"THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT"
An International Newsletter
In-Depth Ukrainian News, Analysis, and Commentary
"The Art of Ukrainian History, Culture, Arts, Business, Religion,
Sports, Government, and Politics, in Ukraine and Around the World"
"THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT" Year 04, Number 218
The Action Ukraine Coalition (AUC), Washington, D.C.
Ukrainian Federation of America (UFA), Huntingdon Valley, PA
morganw@patriot.net, ArtUkraine.com@starpower.net (ARTUIS)
Washington, D.C.; TUESDAY, November 16, 2004
-----INDEX OF ARTICLES-----
"Major International News Headlines and Articles"
1. UKRAINE RIVALS CLASH IN TV DEBATE
There are two Viktors, but only one can win on Sunday
BBC NEWS, UK, Tuesday, November 16, 2004
2. UKRAINIAN CANDIDATES HOLD RARE DEBATE
Aleksandar Vasovic, AP, Kiev, Ukraine, Mon, Nov 15, 2004
3. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES DISCUSS FOREIGN POLICY
UT1, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian, 15 Nov 04
BBC Monitoring, UK, in English, November 15, 2004
4. UKRAINE OPPOSITION LEADER ATTACKS PRIME MINISTER'S
ECONOMIC RECORD IN TV DEBATE
UT1, Kiev, in Ukrainian, 15 Nov 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Mon, Nov 15, 2004
5. PRESIDENTIAL CHALLENGER TAKES ELECTION RIVAL
TO TASK OVER RUN ON UKRAINE'S CURRENCY
By Tom Warner in Kiev, Financial Times
London, UK, Tue, November 16 2004 02:00
6. UKRAINE'S OUTGOING PRESIDENT KUCHMA BACKS
PRIME MINISTER YANUKOVYCH'S ELECTION BID
One Plus One TV, Kiev, in Ukrainian, 14 Nov 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, Sunday, Nov 14, 2004
7. DO NOT SHUT THE DOOR ON EU MEMBERSHIP FOR UKRAINE
Letter to the Editor, from Charles Tannock MEP.
Financial Times, London, UK, Tue, November 16 2004
8. "CHESTNUTS AND REVOLUTIONS"
EDITORIAL: Wall Street Journal Europe
Europe: Monday, November 15, 2004
9. KIVALOV AND EU AMBASSADORS DISCUSS PREPARATION
TO SECOND ROUND OF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Mon, November 15, 2004
10. PARLIAMENT TO HEAR CEC'S REPORT ON PREPARATIONS
FOR SECOND ROUND OF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Mon, Nov 15, 2004
11. INDUSTRIAL OUTPUT GROWTH SLOWS TO 7.7% Y/Y IN
OCTOBER FROM 9.9% IN SEPTEMBER
.IntelliNews, Ukraine Today, Kiev, Ukraine, November 15, 2004
12. EBRD OPENS CREDIT LINE TO AVAL BANK FOR $10 MILLION
WITHIN FRAMEWORK OF PROGRAM OF MORTGAGE LENDING
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Mon, November 15, 2004
13. UKRAINIAN OPPOSITION ACCUSES PRO-MOSCOW
CHURCH OF SLANDERING CANDIDATE
UNIAN news agency, Kiev, in Ukrainian, 15 Nov 04
BBC Monitoring, UK, in English, Mon, November 15, 2004
14. "AUTOCRACY IS ON THE MARCH"
COMMENTARY by Pavel Felgenhauer
Moscow Times, Moscow, Russia, Tues, November 16, 2004
15. CANADIAN PARLIAMENTARIANS BLAST PUTIN'S
INVOLVEMENT IN UKRAINE ELECTIONS
Article By Stephen Bandera
For Ukraine Transparency & Election Monitoring Project (UTEMP)
Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, November 14, 2004
16. UPDATE: APPEAL IN SUPPORT OF DEMOCRACY IN UKRAINE
Natalia Pylypiuk, Associate Professor, University of Alberta
Edmonton, Canada, Sat, November 13, 2004
17. UKRAINIAN STUDENTS IN SUMY GO ON HUNGER STRIKE
TO PROTEST ARRESTS
Associated Press, Kiev, Ukraine, Sun, November 14, 2004
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 218: ARTICLE NUMBER ONE
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1. UKRAINE RIVALS CLASH IN TV DEBATE
There are two Viktors, but only one can win on Sunday
BBC NEWS, UK, Tuesday, November 16, 2004
KIEV - Ukraine's two main presidential candidates have clashed in a live
TV debate ahead of Sunday's run-off vote. Prime Minister Viktor
Yanukovych and opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko traded bitter
accusations as they argued over a number of key issues.
