several members of the opposition. The only people missing were business leaders, who probably feared being arrested or ‘disappearing’,” Mr Mallia said, as he recalled discussions with Ukrainian opposition politician and former boxing heavyweight champion Wladamir Klitschko in one of the occupied government buildings.

Fresh Ukraine Protests Draw Thousands Onto Kiev Streets

KIEV, Ukraine -- Tens of thousands of Ukrainians have gathered again in Kiev in a fresh show of force by the month-old anti-government protest movement. Many demonstrators also marched on President Viktor Yanukovych's official residence outside the capital. They have been re-energised by a brutal attack on a prominent journalist, Tetyana Chornovil, on Christmas Day. She had accused Mr Yanukovych of corruption over his financing of the Mezhygirya residence in an expose. Mr Yanukovych denies any allegation of corruption and has called for an investigation into the attack on Ms Chornovil. "We plan to come out here until the day the authorities make changes to the constitution and limit the powers of the president," Kiev pensioner Tetyana Kornienko told AFP news agency, amid a sea of Ukrainian flags fluttering across Independence Square. Protesters then made their way to the Mezhygirya residence, some 15km (9 miles) away on the banks of the Dnipro river, by bike, car and minibus, where they carried a coffin to symbolise what they hope is the end of his political life, AFP reported. They were kept several hundred metros (yards) from the heavily guarded residence. Demonstrators first took to the streets in late November, angered by President Yanukovych's decision to abandon an association agreement with the European Union in favour of closer ties with Russia. Protesters continue to occupy the central Independence Square and have refortified barricades to ward off attempts by police to clear the camp - though such attempts now appear to have been abandoned. But until Sunday their demonstrations had been dwindling in size since they started last month, and there were fewer people on the streets on 22 December than in previous rallies, says the BBC's David Stern in Kiev. They appeared to be undermined by a deal Ukraine struck with Russia on 17 December, under the terms of which Russia bought $15bn (£9.2bn; 10.9bn euros) of Ukrainian government bonds. The deal also saw the price of imports of natural gas on which Ukraine's precarious economy depends slashed by a third. But on Sunday, more protesters returned to the streets of Kiev, many angered by the attack on Ms Chornovil, who says her car was run off the road before she was taken out and beaten by men. Graphic pictures have been circulated of her bloodied and swollen face following the beating. Local news agencies say five men have been placed under arrest but no motive has been put forward. Ms Chornovil says her assailants followed her in a "black luxury" SUV after she had been taking pictures of the residences of senior administration figures. "When you are struck by a luxury car, you understand that a price has been put on your life," the 34-year-old told pro-opposition Channel 5 television from her hospital bed

Ukraine Protesters Rally At President's Home

KIEV, Ukraine -- Thousands demand resignation of Viktor Yanukovych, challenged by more than a month of opposition protests. Thousands of Ukrainians have staged a rally for the first time in front of the private home of President Viktor Yanukovych, as more than a month of protests continue against the government's decision to cancel a deal for greater European Union integration. About 5,000 protesters rallied outside the president's residence, known as Mezhygirya, on Sunday, carrying a coffin to symbolise what they hope is the end of Yanukovych's political career, and chanting "Kiev rise up!" and "Get Out Yanukovych!". The residence, located 15km (9 miles) outside of Kiev, was heavily guarded by Ukrainian riot police. There were no initial reports of clashes. Ukraine's opposition and media have long accused Yanukovych of financing Mezhygirya with funds obtained improperly by him and his family, a claim the government denies. Vitali Klitschko, the leader of the opposition UDAR (Punch) party and world boxing champion, denounced the "corruption" of the elite in front of the crowds. "The authorities should not think that they can hide behind fences and not hear the people. They see how many of us there are and we do not have fear," Klitschko said. "The next time there are going to be a million of us," he said. Low turnout In Kiev, some 20,000 to 50,000 protesters gathered in the city's Independence Square amid growing anger over the brutal beating of a reporter, Tetyana Chornovil, who exposed the lavish lifestyles of Yanukovych and others. The turnout was lower than at previous anti-government rallies, which drew in hundreds of thousands earlier this month. Yanukovych has faced more than a month of mass demonstrations across the country since he decided to ditch an EU deal - that would bring Ukraine closer to Europe - in favour of forging closer ties to Russia. "The question now is what's next? The demonstrations seem to have run their course, and opposition leaders are relying on a new civil society movement to take the momentum started here, and turn it into real change in Ukraine's cities and regions," Al Jazeera's Jennifer Glasse reported from Independence Square in Kiev. "They'd like to force early presidential elections, which aren't scheduled until 2015. They say they have a lot of support and they'll continue pressuring the government in any way they can," our correspondent said. Other protests also targeted the homes of government officials earlier this week. On Saturday, about 50 cars drove to the house of the country's Prosecutor-General Viktor Pshonka in what was dubbed a "protest drive", while another rally was held outside the house of Ukraine's Interior Minister Vitaly Zakharchenko.

Ukraine's 'Euromaidan' Opposition Vows More Pressure, Threatens Strike

KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukrainian opposition leaders at a weekly antigovernment rally that attracted tens of thousands of people have called for continued protests and a national strike after the winter holidays. Udar party leader Vitali Klitschko was among those critics of President Viktor Yanukovych and his ruling allies who issued the appeal on December 29 on Independence Square in Kiev, which has been the hub of pro-EU protests for a month. Klitschko said authorities expected the "Euromaidan" protests that erupted after Yanukovych's government suspended talks on an Association Agreement ahead of a major EU summit in late November. "They expect us to tire and go home," Klitschko told the crowd, according to RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service. "But no, we will fight to the bitter end. We will not go away." The crowd numbered in the tens of thousands but was seemingly down from previous weeks. The parliamentary opposition signaled its commitment to keeping the political pressure on the ruling parties until Ukraine's next scheduled elections in 2015. "We are preparing to win the presidential elections," Arseny Yatsenyuk, the leader of the opposition Fatherland (Batkivshchyna) party told the rally. "We are building a team...that will be able to turn Ukraine into a European country." Yatsenyuk also drew a connection between the ongoing protests and a recent brutal attack on a Ukrainian journalist and activist for which five suspects have been arrested. "We have named our today's rally 'Solidarity Against Terror' -- against the terror that was unleashed by the authorities when they attacked Tetyana Chornovil with these thugs outrageously beating her; against the terror that sees 'Euromaidan' activists prosecuted and intimidated by the current political machinery; against the terror directed against those families that now see their children afraid to go to school," Yatsenyuk, a former close ally of jailed former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, said. Some Ukrainian motorists meanwhile demonstrated on a road near Yanukovych's Kiev residence, honking car horns and generally slowing traffic before heading toward the home of pro-Russian strategist Viktor Medvedchuk, who heads the Ukraine's Choice civic movement. There were no reports of arrests or violence. The protesters are demanding the punishment of those responsible for the forcible dispersement of peaceful protests that attracted hundreds of thousands in the days after the EU snub, the release of people detained in connection with the demonstrations, and the dismissal of the Ukrainian government. Ukraine, which is predominantly Orthodox, marks Christmas with a public holiday on January 7.

