Kiev Ukraine News Blog Current news and other information from the city made famous, around the globe, by the Orange Revolution.

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Yushchenko Names His Poisoners
2007-09-13 20:13:00
MOSCOW, Russia -- The names of the main suspects in the 2004 dioxin poisoning of Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko have become known. They are Vladimir Satsyuk, Taras Zalessky and Alexey Poletukha. President Viktor Yushchenko According to Ukrainian law enforcement, they are all now in Russia. There are signs that Moscow may aid in their capture. Satsyuk and Zalessky have figured in the ...
Yushchenko 

Red In Tooth And Claw
2007-09-13 10:57:00
LONDON, England -- Life in the former Soviet Union is sometimes compared to a zoo. Predatory oligarchs are the big beasts in the post-Communist jungle, and their wildlife antics, including sex and murder, lend colour to otherwise dull reports of takeovers and mergers. In a way, the journalistic cliché merely updates Orwell's Animal Farm. The nature of bandit capitalism is red in tooth and claw. ...
Tooth 

Lead By Example
2007-09-13 00:04:00
KIEV, Ukraine -- Throughout his political career as opposition party leader and presidential candidate, and now during the parliamentary elections, President Viktor Yushchenko has campaigned as a man who is looking out for the interests of “little Ukrainians” and true Ukrainian patriots. The Pechersk School International (PSI) He rallied against the privileges enjoyed by the political and ...

Journalist's Murder Unsolved in Ukraine
2007-09-12 23:36:00
MOSCOW, Russia -- Media freedom advocates harshly criticized Ukrainian authorities Wednesday for a lack of progress in the inquiry into the murder of an investigative journalist seven years ago. Investigative journalist Heorhiy Gongadze, whose brutal murder remains unsolved after seven years, despite promises by President Viktor Yushchenko to bring those responsible to justice. Three former ...
Journalist  Murder  Ukraine 

Ukrainian President Says Russia Not Cooperating With Inquiry
2007-09-12 00:31:00
MOSCOW, Russia -- Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko charged today that Russia has frustrated efforts to investigate a plot to kill him by dioxin poisoning during a presidential campaign in which Moscow backed his opponent. Viktor Chernomyrdin, the Russian ambassador to Ukraine In published remarks, Yushchenko did not explicitly accuse Russian authorities of involvement in the 2004 ...
President  Russia 

The Poison Was Russian: Yushchenko
2007-09-11 07:17:00
PARIS, France -- Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko said he is convinced the dioxin poison that disfigured him was made in a Russian lab, according to an interview in today's French daily Le Figaro. Yushchenko before (L) and after dioxin poisoning "Three laboratories in the world produce this type of dioxin ... Two laboratories sent samples. But not the Russian lab. That limits the inquiry," ...
Yushchenko 

Yushchenko Accuses Rival Over Referendum Plans
2007-09-10 13:17:00
KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukraine's president has reprimanded influential businessmen in prime minister Viktor Yanukovich's party for backing plans to hold a national referendum he sees as betraying national interests. Embattled President Viktor Yushchenko The move came as the country prepared for snap presidential elections. In a Financial Times interview, Viktor Yushchenko said the choice to back a ...
Plans  Referendum  Rival  Yushchenko 

Ukraine’s Future Hangs In The Balance
2007-09-09 13:37:00
MARMARI, Greece -- Leonid Kravchuk, Ukraine’s first president after the collapse of the Soviet Union, called upon all the country’s political forces to unite around specific key issues before the crucial parliamentary elections on September 30, 2007, to avoid a repeat of the prolonged political crisis that has troubled Ukraine since the Orange Revolution in 2004. Ukraine's first president, ...
Balance  Future  Ukraine 

Russia Does Not Want To Give Yanukovich Unreserved Support
2007-09-08 10:48:00
MOSCOW, Russia -- All recent presidential and parliamentary elections in Ukraine have shown that the nation is split into the West, East and South. Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych The most important and dramatic feature is that this split is very deep and has to do with culture, civilization and self-identity. The Ukrainian West with its rather strong anti-Russian rhetoric wants to join NATO ...
Russia  Support 

AP Interview: Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko Upbeat Before Parliamentary Vote
2007-09-07 02:35:00
KIEV, Ukraine -- Even as he spoke, President Viktor Yushchenko's face and hands told a story of his struggles - and Ukraine's. Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko gestures during an interview with The Associated Press in Kiev, Ukraine Above the smart dark suit and striped red tie Yushchenko wore for an interview this week, his face remained badly scarred three years after he suffered dioxin ...
Interview  Parliamentary  President  Vote  Yushchenko 