The poll will decide whether Ukraine moves closer to the West - as Mr
Yushchenko wants - or towards Moscow, under Mr Yanukovych, experts
say. OSCE observers had said the first round failed to meet international
standards.
The campaign has been marred by claims of media bias, intimidation by the
authorities and even an alleged assassination attempt, correspondents say.
Mr Yanukovych won 39.87% of the vote against Prime Minister Viktor
Yanukovych's 39.32% in the first round on 31 October.
PERSONAL ATTACKS
The format of the first and only televised debate between the two rivals
envisaged a face-to-face discussion over Ukraine's economy, social policies
and also the country's foreign and domestic policies.
However, both opponents used the chance to lash out at each other with
accusations of corruption and incompetence during the nearly two-hour
debate.
Mr Yanukovych, who is backed by outgoing President Leonid Kuchma
and also Russia, mocked his rival's calls for a war on corruption, instead
accusing Mr Yushchenko of impoverishing Ukraine during his term as
prime-minister in 1999-2001.
"You and your team are bankrupt functionaries who got together to return
to power. For you, all power is criminal unless it is yours," Mr Yanukovych
said. "The new leadership is already here, it will not leave and there is no
way to expel it," he said.
In response, Western-leaning Mr Yushchenko condemned the "destructive
economic policies" of the current authorities, which he claimed controlled
"the shadow economy" and served the interests of only a handful of wealthy
businessmen.
"This is not a conflict between two Viktors. But a conflict between two
world views, two moral systems," Mr Yushchenko, who still bore marks from
the mysterious poison-related illness, which scarred part of his face, said.
"We have a choice: either we live as criminals or as free, wealthy people,"
Mr Yushchenko said, using a prison slang in a veiled reference to Mr
Yanukovych's time spent in jail for convictions which were later quashed.
Experts say that neither of the two candidates are likely to win any new
converts after the debate, and have simply reinforced their own electorates
before the 21 November run-off. "The debate has had absolutely no affect
on my own and my friends' voting preferences," Olexander, a computer
programmer, told the BBC News. His words were echoed by another voter,
Galyna, who said that she "has not changed her mind" after the debate.
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LINK: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4014881.stm
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.218: ARTICLE NUMBER TWO
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2. UKRAINIAN CANDIDATES HOLD RARE DEBATE
Aleksandar Vasovic, AP, Kiev, Ukraine, Mon, Nov 15, 2004
KIEV, Ukraine - Ukraine's two presidential candidates, who finished neck
and neck in a first round of voting and are competing hotly in a runoff,
traded barbs about corruption Monday in a rare TV presidential debate
that attracted millions of viewers.
Viktor Yushchenko, a Western-leaning reformer, and Prime Minister Viktor
Yanukovych, seen as the Kremlin's favorite, each won about 39 percent of
the vote in the first round, with the rest divided among 22 other candidates
in the former Soviet republic of 48 million people on the Black Sea.
Kiev's normally crowded main street was virtually empty as people in bars
and cafes for the debate - the first televised face-off between to Ukrainian
presidential candidates since 1994.
Debates in the former Soviet states are rare. When Boris Yeltsin ran for the
presidency of Russia a second time, he refused to debate his opponents.
"I came here to tell the truth, looking into your eyes," Yanukovych said.
Yushchenko, wearing a handkerchief in his trademark orange campaign
color, immediately launched a well-prepared attack on his opponent.
"We have a choice: To live according to criminal laws or as honest
well-to-do people," he said.