John McCain Blames Obama For Emboldening Russian ‘Bullying’ In Ukraine

WASHINGTON, DC -- Days after returning from Ukraine where he offered support to anti-government protesters, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., faulted President Obama for emboldening Russian President Vladimir Putin‘s “bullying” in the region. “In recent months, President Putin has pulled out all the stops to coerce, intimidate and threaten Ukraine away from Europe,” McCain said in remarks at the Atlantic Council in Washington today. “Russia’s bullying extends beyond Ukraine to the other so-called EU Eastern Partnership countries.” He blamed, in part, Obama’s handling of the civil war in Syria and his response to the Syrian regime’s use of chemical weapons for emboldening Russia, one of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s closest allies. “This pattern of behavior amounts to a Russian bid for a kind of quasi-imperial dominance over its neighbors, a newfound assertiveness that has only grown in the void left by the administration’s absence of leadership in other parts of the world, especially Syria,” McCain said. “President Putin has been emboldened by President Obama’s empty threats of red lines and the resulting loss of U.S. credibility.” Russia played an instrumental role in getting Syria to agree to open its chemical weapons stockpile to international inspection and destruction, after international investigators concluded that they had been used on several occasions in the course of the civil conflict there. In Ukraine, protests have gone on for weeks after Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich pulled out of plans to join the European Union and announced an intention to join the Eurasian Customs Union instead. McCain said that the quarter of a million Ukrainians, many of them young people, who stood in the streets in subfreezing temperatures during his visit to Kiev this weekend did so to protest the country’s widespread corruption and the creeping influence of Russia. “What membership in the EU meant was an alignment with Europe rather than Russia,” McCain said. “It meant an outcry against the corruption that now besets the entire country.” After spending more than two hours with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich, McCain said he believes Yanukovich understands that “to out of hand reject membership in the EU would have been a catalyst that would have caused real disruption.” In order to support the cause of protesters in the Ukraine who seek to be more closely aligned with Europe than Russia, McCain insisted that Obama needs to be clear-eyed about who Russian President Putin truly is. “This is not a man with a soul,” McCain said. “This is a KGB apparatchik colonel who has risen to the top of the greasy pole. We must understand who we are dealing with. “For us to believe that Vladimir Putin is going to give up Ukraine to the West without a fight and exercise many options, I think, is foolishness,” he added.

German Foreign Minister Tackles Ukraine Quandary

BERLIN, Germany -- Newly appointed German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier is already facing his first diplomatic challenge: The dispute over Ukraine's strategic direction, in which different German interests clash. A new foreign minister is typically bombarded with invitations from countries around the world. This is also the case with Steinmeier, who recently resumed at the helm of the German Foreign Ministry. But at least one of these invitations has special significance - that from opposition politician Vitaly Klitschko out of Kiev. Klitschko, who is mostly known in Germany as a heavy-weight boxer, is hoping for further political support from Germany. "It would be a great sign if Mr. Steinmeier would come to Kiev on one of his first trips, so he could speak at Maidan Square," Klitschko wrote in a guest commentary published in Germany's mass-circulation Bild newspaper. Steinmeier "would be the right mediator in this difficult situation." It came as somewhat of a surprise when Steinmeier took a position on the Ukraine conflict already in his acceptance speech: "It's shocking how Russian politics used the situation of financial distress in Ukraine to hinder the EU association agreement." From the European side, Steinmeier said it also must be asked if "it's overwhelming this country to have to decide between Europe and Russia." Two German foreign policy interests stand opposed in Ukraine. On the one hand, the German government is interested in tying Ukraine more strongly to the EU. This could allow Germany to better utilize its good relations to the second largest country in territorial Europe. Germany was among the first countries to recognize Ukrainian independence at the end of 1991, after the fall of the Iron Curtain. Since Germany opened an embassy in Ukraine in 1992, the two nations have sealed a succession of treaties covering topics from environmental protection to security policy. On the other hand, good relations with Russia form an important mainstay of German foreign policy. These could be strained if Germany takes a pro-opposition stance, since Russia is interested in bringing its neighbor into an eastern customs union and later a Eurasian union. Ukraine itself is split: Western Ukrainians largely consider themselves European. But in the eastern part of the country, the majority leans toward Russia. Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych comes from eastern Ukraine and has focused on good relations with Russia. Meanwhile, broad sections of the opposition have argued for greater convergence with the EU. Ukraine is being squeezed in this tense situation, thinks Ewald Böhlke of the Berlin-based think tank, the German Council on Foreign Relations. But he thinks that Yanukovych has also been taking advantage of antagonism between Russia and Europe. Yanukovych recently postponed an EU association agreement, and negotiated massive financial support and discounts on gas from Russia. Ukraine, which stands on the brink of bankruptcy, had previously sought nearly 20 billion euros ($27 billion) in aid from the EU. Böhlke described this as the classic "bazaar economy": "I'll take the best from both sides - that's the hope." Calm diplomacy and public support Böhlke said German foreign policy's task should be to mitigate antagonism between Russia and the EU through diplomacy. Philipp Missfelder, a foreign policy politician with Germany's Christian Democratic Party, shares this view. "We can't allow ourselves to fall into the trap of an either-or discussion here," Missfelder said. "We must work with and not against Russia to create a common economic space," he continued. But he added that Russia also has to understand that if Ukraine were to move closer to the EU, that doesn't represent a threat to its interests. Recently, Moscow reacted sorely to the previous German foreign minister's visit to Kiev. During his last days in office, Steinmeier's predecessor Guido Westerwelle shed the restraint typical to diplomacy by appearing among the masses on Maidan Square protesting in favor of European association and against the current Ukrainian regime. In a flurry of camera flashes, Westerwelle shook hands with people there, including Klitschko. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov criticized actions as meddling in Ukrainian domestic affairs. According to German magazine "Der Spiegel," Klitschko is also being supported by the chancellor's office. The Merkel administration apparently wants to build up Klitschko's candidacy against Yanukovych. In addition to this, the conservative populist party EVP and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, tied to Germany's Christian Democrats, have trained Ukrainian opposition parliamentarians and their staff. Stefan Liebich of Germany's Left party said it was "quite clear that Klitschko and his party are being supported." He thinks it's not a problem if German political foundations get involved in political debates. But he thinks this should not have consequences on Germany's foreign policy negotiations. "Neutrality is required in that situation," Liebich said. He added that he hopes Steinmeier will have discussions with all involved, including Russia and the EU. Steinmeier will be starting out in Poland, where he's to meet with President Bronislaw Komorowski and Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski regarding help for Ukraine. Steinmeier's Russian counterpart Lavrov will also be there - creating more opportunities for sounding each other out.

