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An unexpected regional election victory by a previously marginal ultra-nationalist party is among a string of developments in Ukraine that threaten to fulfil the worst fears of G20 leaders as they gather for their summit in London. Lacking the protection of European Union membership, Ukraine has few of the safeguards that prevent its Western neighbours from falling into ruin. A sharply weaker currency, a collapse in exports and an economy expected to contract by at least six per cent this year has forced the country to seek £11 billion from the International Monetary Fund. Even this lifeline is endangered by...

(RTTNews) - The Interfax, the Russian news agency, reported on Thursday that there were conflicting views regarding a possible coup in Ukraine. The Ukrainian President Viktor Yuschenko has reportedly dismissed the prosecutor general Svyatoslav Piskun. Consequently, security was send to evict Piskun from his office. In a retaliatory effort, Piskun had reportedly stormed the office of the prosecutor general with his supporters.

"While the agenda is fuzzy, the political signal seems clear: the Kremlin is willing to partner with the Yushchenko presidency and new government in the post-election period. "

KIEV, November 18 (RIA Novosti) - Almost half of Ukrainians have a negative view of the "orange revolution" and its consequences, according to a survey conducted November 15-17 by the Ukrainian center for regional information issues. Of those polled, 47.7% gave a negative response, 23.2% had a positive view, and 26.5% considered the events to be both positive and negative. The remaining 2.6% were undecided. A total of 1,450 people were polled in various Ukrainian regions. Anniversary celebrations of the "orange revolution" will be held at Maidan Square in Kiev November 22, one year after thousands of opposition supporters rallied...

The State Property Fund announced Mittal Steel Germany Gmbh the conqueror in a contest of 93.02% shares of Kryvorizhstal sale. As “Ukrainsky Novyny” informs, such a decision was adopted following the results of contest. Mittal Steel proposed UAH 24,2 milliard, the highest price among three contest participants/ At the same time “Industrial group” (Kyiv) consortium proposed UAH 24,1 milliard and “Smart Group” company (Dnipropetrovsk) – UAH 17,7 milliard. Mittal Steel Germany Gmbh is a part of international holding Mittal Steel, which is the world biggest steel producer. Primarily Mittal Steel and “Smart Group” proposed UAH 10,5 milliard, “Industrial Group” –...

NEW YORK - During the General Assembly of the United Nations in NY, the President of Ukraine, Victor Yuschenko met with Jewish leaders to discuss issues and concerns of the Jewish community in Ukraine. Their conversation focused on recent acts of anti-Semitism in the country and the situation concerning the restitution of Jewish communal property confiscated under the Soviet regime. President Yuschenko assured the leaders of his government's commitment to a 'no tolerance' policy to any anti-Semitic act on the part of Ukrainian citizens or government officials, as well as suggesting that the leaders set a plan into motion in...

Ukraine's sacked PM seeks return to office in 2006 Tue Sep 13, 8:19 AM ET Ukraine's sacked Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko said she plans to win back her post after parliamentary elections next year and then stand for president in 2009. In an interview with Russian newspaper Kommersant published on Tuesday, Tymoshenko -- fired along with her government by President Viktor Yushchenko last Thursday -- said she and her supporters would win the March 2006 elections. "Of course, I will fight for the post of prime minister in the parliamentary elections," Tymoshenko told the paper. "There is not merely a...

President of Ukraine Victor Yushchenko and US Senator Richard Lugar discussed abolition of Jackson-Vanik amendment concerning Ukraine, the WTO membership, status of market economy and Euroatlantic integration. Senator Barak Obama, US Ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst and the first deputy State Secretary of Ukraine Alexander Motsik also took part in the meeting. President underlined that according to expert estimation “Ukraine looses about eight milliard USD annually” because it is not a WTO member of and does not have a status of a country with market economy. The head of the country expressed a hope that US authority will support Ukraine...

Ukraine To Teach Morals, Faith In Schools Classes Will Be Voluntary KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukrainian public schools will begin teaching about morals and faith under a new curriculum being developed in part by Orthodox church leaders. The voluntary classes will be introduced throughout the predominantly Orthodox nation starting in September, according to a leader of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. He said the curriculum will include lessons about morality and biblical creationism. Ukraine's President Viktor Yushchenko, who is Orthodox, gave his backing to the project in a private meeting with religious leaders last week, but his office said the curriculum must...

KIEV, Ukraine – During a recent meeting between the President of Ukraine, Victor Yuschenko, and representatives of North American Jewish organizations, the Ukrainian leader expressed that state authorities in Ukraine want to do everything possible so that "any Jew residing in Ukraine will say that he lives better here than he would live in Israel.” Their meeting took place on Monday and focused on issues related to the national minorities residing in Ukraine. President Yuschenko emphasized that there is no place for xenophobia, anti-Semitism and inter-ethnic conflict in Ukraine, an idea that he has expressed on several occasions prior. "We...