Yushchenko peppered his comments with statistics - and personal jabs at
his rival. He dropped a reference to a spelling mistake Yanukovych made
in his candidacy application - he mispelled "professor. Yanukovych fired
back with attacks on Yushchenko's tenure as the central bank chief and
prime minister.
The runoff is being closely watched by observers as a sign of whether
Ukraine is committed to democracy. Observers from a consortium of
European and international groups said the first round of voting on Oct.
31 was a step backward for democracy.
Sunday's vote is seen as pivotal for the future of Ukraine, which is
increasingly ambitious to exert regional authority. Ukraine, which is
slightly smaller than Texas, is flanked by NATO countries to the west
and Russia to the east.
The campaign has been marked by widespread complaints from the
Yushchenko camp of official interference and abuse and by international
criticism of heavy bias in favor of Yanukovych on state television.
Both candidates had declined proposals to debate before the first round,
technically won by Yushchenko by less than a percentage point. Each had
around 39 percent of the vote.
In central Kiev's Rock Cafe, all three TV screens were tuned into the
debate. Waiters and patrons sat at the bar watching.
"Yushchenko seems like better prepared and more relaxed, but
Yanukovych appears as a tough cookie," said Oleksandr Slovych, 29.
Yushchenko's face looked puffy, the aftereffect of a mysterious illness that
temporarily knocked him off the campaign trail ahead of the first round; his
allies attributed it to poisoning by his opponents.
A parliamentary commission found no facts that would "prove a poisoning
version," panel head Volodymyr Syvkovych said, according to the Interfax
news agency on Monday
Also Monday, Yushchenko's headquarters reported that an opposition
activist was beaten by unknown assailants and three campaign observers
were detained by police.
A Yanukovych victory is expected to move Ukraine toward closer relations
with Russia, Yushchenko would like nudge the country of 48 million people
toward the European Union and NATO. Both candidates have promised to
push for more growth in the country where millions still live in poverty.
Yanukovych is backed by outgoing Ukraine President Leonid Kuchma, who
cannot run for a third term. -30-
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.218: ARTICLE NUMBER THREE
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3.UKRAINE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES DISCUSS FOREIGN POLICY
UT1, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian, 15 Nov 04
BBC Monitoring, UK, in English, November 15, 2004
KIEV - Ukraine's two presidential candidates, Prime Minister Viktor
Yanukovych and opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko laid out their
different visions of Ukraine's foreign policy during a live debate on the
state-owned UT1 television ahead of the 21 November runoff round.
Yanukovych defended his government's record of entering the Single
Economic Space pact with Russia, describing it as a "step to the future",
and said Ukraine was a victim of Europe's "double standards".
"They have been luring us with carrots over the past years but applying
double standards against us," Yanukovych said. "When we raise our living
standards to the European level, we will have European conditions in our
country... We are not receiving any clear answers [from Europe]. So our
proposed model with Europe is signing with them agreements for the next
few years, and then summing up the results. Integration [with Europe] meant
first of all an improvement in the living standards."
He also hinted that a referendum might be held on allowing dual citizenship
with Russia and making Russian Ukraine's second official language, his two
pre-election promises aimed at Ukraine's large ethnic Russian community.
But Yushchenko countered that it was corruption and lawlessness in Ukraine
that stood in the way of the country's European integration.
"In summer, government officials rush to Brussels and swear fealty to the
EU and European values," Yushchenko said. "Then shortly before the heating
season starts, they rush to Moscow, where they say they want nothing to do
with Europe, complain that we are not wanted there, and swear fealty to the
Single Economic Space. This is Byzantine politics, and either-or politics,
which has led to ruin every country that espoused it."
"The government says, Europe doesn't want us. My question is, would you
want for partner a corrupt government, a country where the shadow sector
makes up 55 per cent of the economy, and where there is no normal
transparent economy? Would you want for partner a country where law does
not apply, and your rights are nothing, and one telephone call from the
presidential administration or the Cabinet of Ministers is much more
important than all the Ukrainian laws?"
He said Ukraine did not have to make an either-or choice between Russia
and the West. "We have strategic interests both in the East and in the
West," he said. "We must not lose the Russian market, but it will be a great
mistake if we miss the train to Europe."