Ukrainian Tycoons' Shifting Loyalties

KIEV, Ukraine -- Most people associate oligarchs with Russia’s post-Soviet history, when ruthless men bought state assets on the cheap, built business empires, and made fortunes. But Russia isn’t the only nation whose economy is dominated by oligarchs. In neighboring Ukraine, about a dozen businessmen have a combined wealth that comes to more than a fifth of the country’s gross domestic product, according to the Kiev weekly Korrespondent. The Ukrainian oligarchs have until recently supported President Viktor Yanukovych. Rinat Akhmetov, who became the country’s wealthiest man by acquiring state assets in the steel, coal, and power sectors, helped finance Yanukovych’s 2010 presidential campaign, according to Yuriy Yakymenko, an analyst at the Kiev-based Razumkov Centre. Now, as Ukraine is rocked by protests against Yanukovych’s sudden decision to abandon a pending trade agreement with the European Union and opt instead for closer ties with Russia, the president’s support from the nation’s richest executives is slipping away. After boosting their fortunes under Yanukovych, oligarchs face credit ratings downgrades in the worsening economy and the possible loss of access to Western markets. “Once it becomes clear that Yanukovych has become a liability rather than an asset, the business elite will switch allegiance very quickly,” says Jan Techau, the director of Carnegie Europe. “They are thinking about their long-term financial interests.” Some of the oligarchs are showing sympathy for the protests. A newspaper owned by steel pipe billionaire Viktor Pinchuk gave outside journalists a makeshift office from which to cover the protesters’ efforts to topple Yanukovych. Akhmetov’s Ukraina television channel has given airtime to opposition leaders. Pinchuk visited the epicenter of the protests in Kiev’s Independence Square on Dec. 7, later praising the demonstrators for showing the “strength” of Ukrainian civil society. Petro Poroshenko, ex-economy minister and the head of Roshen Confectionery, Ukraine’s largest chocolate maker, addressed protesters in the square, demanding that Yanukovych sign the treaty with the EU immediately. With the signing of the EU treaty looking like a done deal, Ukraine’s oligarchs had been counting on improving their profits with better access to the world’s largest trade bloc, which bought €14.6 billion ($20 billion) of Ukrainian goods last year. EU rules “will boost the rule of law and make the business environment more predictable” for Ukrainian business, says Ariel Cohen, a senior research fellow for Russian and Eurasian studies at the Heritage Foundation. “For people who have acquired assets worth billions, this is about a provision of safety for them and their families.” The prospect of a deal with the EU is fading fast. On Dec. 17 in Moscow, Yanukovych signed several agreements with Russian President Vladimir Putin that will cut the cost of Russian gas sold to Ukraine by a third—a major concession by the Russians. The Kremlin is also lending $15 billion, on easy terms, to cash-strapped Ukraine. The Russian government badly wants to keep Ukraine within its sphere of influence. Spokesmen for the Ukrainian government and the country’s oligarchs would not comment for this story. Protesters in Kiev say they believe Yanukovych also made a secret pact with Russia to join the Customs Union, a free-trade zone that consists of Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan. If Ukraine joined the union, it would strengthen Russia’s political clout in the region. In a customs union, Russian oligarchs might also find it easier to stage takeover raids on their Ukrainian counterparts’ assets. The other risk for the oligarchs is that Yanukovych may lose patience and crack down on the protesters. That would signal that Ukraine is adopting the model of next-door Belarus and its authoritarian leader, Aleksandr Lukashenko, says Timothy Ash, the London-based chief economist for emerging markets at Standard Bank. Lukashenko operates a tightly controlled state, rigs elections, and locks up his opponents. The EU has imposed a visa ban and an asset freeze on Lukashenko and top Belarusian officials, accusing them of political repression. In the event of a severe crackdown in Ukraine, “the oligarchs would probably be nervous over the imposition of Western sanctions, given many of their assets are in Western capitals,” says Ash. He adds that a harsh suppression of dissent would further concentrate power around Yanukovych and his entourage. Protesters have gathered several times outside Akhmetov’s London home, a penthouse at One Hyde Park that cost about £137 million ($225 million). They urged him to cut all ties to Yanukovych, reported the Ukrainian news wire Unian. Like the other oligarchs, with the exception of the outspoken Poroshenko, Akhmetov has not made a clean break with the president. On Dec. 13 he urged a compromise and issued a statement about the demonstrations and police assaults on the protesters: “The fact that peaceful people took to the streets for peaceful demonstrations means that Ukraine is a free democratic country. Ukraine will not turn off this road. This is very good. But the fact that people suffered is unacceptable.” Now the oligarchs have to reassess their strategy in light of Russia’s generosity with Yanukovych and the protesters’ vow to keep going. “If the oligarchs are turning away from Yanukovych, it’s because they did the math and found their business model fits better with the EU than with Russia,” says Carnegie Europe’s Techau. Yet he adds, “The entire domestic scene in Ukraine is now in flux.”

EU Says Door Open To Ukraine, Not Necessarily To Yanukovich

BRUSSELS, Belgium -- European Union leaders said on Friday the door to a closer partnership with Ukraine remained open but not necessarily for the current Ukrainian leadership, which chose a bailout from Russia in preference to a trade deal with Brussels. EU leaders held a post mortem on Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich's last-minute U-turn, which dashed the bloc's ambition to draw a giant eastern neighbour into its orbit by offering a trade and aid pact to the former Soviet republic. "Europe is open for Ukrainian people but not necessarily for this government. That's the message," said Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite, who hosted a summit in Vilnius last month at which Yanukovich spurned an association agreement with the EU. European Council President Herman Van Rompuy said that in the long run, the EU offered Ukrainians the most reliable road to a "modern, open, independent" country. "What we see in Maidan (Square in Kiev) is a yearning for a better future," he said of protests demanding Yanukovich's departure and a deal with the EU. "The thirst for freedom will not disappear." Grybauskaite reflected the ambiguity in the 28-nation bloc about whether to offer Ukraine the ultimate prospect of EU accession or only an economic partnership that would stop short of membership rights. "Europe is open to the Ukrainian people, and any time the Ukrainian state is ready, with all conditionalities, to join the European Union in the future, or to sign an association treaty, we will be open for it," she said. While former Communist countries that have joined the EU see Ukraine as a candidate for membership in the long run, many west European states, including France and Germany, are suffering from enlargement fatigue and think any membership commitment to Ukraine goes too far. Ukrainian officials and diplomats in Kiev said fierce Russian economic pressure and the unwillingness of the EU and the International Monetary Fund to offer more aid and be more flexible prompted Yanukovich to change his mind. EU officials made the choice harder for Yanukovich by insisting he free his biggest political rival, former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, to go abroad for medical care. Brussels has also sent mixed signals about the amount of aid Ukraine stood to receive - between 600 million euros ($820 million) and up to 19 billion euros ($26 billion) over seven years. But there was no hint of introspection in EU leaders' public comments on Friday. OUTREACH BLOCKED The Ukrainian leader reached a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin this week on a $15 billion bailout and a big cut in the cost of Russian gas supplies to Kiev. It is not clear what Moscow gained in return, beyond the satisfaction of blocking the EU's geopolitical outreach to a country it regards as the cradle of its own nation. Yanukovich made no commitment to join a Russian-dominated customs union. The Ukrainian leader, whose Party of Regions is strongest in the eastern Russian-speaking part of the country, also had to juggle his own political survival and the economic interests of his family and oligarch supporters. Other EU leaders made clear they want to continue working towards a free trade agreement under which Kiev would adopt many of Brussels' single market rules, but they rejected calls from Yanukovich's government to offer more financial help. "Let's not give in to a kind of bidding war," French President Francois Hollande said. "It's not about paying more. What is at stake is that Europe is willing to help Ukraine with a trade agreement." Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians have demonstrated in sub-zero temperatures against the snub to the EU, calling for closer ties with the wealth European bloc which they associate with democracy, human rights and cleaner government.