Pavarotti: I Have Sung All My Life
2007-09-06 15:41:00
MODENA, Italy -- Famed tenor Luciano Pavarotti, who died on Thursday at the age of 71, was one of opera's most adaptable and ebullient performers, appearing on stage with singers as varied as Dame Joan Sutherland, U2's Bono and Liza Minnelli. Nessun Dorma by Pavarotti at Torino 2006 Much as the star power of Rudolf Nureyev and Mikhail Baryshnikov revived widespread interest in classical ballet ...
Life  Pavarotti 

EU Meets With Nearest Neighbors To Discuss Ties
2007-09-06 08:07:00
BRUSSELS, Belgium -- The European Union meets with 16 neighboring countries on Monday to generate more momentum for a $16.5 billion program of economic and other aid in exchange for reforms, a strategy that has been a tough sell from the day it was launched in 2004. EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner The EU's European Neighborhood Program offers neighbors cash, expertise ...
Neighbors 

Ukraine President Blasts Government On Euro 2012
2007-09-05 17:49:00
KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukraine's president has accused the ex-Soviet state's government of failing to take seriously the huge tasks of preparing for the 2012 European football championships, to be staged jointly with Poland. Ukraine's President Viktor Yushchenko (R) and his Polish counterpart Lech Kaczynski take part in the joint bid for the European Championship football tournament in 2012 in ...
Euro  Government  President  Ukraine 

Ukraine Urged By OECD To Step Up Economic Reform
2007-09-05 06:35:00
PARIS, France -- The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development issued a highly critical report on Ukraine's economy for 2007, saying economic reforms are lagging behind its neighbours and the growth of recent years is threatened. Angel Gurría, Secretary-General of the OECD In particular a lack of reform is discouraging foreign investment in the ex-Soviet republic, the report said. ...
Economic  Ukraine 

Kiev Parliament Defies Yushchenko
2007-09-04 21:26:00
KIEV, Ukraine -- Legislators backing Viktor Yanukovich, Ukraine's premier, on Tuesday raised the stakes in an already tense election campaign by holding a session of parliament of questionable legitimacy. President Viktor Yushchenko This act of defiance is expected to test the nerves of Viktor Yushchenko, Ukraine's pro-western president, who dissolved parliament in the spring, setting the stage ...
Yushchenko 

Ukraine Boss Demands Action On New Stadium
2007-09-04 13:31:00
KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukraine's top soccer official has hit out at the time it has taken to resolve a row that could prevent the use of Kiev's main stadium in the 2012 European championship. Hryhory Surkis, head of Ukraine's soccer federation Hryhory Surkis, head of Ukraine's soccer federation, said officials were openly ignoring orders from Ukraine's president and prime minister to prepare for the ...
Action  Boss  Stadium  Ukraine 

Ukraine Leader Blasts Pre-Poll Parliament Session
2007-09-03 23:17:00
KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukraine's president on Monday dismissed as meaningless a session of parliament called before a snap election and urged voters to look forward to choosing a chamber he hopes will end months of political turmoil. Ukraine's "odd couple" - Yushchenko (L) and Yanukovych (R) Viktor Yushchenko, swept to power by "Orange Revolution" protests in 2004, has dissolved parliament in four ...
Leader  Poll  Ukraine 

Deal Casts Doubt Over Ukraine Transparency
2007-09-03 06:02:00
KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukraine's wealthiest man, Rinat Akhmetov, has significantly increased his interest in a large electricity generating company through a controversial debt-for-equity transaction that has cast a shadow over Kiev's ability to privatise state assets transparently. Viktor Yanukovych (L) and Rinat Akhmetov With snap parliamentary elections just weeks away, the deal has taken on ...
Casts  Doubt  Transparency  Ukraine 

Political Storm Starts To Brew In Ukraine
2007-09-02 18:44:00
KIEV, Ukraine -- As the dog days of summer empty the streets of Kiev, the residents of this capital escape the heat to the comfortable sea breezes of the Crimean coast and other cooling venues. Viktor Yushchenko at an exhibit to victims of Stalin's forced starvations They also leave behind the early rumblings of the "extra Rada elections," the reprise of the March 2006 parliamentary (Rada) ...
Political  Storm  Ukraine 

Putin’s Fanatical Youth Brigade Targets Britain
2007-09-02 06:27:00
LONDON, England -- A Russian activist expected to take over a sinister youth group with ties to the Kremlin has warned that a campaign of harassment against the British ambassador in Moscow will be resumed if he shows support for the country’s beleaguered opposition in the run-up to parliamentary elections in December. Members of Putin’s fanatical youth brigade "Nashi" Nikita Borovikov, 26, who ...
Brigade  Britain  Targets  Youth 

Shevchenko Told To Be Patient
2007-09-01 23:05:00
LONDON, England -- The Ukraine international endured a tough first season in the Premiership last year and didn’t look close to justifying his £30 million ($60.5 million) price tag. Chelsea striker Andriy Shevchenko has been told to be patient and earn his place in the starting line-up. Touted as the key to Chelsea’s European dominance, the AC Milan legend failed to hit the back of the net as ...