MOSCOW - It was a clear September night when Yevhen Chervonenko left presidential hopeful Viktor Yushchenko healthy and in good spirits ahead of a secret meeting at a dacha near Kiev. Chervonenko, at the time Yushchenko's head of security and now Ukraine's new transportation minister, said he usually went everywhere with Yushchenko and even tasted his food. But that night was an exception. Yushchenko was going to the dacha to dine with Ukrainian Security Service chief Ihor Smeshko and his deputy, Volodymyr Satsyuk. "I was told that I was not required that night because the organizers wanted the meeting to...

Eve of the inauguration On the day of Viktor Yushchenko's inauguration, Tom Mangold reveals the extraordinary story of his rivals' plot to deny him power. It's inauguration day for new President Viktor Yushchenko, Ukraine's modernist President, a reformer who beat a brutal and medieval assassination attempt by poisoning and an outrageous example of poll rigging last November to become Ukraine's new leader. And only now are the astonishing truths of Mr Yushchenko's fight for the leadership he had earned being revealed. An investigation has discovered: · Britain's germ warfare laboratory in Porton Down has received a biopsy of his skin...

KIEV (AFP) - Kiev once again turned orange as Viktor Yushchenko prepared to assume power after months of turmoil and set off on his avowed course of bringing Ukraine out of historic Russian influence and toward the West. Ahead of the reformer's inauguration Sunday, the Ukrainian capital busily wrapped itself into the orange color of his presidential campaign -- orange banners hung from buildings, adorned billboards and fluttered under the falling snow as flags. "All of the organizational questions have been decided," Kiev mayor Oleksander Omelchenko said proudly Friday. Yushchenko will take the oath of office at noon on Sunday...

"A top aide to Viktor Yushchenko, confident the Western-leaning reformer will be inaugurated as president within days, said Wednesday that Yushchenko next week will begin a push to bring the country into the European Union."

Jan. 11, 2005 22:08 Putin's claims strain Israeli-Russian relations By JPOST.COM STAFF Russian President Vladimir Putin's claim that Israeli officials aided Ukrainian opposition candidate Viktor Yuschenko on the campaign trail has led to a serious break in Russian-Israeli relations, Channel 2 TV reported Tuesday evening. Putin further accused Israel of financing Yuschenko in the presidential race against Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, the candidate he preferred. The Russian president claimed that the Israeli government could have prevented the financial sponsorship of Yuschenko. Putin's close associates additionally charged Israel of supporting the Russian opposition. Israel denies the charges, the Channel 2...

WASHINGTON -- When she was growing up in Chicago, an all-American girl who liked school, dancing and boys, they called her Kathy. These days she is known as Kateryna Chumachenko Yushchenko, and if election tallies are certified, she will be the first lady of Ukraine. During the election campaign of her husband, Viktor Yushchenko, critics tried to make an issue of her American citizenship, implying that the CIA was trying to manipulate the election results. But those who knew Kathy Chumachenko when she was a public liaison official in Ronald Reagan's White House remember a fervent anti-communist who was passionate...

  Big Guns There's a post-Soviet phrase hailing the inventor of the ak-47: "God merely created man; equality was made possible thanks to General Kalashnikov." I recalled this as I was sitting in the office of deputy chairman of the Ukrainian Nationalist Assembly (UNA). As he spoke, he absentmindedly drew machine guns on a piece of paper. He also sketched some bows and arrows and gave me copies of his organization's publications, which contained manual-like descriptions of various guns and tips on how to clean them. Electoral posters in his office were not unlike Hitlerjugend propaganda. One read: "power,...

The dioxin poisoning of Ukrainian presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko has changed the tone of the upcoming December 26 runoff vote, raising questions as to who was responsible and whether outside hands were involved. The contest had already drawn in nations from both east and west along with non-governmental organizations working to steer the outcome. Sunday, September 5. Ukrainian presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko met and dined with that country's intelligence chief, General Ihor Smeshko. He came to ask the general and his forces to stay out of the October 31 election. When Mr. Yushchenko returned home, his wife says she smelled...

Ukrainian officials are reopening a criminal investigation into opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko's mystery illness, reports say. On Saturday doctors in Vienna confirmed his condition was caused by poisoning. The doctors said extensive tests showed a form of dioxin had been used, leaving Mr Yushchenko's face disfigured. Mr Yushchenko, 50, was taken ill in September as he campaigned for disputed elections that have now been declared invalid because of irregularities. In October, prosecutors concluded that Mr Yushchenko was suffering the effects of a virus. But media reports on Saturday said they were cancelling a previous decision to close the case....

unday December 12, 2004The Observer Viktor Yuschenko survived an alleged attempt to poison him by dissolving dioxins in his soup. Dioxins are among the most toxic chemicals. It is a general term used to describe hundreds of chemicals which are highly persistent in the environment. They are formed as a by-product of industrial processes involving chlorine, such as waste incineration or paper bleaching. But they also occur naturally in soil fungus and in grasshoppers. The most highly toxic is TCDD (tetrachlorodibenzodioxin). One sign of exposure to the substance is chloracne, an unpleasant skin complaint. They are so dangerous because they...