Daughter Seeks Freedom For Jailed Ukraine Leader

KIEV, Ukraine -- As Russia’s best-known political prisoner, Mikhail B. Khodorkovsky, arrived in Germany on Friday at the end of a whirlwind 24-hour passage to freedom, the daughter of Ukraine’s most prominent political prisoner urged the president here to follow in the footsteps of the Russian president and set her mother free. “He really should follow this example,” Evgenia Tymoshenko, the daughter of former Prime Minister Yulia V. Tymoshenko, said in an interview, referring to the Ukrainian president, Viktor F. Yanukovich. “He has the power to pardon, to sign the decree, even without her request.” Yulia Tymoshenko, who, like Mr. Khodorkovsky, made her fortune from the disintegration of the former Soviet energy network, was jailed two years ago on what her supporters have said are blatant political charges brought after Mr. Yanukovich defeated her in elections for Ukraine’s presidency in 2010. Ms. Tymoshenko, 53, was supposed to get out of a prison hospital and fly to Berlin for surgery on her spine in tandem with a far-reaching political and trade deal that Ukraine was expected to sign with Europe last month. Instead, Mr. Yanukovich abruptly abandoned the deal, and with it any hint of her release. And so on Friday, it was Mr. Khodorkovsky, the former Russian oil tycoon, who arrived in Berlin instead of Ms. Tymoshenko after being pardoned by President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. Mr. Khodorkovsky was flown on a private jet arranged by a former German foreign minister, Hans-Dietrich Genscher. Ms. Tymoshenko, who was sentenced to seven years in prison after being convicted in 2011 of abuse of power as prime minister, still leads the Fatherland party, one of the opposition groups that have led more than three weeks of popular protest against Mr. Yanukovich for refusing to sign the deal with Europe. Two giant photographs of the imprisoned woman, with her trademark braided blond hair, hang from a giant Christmas tree in Independence Square in Kiev, the capital, where at times hundreds of thousands have braved the cold to protest. Not everyone believes that the images of Ms. Tymoshenko should hang so prominently over the protests, which surprised even opposition leaders when they began in late November. Ms. Tymoshenko’s daughter, speaking fluent English, acknowledged that the Ukrainian people had led the protests, but emphasized that her mother had been among the first to raise broad doubts that Ukraine’s president, a difficult negotiating partner for both Europe and Moscow in the past, would sign the European agreement. “Now it’s very clear, and it was clear for my mother much before that, that he will not sign the agreement,” Evgenia Tymoshenko said. The surprise emergence of the protest movement “mixed up the cards for Yanukovich,” she said. “Really what he was doing was just playing poker, trying to bluff, bargain and betray people without caring.” Mr. Yanukovich is clearly now trying to reassert his authority in Ukraine, and to use a promised $15 billion loan from Russia to pay pensions and other social expenses as he heads toward presidential elections in early 2015. The protests suggest that many, if not most, of the 46 million citizens see their future more with Europe than with Russia. During a brief walk for photographers through the protest on Friday, Ms. Tymoshenko attracted relatively little attention. But among those who sought to have their pictures taken with her was Mykhaylo Zinko, 35, a miner from the Lviv region of western Ukraine. He was in a hurry to catch a train home to see his wife, who gave birth three days ago to their third child, a daughter. “We have to stand to the end,” he said. Many of the protesters say they are in the square to secure a better future for their children or grandchildren. The protests have highlighted the depth of popular disgust with corrupt leaders and oligarchs who steer Ukraine’s politics without being held to account by squabbling politicians and weak institutions. Three former presidents have set up round-table talks to resolve the crisis. They held their second meeting on Friday and heard a sketchy account of the agreements reached with Moscow this week. One former president, Leonid D. Kuchma, had already made up his mind. Mr. Putin, he told reporters, “never practiced charity, and never will.” Leaders of the European Union’s 28 member countries, meeting in Brussels, said Friday that they still wanted Ukraine to sign the deal as soon as it was ready. Unnerved by a growing wave of skepticism across much of Europe about the direction and purpose of the European Union, officials in Brussels have been left deeply frustrated by the Ukrainian leadership’s tilt toward Russia, but also heartened by the pro-European fervor of protesters. “When we see European flags in the streets of Ukraine in a very cold temperature, we can’t resist saying it’s part of the European family,” said José Manuel Barroso, the president of the European Commission, the union’s Brussels-based executive branch. Leaders signaled that the door was still open but offered no concrete incentives to compete with Mr. Putin’s pledge to lend Ukraine $15 billion and steeply discount natural gas prices. Europe has made it clear that it will not engage in a bidding war for Ukraine’s affections, and has instead suggested that a deal is impossible as long as the current leadership in Kiev is in power. President Dalia Grybauskaite of Lithuania, which holds the bloc’s rotating presidency, said: “Europe is open for Ukrainian people, but not necessarily for this government. That’s the message.” In their final statement, leaders called for “restraint” by Ukrainian authorities in their handling of protesters and also took an oblique swipe at Russia, saying Europe’s leaders emphasize “the right of all sovereign states to make their own foreign policy without undue external pressure.”

Georgian Journalist Barred From Entering Ukraine

KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukrainian authorities have refused entry to a Georgian journalist. Davit Kakulia, a journalist from Georgia's Rustavi 2 television station, was briefly detained by border guards upon arrival in Kiev airport and deported on December 20, according to Rustavi 2 director Nika Gvaramia. Kakulia was also informed by Ukrainian border guards that he was banned by the security services from entering Ukraine for one year for "suspicious activities." Kakulia was covering pro-EU demonstrations in Kiev that started last month following the rejection of a key association deal by the Ukrainian government. Last week, Ukraine's Security and Immigration Services ordered two Georgian journalists from the Tabula television channel to leave the country within 24 hours. Tabula has been running live coverage from Kiev of the standoff between police and pro-EU protesters.

I.M.F. Criticizes Ukraine Plan For Economy

WASHINGTON, DC -- The International Monetary Fund issued on Thursday a scathing report on Ukraine’s financial situation, saying that the government of President Viktor F. Yanukovich had largely abandoned much-needed economic reforms that it had agreed to undertake as part of a deal in 2010 that provided more than $15 billion in loans. The report suggests that Russia’s offer this week to rescue Ukraine with another $15 billion in loans and a sharp discount on natural gas prices could be far riskier than President Vladimir V. Putin has suggested. Mr. Putin announced on Tuesday that Russia would use $15 billion from its national welfare fund to buy Ukrainian euro bonds, and that Gazprom, Russia’s state-controlled energy company, would reduce the price of gas to $268.50 per 1,000 cubic meters, from the current $395 to $410, saving Ukraine about $2 billion a year. Ukraine is facing an increasingly severe economic crisis and had been in talks with the I.M.F. for additional aid. Those talks broke off in large part because Mr. Yanukovich and other officials said they found the required terms too onerous. Those terms included increases in household utility rates and limits on government spending. The bailout from Russia, which Mr. Putin described at a news conference on Thursday as a gesture toward a “brotherly” country, comes without the requirements demanded by the I.M.F. That, however, could come back to haunt the Kremlin. The I.M.F. has said that without comprehensive reforms, including some tough austerity measures, any money provided to the Ukrainian government would essentially be thrown into a black hole. Mr. Yanukovich’s refusal last month to sign far-reaching political and free trade agreements with the European Union also set off a political crisis, in which thousands of protesters occupied Independence Square and several government buildings in Kiev, the capital. At the news conference, Mr. Putin insisted that Russia had made a safe investment. The $15 billion “will be paid back,” he said. “I want to remind you once again that we will earn 5 percent, and the bonds will be placed on the Irish Stock Exchange. I think the transaction will be done in line with British law, so it is protected. I do not see it as wasting money on our part. And, of course, it will be tangible support for our Ukrainian friends.” In its report, the I.M.F. said it would most likely recommend less money to Ukraine in the future as a result of its poor track record. Based on its experience with Ukraine on the 2010 loan deal, the fund also suggested creating a new mechanism for canceling programs that go badly, particularly in cases like Ukraine’s where the government is to blame. “The program quickly went off track as the authorities stopped implementing the agreed policies,” the fund wrote in a statement summarizing the results of a discussion about Ukraine at a board meeting earlier this week. So far, Ukraine is current in its payments on the 2010 loans, but the I.M.F. severely chastised the Ukrainian government for excessive spending while it faced a recession. “Large pension and wage increases, generous energy subsidies and soccer cup spending led to a widening of the combined deficit of the general government and the state-owned company Naftogaz,” the organization wrote. The I.M.F. had demanded serious changes.“Directors recommended the authorities implement a package of comprehensive policy adjustments in several areas, including curtailing the fiscal and external account deficits, phasing out energy subsidies, strengthening the banking sector and improving the external competitiveness of the company,” the report said. Some of Ukraine’s most serious problems appear to be in the energy sector. The discounts on natural gas from Russia, while aiding the Ukrainian government’s bottom line, may only worsen the overall challenges of excessive energy use and a distortion of energy subsidies, especially for households. The I.M.F. strongly urged increases in utility rates, combined with aid to protect impoverished families. “Upfront, meaningful and broad-based tariff increases are essential,” its report said. The I.M.F. said it expected Ukraine to emerge from a recession in 2014, but it also issued a stark warning: “This outlook is subject to significant risks, emanating from the inconsistent policy mix, and heightened political and economic uncertainty in recent weeks.”