Ukraine Street Kids Hit by AIDS
2007-09-01 08:56:00
KIEV, Ukraine -- About 100,000 indigent Ukrainian children are the most exposed to HIV-AIDS, according to a report from the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF)'s office in this capital. Sergey Kushnir, 14 with a plastic bag filled with a glue for sniffing screams in the sewer where he lives on the outskirts of Odessa, Ukraine. Almost all street children use drugs. One in five children living on the ...
Aids  Kids  Street  Ukraine 

American Accuses Kyiv Politicians, Ex-Wife Of Keeping Him From His Child
2007-08-31 17:58:00
KIEV, Ukraine -- An American citizen who says his Ukrainian ex-wife is denying him access to their nine-year-old son has accused her new husband, a Kyiv city councilman, of trying to intimidate him into giving up his visitation rights. Yury Starodubsky with his son Michael. Yury Starodubsky, a naturalized American citizen of Ukrainian origin, told a news conference in Kyiv on Aug. 27 that Kyiv ...
Child  Politicians  Wife 

Voters Say Poll Won't Fix Ukraine
2007-08-31 14:08:00
KIEV, Ukraine -- With just a month to go before voters elect a new parliament, Ukraine's election campaign is in full swing. Same players, Yanukovych (L) and Yushchenko (R) - another election And while some Ukrainians still believe in the romance of the Orange Revolution, many others say its leaders have failed to keep their promises. Voters in Ukraine are facing the same choice they had at ...
Fix  Poll  Ukraine  Voters 

Igor Kolomoisky Invests US$ 110 Million To Acquire An Interest In CME
2007-08-31 01:50:00
HAMILTON, Bermuda -- Central European Media Enterprises Ltd. ("CME") announced today that Igor Kolomoisky, a prominent Ukrainian businessman, has acquired 1,275,227 shares of CME's Class A Common Stock for cash consideration of US$ 110 million. Igor Kolomoisky The price per share has been determined on the basis of a weighted average trading price. This share purchase represents approximately ...

Ukraine Holds Firm As A Top World Arms Exporter, But Lags Far Behind Russia
2007-08-30 18:45:00
KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukraine, one of the world’s top 10 arms exporting countries, earned some $750 million through weaponry sales to 19 countries in 2006, with exports to Azerbaijan and China leading the way, according to the country’s annual report to the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms. Ukrainian T-72 tank is popular with third world countries. Azerbaijan received 17 battle tanks, ...
Arms  Firm  Russia  Ukraine 

Akhmetov Snaps Up Energo Stake
2007-08-30 04:10:00
KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukraine’s richest man has significantly increased his stake in a major electricity generating company as the result of a controversial share emission deal that calls into question the state’s sell-off of lucrative assets. Billionaire Rinat Akhmetov Shareholders at Dniproenergo, Ukraine’s largest thermoelectric generator, agreed on Aug. 27 to increase the company’s share capital ...
Snaps 

Prochnik Focuses On Ukraine
2007-08-29 22:47:00
LODZ, Poland -- Prochnik, the clothes producer from Lodz, wants to have sixty shops in Poland and 15 abroad. It also dreams about its first income in many years. Prochnik, the producer and distributor of men’s clothes, raised the capital in its Ukrainian subsidiary by USD 150,000. The funds will be spent to develop the shop network. Today, there is only one Prochnik shop in Ukraine but within ...
Ukraine 

Lessons In Democracy For Ukraine
2007-08-29 20:22:00
PARIS, France -- The International Centre for Policy Studies (ICPS) paper remarks that political competition now exists in Ukraine, with a system for dividing powers currently under development. The Orange revolutionaries who gave democracy a start in Ukraine, Yulia Tymoshenko and Viktor Yushchenko However, the author claims that Ukraine's transformation is "spontaneous" and "disorganised" as a ...
Democracy  Lessons  Ukraine 

Finnish Fish, Mushrooms Still Toxic From Chernobyl
2007-08-28 00:57:00
HELSINKI, Finland -- Twenty-one years after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Ukraine, fish and mushrooms in parts of Finland are still toxic due to radioactive fallout, Finnish authorities said on Monday. Lakes in the Vammala, Finland area The concentration of cesium-137 exceeded the EU maximum recommended level in 20 percent of fish and more than half of the mushrooms tested in 2005 by the ...
Finnish  Fish  Mushrooms  Toxic