Ukraine Protesters To Keep Up Pressure

KIEV, Ukraine -- Anti-government protesters have continued to occupy Kiev's Independence Square, a day after European leaders made renewed calls on Ukraine to sign a cooperation deal. Protesters on Saturday night demanded President Viktor Yanukovych's resignation over his decision to snub the agreement, in favour of closer ties with Moscow. Al Jazeera's Jennifer Glasse, reporting from Kiev, said the protesters are gearing up for a larger protest planned on Sunday. "This protest is in full strength and the numbers are growing," Glasse said. "The real question is, how many people will show up on Sunday, when organisers have asked them to come out in big numbers. Organisers also vowed to stay at the square "for as long as it takes" to get what they want from President Yanukovych, she said. President Yanukovych have so far rejected their demands. Last Tuesday, he signed an agreement with Russian Vladimir Putin, for Russia to buy $15 billion of Ukrainian bonds and to reduce by about one-third the price it pays for Russian gas supplies. Merkel's plea The rallies were galvanised by a brutal police action to disperse the demonstrators on the capital's main square on November 30th, and the number of protesters reached hundreds of thousands. On Friday, the country's top prosecutor defended the police actions against the protesters. General Viktor Pshonka sought to turn the tables on the opposition, saying radical nationalist groups were to blame for provocations on the square. However, his comments came a day after parliament passed a bill granting amnesty to the anti-government demonstrators arrested during the government crackdown on November 30th. That has led some protesters like Vasyl Voznyak to believe momentum is beginning to turn, however gradually. "We're waiting for some positive movements, they are going very slowly," he said. "There was a decision for amnesty of our arrested guys, another decision will come soon to stop political chasing. There are some achievements." German Chancellor Angela Merkel has also now added her voice to those calling for the peaceful protests to continue with no further threat of a crackdown.

Russia-Ukraine: Fraternity Test

KIEV, Ukraine -- On November 28, in a ceremony at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Sergei Glaziev, a policy adviser to Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, was declared man of 2013 by the Russian Biographical Institute. Mr Glaziev had “helped return Ukraine to a common economic area with Russia,” said the institute. The Ukrainian-born and Russian-educated economist and politician was one of the main reasons why EU leaders were so crestfallen when they gathered in Vilnius on the same day. They had intended to crown their summit by signing an agreement for Ukraine’s association with the EU. But Viktor Yanukovich, Ukraine’s president, aborted the deal just a week before. It was Mr Glaziev who, in weeks of talks in Moscow, Kiev and Sochi, helped convince Mr Yanukovich’s government to shun the EU’s overtures. The award to Mr Putin’s fixer shows just how important Ukraine is seen to be in Moscow. “To them, Ukraine is a trophy in a fight that is somehow about everything – geopolitics, economic influence, patriotism, national identity, religion, and moral values,” says a European diplomat in Moscow. In the run-up to the Vilnius summit, the Russian government argued that it would be forced to close its markets to Ukraine if Kiev struck a deal with Brussels because Ukrainian companies would be unable to compete in EU markets and would flood Russia with inferior products instead. But Mr Putin has made it very clear that Ukraine means much more than that to Russia – and himself. Asked during his annual marathon press conference on Thursday why Russia bailed Ukraine out and how much he was ready to pay to keep its southwestern neighbour out of the EU’s embrace for good, Mr Putin said the decision had been taken for political, economic and pragmatic reasons. “Let me tell you absolutely seriously and without any irony that we often use the phrases ‘fraternal country’ or ‘fraternal nation’” for Ukraine, Mr Putin said, swinging in his royal blue swivel chair. “If we really say that it is a fraternal nation and a fraternal country, then we should act the way close family members do and support the Ukrainian people in this difficult situation.” Those words are much more than remnants of Soviet rhetoric. According to surveys over the past decade by the Levada Centre, Russia’s most respected independent pollster, about 60 per cent of Russians do not consider Ukraine “abroad”. Far more Russians consider territories in the Northern Caucasus, which Russia occupied in the 19th century, as foreign. Such perceptions are rooted in history: in the minds of many Russians, Ukraine is not first and foremost a former fellow Soviet republic but the cradle of the Russian nation. It was in Kiev that the first Russian state was established in the late ninth century and its rulers made Orthodox Christianity the defining cultural base for an empire that was fluid, fragmented and multi-ethnic from the beginning. For centuries, control of Ukraine shaped Russia’s relations with Europe as it fought with Poland, Lithuania and later the Austro-Hungarian empire over parts of the territory. Now, this history is gaining new weight as Russia struggles to define its national identity and defend its status as a global, or even regional, power. Many Russian nationalists argue that Russia’s Slavs are a nation without a state. Unlike many ethnic minorities such as the Muslim Tatars or the Buryats in Siberia, they say, the Slav majority does not have its own republic within the Russian Federation. “In a sense, we have more in common with many people in Ukraine than with some people in Russia,” says Vladimir Tor, a nationalist politician. Such sentiment towards Ukraine “shows again our own problem, that we have no sense of shared nationhood,” says Masha Lipman, a political expert at the Moscow Carnegie Center, an arm of the US think-tank. This domestic confusion mixes with a sense of external weakness. Even though it stretches from the Baltic sea to the Pacific, Russia feels threatened and encircled. Since the break-up of the Soviet Union, its military and economic clout has been waning in relation to the US, which continues to assert its superpower role. NATO has expanded right up to its borders and a rapidly growing China is making inroads in Central Asia, once Moscow’s unrivalled sphere of influence. Part of Mr Putin’s strategy to stem this decline is a customs union with other former Soviet republics which he envisions will eventually create a common economic sphere stretching from Europe to the Pacific. However, so far only Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus are members. Kyrgyzstan has said it will join, along with Armenia. But without Ukraine, the concept is likely to remain weak. “For Russia, having Ukraine as a customs union member would be very difficult – I’m not sure the Russian government would actually want them in there,” says Fyodor Lukyanov, a foreign policy expert in Moscow. He argues that Ukraine, with its struggling economy and volatile politics, would threaten Russia’s control of the body because it was unlikely to be as obedient a member as Belarus and Kazakhstan. “But if Russia can’t even manage to bring Ukraine on its side, who will believe that the customs union can eventually grow into the Eurasian economic space Putin aims for?” In this sense, the EU’s efforts to draw Ukraine into its orbit have become a direct challenge to what Mr Putin understands as one of the pillars of Russia’s future and his own power. The fact that Ukraine’s association deal was to be completed under a Lithuanian EU presidency, and that politicians from eastern bloc countries such as Poland and Lithuania were the driving forces behind it has made him more determined that they have to be stopped. The moves by western politicians to declare solidarity with the Ukrainian protest movement did not help. The Russian government was furious when politicians including Victoria Nuland, the US assisatnt secretary of state, and Guido Westerwelle, the German foreign minister, made calls from Independence Square in Kiev to both Mr Yanukovich and Mr Putin to allow an EU deal. To Mr Putin, such interference is a threat because some of the solid support he continues to enjoy at home is founded on the perception that he is doing a good job in defending Russia’s interests abroad. In spite of growing discontent in the population about economic issues, his foreign policy is rarely criticised by ordinary people. Ukraine has therefore driven Mr Putin to step up his campaign to position Russia as a bulwark of civilisation against a decadent west. As part of this campaign, Moscow has passed anti-gay legislation that has strained relations with several western countries in recent months. Although the Russian government is keen to defuse this stand-off ahead of the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Mr Putin made a point twice over the past 10 days, just as he was closing the deal that confirmed Ukraine was turning away from the EU. Russia’s foreign policy, the president made clear, would be led by a will to defend its own conservative values. “Today, many nations are revising their moral values and ethical norms, eroding ethnic traditions and differences between peoples and cultures. Society is now required not only to recognise everyone’s right to the freedom of consciousness, political views and privacy, but also to accept without question the equality of good and evil,” he said. The values he sought to preserve were some Russia had once shared with other Soviet republics, he said. “A certain ideology dominated in the Soviet Union, and regardless of our feelings about it, it was based on some clear, in fact, quasi-religious, values.” Despite this language and the overall sense of threat that has been driving Mr Putin in his handling of Ukraine issue, many observers believe that he lacks a strategy. “He is a very impulsive decision maker, and I believe that in this case, the main directive was just to stop the EU deal,” says an academic and former government adviser. “There is no consensus in Russia over what would be the best strategy to deal with Ukraine, and there will be lots more trouble in the years ahead because of their economic and financial problems.” Independent observers have warned that Russia’s suggestions that it wants to stand together with Ukraine against Europe is risky because they have nothing to do with reality in Ukraine. “[Russia] needs to confound the old – and false – dictum that it can only be great if Ukraine is safely embedded within it. In the 21st century world, this is particularly not true,” says Dmitri Trenin, head of the Moscow Carnegie Center. “The Russian Federation does not lack land, resources or even people. The issue is upgrading the quality of governance and the quality of the people, starting with the elites. Ukraine – take it or leave it – will not help.”

Ukraine Needs Europe, Not Putin

MOSCOW, Russia -- Ukraine is a nation torn between two competing influences: the European Union and Vladimir Putin. Step by step, Ukraine has been slipping toward Russia’s orbit. Recently, the pro-Putin president, Viktor Yanukovych, took a large step toward hitching his country’s cart to Russia’s horse (err, bear): The government has rejected a free trade agreement with the EU, sparking massive protests that drew some 300,000 angry protesters to the streets. Many of the protesters took over public areas, such as Independence Square and the Cabinet Ministry in the capital city, Kiev. The animosity is understandable. Russia has a long, sordid history of meddling in Ukrainian affairs. In the early 1930s, the Soviet Union, under the leadership of Joseph Stalin, purposefully starved three to six million Ukrainians in what has since become known as the Holodomor. In 2004, Viktor Yushchenko, a pro-Westerner who waged a successful campaign to win Ukraine’s presidency, survived dioxin poisoning – many believe that the Kremlin was involved. Then, in 2009, a dispute led to Russia turning off its natural gas supply to Ukraine. Russia sees Ukraine as pivotal to its economic survival. Because Ukraine and Russia already have a free trade agreement, a new free trade agreement between Ukraine and the EU would likely allow European goods to make their way into Russia. That’s something that worries Vladimir Putin. And history teaches us that when Mr. Putin is worried, people within his reach often turn up dead. So loyalty to Russia may not be the only thing on Mr. Yanukovych’s mind. Even if dioxin or polonium-210 isn’t on the table, punishing Ukraine with trade sanctions is. But now, Mr. Yanukovych has something new to worry about: a possible revolution. As the Associated Press reports: “Our plan is clear: It’s not a demonstration, it’s not a reaction. It’s a revolution,” said Yuriy Lutsenko, a former interior minister who is now an opposition leader. Prime Minister Mykola Azarov apparently agrees, saying that the protests have “all the signs of a coup d’etat.” For its part, the parliament held a no-confidence vote on Tuesday, but it failed. The future of Ukraine is with the EU, not Russia. Demographically and economically, Russia’s future is bleak. Mr. Putin remains in control largely through bribing enough Russians (using oil and natural gas money) to support his regime. This is not the sort of country upon which Ukraine should be staking its future. If it takes a popular uprising to bring about this realization, so be it. Early signs indicate that Mr. Yanukovych may have gotten the message. On Monday, he called the European Commission, which responded that the free trade deal would not be renegotiated. Even Angela Merkel rebuked the Ukrainian president at a recent summit, at which she said, ”Good to see you here, but we expected more.” So do the Ukrainian people.

Ukraine Leader Set To Return To Protest Crisis

KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukraine's embattled President Viktor Yanukovych was expected Friday to return home after an aid-seeking visit to China as his government tries to quell the biggest protests since the 2004 Orange Revolution. Unnamed sources told Ukraine's Unian news agency that Yanukovych would first stop over in Sochi for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin -- his third in less than two months -- but there was no confirmation of this from the Kremlin. Protesters have since Sunday controlled Kiev's main Independence Square in response to Yanukovych's decision to bow to Russian pressure and reject a historic deal with the European Union that would have pulled Ukraine out of Moscow's orbit for the first time. Thousands have surrounded government ministries and held pickets outside parliament where opposition deputies have paralysed work. Demonstrators have also seized and occupied the Kiev city hall, with hundreds spending the night there. The authorities on Thursday gave the protesters five days to halt their blockade of government buildings amid fears of possible clashes when the deadline runs out early next week. The political crisis has also dealt a heavy blow to Ukraine's already-struggling economy amid fears that the government may default on billions of dollars in debt and other payments that come due by the end of 2014. The yield investors seek on Ukrainian government bonds has soared along with the price Kiev must pay for insurance against a possible default. Yanukovych -- his economic assistance options dwindling with the rejection of the EU deal -- met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing and other Communist Party leaders during a four-day visit that was criticised heavily by the protest leaders. It remained unclear if he received hope of the urgent financial support Ukraine requires for its ailing economy. About 1,500 people occupied Independence Square on Friday afternoon amid signs from officials that they were prepared for talks but not the protesters' main demand of the government's dismissal and snap presidential and parliament polls. "People stand as before. No one is going anywhere,” said 36-year-old Zynovii as he guarded the square's tent city against a feared push from the police. Concern among protesters rose Friday when the body of an elderly man was discovered near the square. Medics determined that the unidentified man died of consumption. But opposition leaders fear that authorities could accuse them of resorting to deadly violence and then use this as an excuse to disperse the protest by force. Russia fumes at the West Many protesters said they have been emboldened by the strong support of US and EU officials they received during a two-day meeting of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) group that began in Kiev on Thursday. US Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland urged "the Ukrainian government to listen to the voices of its people who want to live in freedom" while German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle personally visited Independence Square late Wednesday. Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt also warned as he was leaving Kiev on Friday that there were "critical days" ahead for Ukraine. Bildt tweeted "that forces wanting Ukraine to abandon European road will not shy away from using violence." The West's blunt response to Ukraine's U-turn has outraged Moscow amid Kremlin efforts to reassert influence over former Soviet territories -- a region many Russians call "the near abroad". "How would our German partners feel if the Russian foreign minister went to some gathering that was being held against German rules," Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Friday in reference to Westerwelle's visit to Independence Square. "I doubt that they would view this as a friendly step or that this step would be proper." Sanctions against Yanukovych? Ukraine's jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko -- entering the 11th day Friday of an indefinite hunger strike -- has called on Washington and the European Union to impose sanctions against Yanukovych and his family. "Targeted sanctions against him and his family are the only language he understands," the former prime minister was quoted as saying Thursday by her lawyer. Tymoshenko party ally Arseniy Yatsenyuk and his two opposition protest co-leaders -- the nationalist Oleg Tyagnybok and world boxing champion Vitali Klitschko of the UDAR (Punch) party -- have demanded the resignation of the government and snap presidential elections. The opposition has called a new mass protest for Sunday at midday local time (1000 GMT).

‘Keep Fighting’, Klitschko Fiancée Hayden Panettiere Tells Ukraine Rally

KIEV, Ukraine -- The American actress Hayden Panettiere has appeared alongside her Ukrainian fiancée, the boxer Vladimir Klitschko, to deliver a message of support to anti-government protesters in Kiev on Friday night. Vladimir’s older brother Vitaly Klitschko, also a world boxing champion, has emerged as a popular opposition leader. After saying “good evening friends” in Ukrainian, the actress addressed the crowd in English while her fiancée translated. “There’s a movement happening here, and you have a chance to make things right, to make things just. You have a right to a democracy,” Panettiere said. “And as an American I want you to know that I stand by you, I support your fight, and I will support it until the country of Ukraine in its entirety reflects the beauty, the true beauty of Ukrainian people. Keep fighting. I love you all,” she added. Vladimir Klitschko said he believed those responsible for violent clashes in Kiev on November 30 and December 1 would be found. The couple announced their engagement in October.

The Major Players In Ukraine’s Protests

KIEV, Ukraine -- Thousands and thousands of people have taken to the streets of Ukraine since Nov. 21, when President Viktor Yanukovych announced he would not sign a trade agreement with Europe but would pursue closer economic ties with Russia instead. Not only has that decision touched off an uproar, it has brought out disparate groups of people, thrust opposition politicians into the forefront — and made new hashtags wildly popular on Twitter. The leader among them is #euromaidan. On Friday, Yanukovich stopped off in the Russian city of Sochi on his way back from China for a quick visit with Vladimir Putin, his Russian counterpart. That is bound to stir more disquiet on the streets of Kiev, Ukraine’s capital, in coming days. Here are some names and places to know as events unfold in Ukraine: Viktor Yanukovych, 63 He was Putin’s candidate in 2004 but lost. Putin came to dislike him after his comeback victory in 2010 finally made him Ukraine’s president. From the industrial eastern heartland of Donetsk, Yanukovych served time in prison in the Soviet era for assault. As president he has showered his immediate circle of Donetsk cronies with favors. Now everyone in Ukraine calls them “The Family.” Yanukovych maintained all year that he wanted to sign with the European Union, then reversed course at the last minute, after an unpublicized eight-hour meeting with Putin. The Russian president apparently laid out for him how much damage Russia could do to Ukraine’s economy and how difficult that would make Yanukovych’s bid for reelection in 2015. The protesters The crowds are large and varied, with many young people, but committed older ones as well. Many are pro-Europe. Others are simply anti-Russian. Thousands of others joined in to defend human rights, angry that protesters had been beaten. And there is a rough element — the protests have also attracted members of the nationalist Svoboda party led by Oleg Tyahnybok, some of whom hold anti-Semitic views. The terminology The hashtag #euromaidan has become popular on Twitter. Maidan refers to the square where the protests are taking place, with Euro alluding to dreams of Europe. Protesters are also bringing the word titushki into wider usage. Titushki are thuggish men thought to be provoking demonstrators on behalf of the authorities. Yuri Lutsenko, 48 A reformer who helped lead the Orange Revolution of 2004, he was interior minister in the previous government and was then prosecuted for embezzlement and abuse of office as soon as Yanukovych , the loser in 2004, won the presidency in 2010. His case was one of those that brought sharp criticism of Ukraine’s “selective justice” from leaders in the E.U. and the United States. He served a little more than two years in prison before Yanukovych pardoned him in April of this year. Acknowledging that millions of Ukrainians were disillusioned by the aftermath of the Orange Revolution, Lutsenko today argues that the time has come to do it right. Arseny Yatsenyuk, 39 He is the leader of the parliamentary faction of Fatherland Party. This is the party founded by Yulia Tymoshenko, the former prime minister now in prison. Yatsenyuk was at various times minister of economy and foreign minister under Tymoshenko. Yatsenyuk has always cast himself as a principled reformer, and at times was at odds with Tymoshenko over questions of policy and politics. He ran against her and Yanukovych for president in 2010. Vitaly Klitschko , 42 The former WBO and WBC heavyweight champion, he had a knockout-to-bout ratio second only to Rocky Marciano’s. Now he’s in politics, and his party is called UDAR, which means “punch.” Klitschko has no association with the Orange Revolution or the unpopular governments that followed it, but he is a ferocious critic of Yanukovych. As early as September, Klitschko was challenging Yanukovych to resign if he wouldn’t sign the agreement with the E.U. Yulia Tymoshenko, 54 Currently in a prison hospital , the former prime minister decided Friday to end a hunger strike that she started to protest the failure to sign with the E.U. She was convicted of abuse of office in 2011. The E.U., again citing “selective justice,” has demanded that she be released. Yanukovych can’t bring himself to do it. Wildly popular when she dramatically became the personification of the Orange Revolution nine years ago, her two stints as prime minister were troubled and complicated. Her supporters are passionate. So are her detractors. Three former presidents Leonid Kravchuk, Leonid Kuchma and Viktor Yushchenko issued a joint statement sympathizing with the protests and warning that the government is losing control of the situation. But none of them commands a significant following among the public. Kuchma, however, is the father-in-law of the powerful business tycoon Viktor Pinchuk, whose opposition to Yanukovych’s government would be consequential. Patriarch Filaret The head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has put his moral authority behind the protesters. When riot police beat and pursued a group of demonstrators, Orthodox monks gave them sanctuary in a historic monastery. Filaret, wary of domination by Russia and its Orthodox Church, favors closer ties with Europe. The oligarchs Ukraine’s chief business leaders have had their quarrels with Yanukovych, who has been partial to his own business associates. Pinchuk is perhaps the most outspoken. Dmytro Firtash is deeply involved in the natural gas business and deeply hostile to Tymoshenko. American diplomats have suggested that he has criminal ties. He should be a natural ally of Yanukovych, but reports have linked him to the UDAR party. UDAR denies this. Rinat Akhmetov, a coal baron from the Donetsk region, was closest to Yanukovych, but last year he retreated from politics, apparently in an effort to upgrade his image.

Will Ukraine Resist The Bully? The U.S. Should Step Up With Help

KIEV, Ukraine -- Vladimir Putin regularly buffs up his strongman image by stripping off his shirt for photographers while he hunts, casts for fish and rides horses. You have to wonder: Does he strip off his shirt each time he picks up the phone to bully the president of Ukraine? Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovych, stunned European Union negotiators last month when he abruptly rejected a trade and integration deal with the EU just days before it was to be finalized. Yanukovych did so a few weeks after he flew to a military base near Moscow for a secret meeting with Russian President Putin, who fiercely opposes Ukraine's tilt toward Europe. The obvious implication: Putin put on the hard squeeze and Yanukovych wilted. That has prompted angry protests from Ukrainian citizens and opposition leaders. Yanukovych has answered with riot police, leading to violent clashes in the streets of Kiev, Ukraine's capital. Demonstrators have been beaten. Yanukovych has threatened to crack down even harder if pro-Europe protests continue. Putin has leverage here. Ukraine is heavily in debt to Moscow and depends on it for natural gas and trade. When Putin banned imports of Ukrainian chocolate, candy and cake this summer on a flimsy pretext, those products piled up at the border. Putin's priority is to force his neighbors, especially the large and populous Ukraine, into a proposed new customs union under Russia's control. Yanukovych has much to gain in the short term from a deal with Putin, including cheaper gas, financial relief and lucrative business contracts for his cronies, who have benefited in the past from collaboration with Moscow. A temporary boost for Ukraine's failing economy would help Yanukovych's 2015 re-election campaign. Ukraine is in a fragile state: mired in debt, short of hard currency. Putin could clobber it by imposing trade sanctions and crimping the gas supply. The EU offers short-term pain and long-term gain. The deal Ukraine almost signed would have brought fiscal discipline and political accountability — which Ukraine desperately needs — and the opportunity to integrate with the world's largest trading union. Given its agricultural resources, Ukraine could be an economic star. Arable land makes up more than half the country, which is traditionally known as the breadbasket of Europe. Much like the American Midwest — and precious few other places in the world — the soil is rich, dark, deep and expansive. Yet agricultural production is inefficient. Until recently, foreign investment was practically prohibited. Reform is badly needed if Ukraine is to obtain the investment capital to realize its potential. Tilting toward the authoritarian Putin is no way to accomplish that goal. There is a difficult history here. As a part of the former Soviet Union, Ukraine suffered hardships. Since the Soviet breakup two decades ago, Ukraine has struggled to embrace democratic institutions, establish the rule of law and find its economic footing. The EU deal was viewed, especially in the western region of Ukraine, as an opportunity to remake a promising but backward land. Politics in Ukraine is rough-and-tumble. Yanukovych's top rival, former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, an architect of Kiev's pro-Democracy Orange Revolution in 2004, is jailed on charges that she abused her power. Her allies, and many outside of Ukraine, believe the charges are politically motivated. EU leaders, most significantly German Chancellor Angela Merkel, have pressed for her release. Ukraine, by geography and economic sphere, is vulnerable to Putin's threats. The EU path promises some difficulty, but ultimately a strong foundation for prosperity. This is a critical decision. The U.S. and its European allies should step up with more support for Ukraine. If Yanukovych puts his people first, he'll tell Putin to take a hike — clothing optional.

Ukraine Protest Crowd of 500,000 Topples Lenin Statue

KIEV, Ukraine -- Anti-government protesters in Ukraine have toppled a statue of Vladimir Lenin in Kiev as opposition leaders called for President Viktor Yanukovich and his government to resign at a rally of about 500,000 people, the biggest protest in the capital since the "Orange Revolution" of nine years ago. n a day of huge emotion, which also marked the anniversary of Ukraine's 1991 referendum on independence from the Soviet Union, opposition leaders denounced Yanukovich for walking away from a pact offered by the European Union and swinging trade policy back towards Russia. "They stole the dream," heavyweight boxer-turned-opposition politician Vitaly Klitschko told the crowds on Independence Square. "If this government does not want to fulfill the will of the people, then there will be no such government, there will be no such president. There will be a new government and a new president," declared Klitschko, himself a contender for the next presidential election due in 2015. After months of pressure from Russia, Yanukovich suddenly backpedalled last week from signing the deal on closer relations with the EU in favour of renewed economic dialogue with Moscow, Ukraine's former Soviet master. Far-right nationalist leader Oleh Tyahniboh called for a national strike to start from Sunday, and members of his Svoboda (Freedom) party occupied Kiev's city hall along with followers of former economy minister Arseny Yatsenuk's Batkivshchyna (Fatherland) Party. All three opposition leaders also occupied a trade union building, turning it into a temporary headquarters. Events evoke memories of Orange Revolution The events, evoking memories of the 2004-5 Orange Revolution that overturned the established political order, took place against the background of an apparent attempt by a protesters to storm the main presidential office. Interior Ministry forces and riot police fired tear gas and stun grenades to repel the protesters, who used an earth excavator in an attempt to break through police lines. Police said 100 officers had been injured in violence during the day, news agencies reported. But opposition politicians, who had been urging protesters all day to remain peaceful, denounced the violence at the headquarters of Yanukovich's administration as a stage-managed "provocation" to justify a security clampdown. They sent officials to appeal to supporters to return to the main protest on Independence Square. "We know that the president wants to ... declare a state of emergency in the country," Yatsenyuk told reporters. Klitschko, who heads a separate pro-Europe party, also urged his supporters to stay away from the area near the presidential offices. "The authorities are trying to turn our peaceful demonstration into a place of blood," he said. Police said some protesters had been detained and 22 had sought medical help. Yanukovich's U-turn has highlighted an old East-West tug-of-war over Ukraine, which is the cradle of eastern Slavic tradition while sharing today borders with four EU countries. Yanukovich, a native Russian-speaker, represents a constituency in the industrial east which has close cultural and linguistic kinship with Russia. In Ukrainian-speaking areas, particularly in the west, people have a more Western outlook. Yanukovich says he has taken only a strategic pause in moves closer to Europe but the opposition accuses him of doing a deal with Russia that will ultimately harm national sovereignty. Trying to defuse tensions before Sunday's rally, Yanukovich said he would do everything in his power to speed up moves toward the EU. But he repeated the need to balance European integration with national interests. The protesters, shouting "Down with the Gang!", swept through the streets of Kiev in a sea of blue and gold — the colours of both the EU and Ukrainian flags — before arriving at Independence Square. The crowd had been additionally inflamed by a crackdown early on Saturday when riot police broke up an encampment of mainly young protesters using batons and stun grenades, injuring an undisclosed number of people. Police, who had sealed off part of Independence Square following the swoop on young protesters on Saturday, withdrew as the marchers approached the square. Call for national strike Apart from Klitschko's call for Yanukovich to go, far-right nationalist Tyahniboh called for a national strike. "From this day, we are starting a strike," he declared. "I want my children to live in a country where they don't beat young people," said protester Andrey, 33, the manager of a large company, who declined to give his surname for fear of reprisals. "I want my children to live in a state that differs from the Soviet past," said Iryna Lukyanenko, a 19-year-old student. "After Saturday, when the protest was broken up, I thought I should come today to defend our rights, We are no longer talking about 'euro-integration,' but our rights." "We are here to defend our dignity," said Andrey Semenov, 55, who runs a small business. His friend Mykhailo, 58, said: "We are here to defend the young people, our children who are defending the future." The interior minister warned that police would respond to any disorder and said Ukraine had no place among the ranks of countries like Libya or Tunisia, where Arab popular uprisings overthrew autocratic old-guard leaderships. "If there are any calls to disorder, we will respond," Interfax quoted the minister, Vitaly Zakharchenko, as saying. Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said late on Saturday that Yanukovich would travel to Moscow to work on a "road map" for new economic co-operation after a trip to China on Dec. 3-6, though he gave no dates.