Yushchenko also promised to withdraw Ukraine's 1,600 troops from Iraq,
and ease travel arrangements with Russia. "I will withdraw the Ukrainian
troops from Iraq, where they have carried out their mission with dignity,
and our guys must not be left to die there any more. I will introduce a very
simple and easy procedure of crossing the border with Russia," he said.
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.218: ARTICLE NUMBER FOUR
Your comments about the Report are always welcome
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4. UKRAINE OPPOSITION LEADER ATTACKS PRIME MINISTER'S
ECONOMIC RECORD IN TV DEBATE
UT1, Kiev, in Ukrainian, 15 Nov 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Mon, Nov 15, 2004
KIEV - Ukraine's opposition leader and presidential candidate Viktor
Yushchenko has made a fierce attack on the economic policies of his rival,
Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych during a live debate on television ahead
of the 21 November presidential election runoff.
The debate is being rboacast live on the state-owned UT1 television.
Speaking during the economic section of the debate, Yanukovych claimed
credit for Ukraine's rapid economic growth this year, adding that his
government had inherited a struggling economy from predecessors.
"Ukraine's economy was in a very difficult state," Yanukovych said. "Most
Ukrainian companies were making losses, and the treasury was empty...
But the economy grew by 13.4 per cent this year alone."
But Yushchenko said the government was heavily in debt, and the
proclaimed economic growth had failed to translate into higher budget
revenues. He accused the government of acting as an umbrella for the
shadow sector, which he said made up 55 per cent of Ukraine's economy.
"We have an unprofessional government," Yushchenko declared. "My
opponent claims credit for an economic miracle," he said. "But this miracle
has translated into just a 1.8-per-cent growth in budget revenue. Mr
Yanukovych, where is the rest? Who gains from it?" Yushchenko asked his
rival. "It is the government that is behind the shadow sector." he said.
He added that the government was borrowing billions to fund its pre-election
spending spree. "Mr Yanukovych, do you realize that you are robbing our
children?" Yushchenko asked.
He went on to say that inflation was running at an annualised 30 per cent in
October, and the National Bank had spent one-third of its hard currency
reserve to support the hryvnya as Ukrainians were buying up dollars. -30-
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.218: ARTICLE NUMBER FIVE
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5. PRESIDENTIAL CHALLENGER TAKES ELECTION RIVAL
TO TASK OVER RUN ON UKRAINE'S CURRENCY
By Tom Warner in Kiev
Financial Times, London, UK, Tue, November 16 2004 02:00
KIEV - Viktor Yushchenko, the liberal opposition challenger in next
Sunday's presidential elections in Ukraine, last night took on his rival
Viktor Yanukovich, the incumbent prime minister, over his economic record.
"In my career as a professional banker, I've never seen such a loss of trust
in the national currency," Mr Yushchenko said during a live debate between
the two candidates.
The central bank has spent some $2bn (Euro1.5bn, £1.1bn) of hard currency
fighting a run on the hryvnya, the national currency, that began in
September when Mr Yanukovich sought to boost his presidential campaign by
doubling the minimum pension. Pressure on the hryvnya has eased this month
as the central bank raised its prime lending rate by 1 point to 9 per cent
and took other measures to boost supplies of hard currency and sustain the
hryvnya.
The currency run has given Mr Yanukovich, a conservative centrist, his first
serious economic test. Mr Yushchenko, who was central bank chairman in the
1990s and prime minister in 2000-2001, has used the crisis to portray Mr
Yanukovich as lacking in economic aptitude. Sunday's vote is a run-off after
Mr Yushchenko narrowly led a first round of voting last month.
A weakening of Ukraine's economy on the eve of the elections has sparked
worries that the country could be headed for a "hard landing" after years of
strong growth. Figures released yesterday showed that gross domestic product
growth slowed to 7.6 per cent in October after soaring at 13.4 per cent
between January and September. Inflation in October rose to 2.2 per cent,
which would translate into an annual increase of 30 per cent if the trend
were to continue to the end of the year.
The inflation and the pressure on the hryvnya, which is pegged to the US
dollar, had forced the central bank to use defensive tactics that risked
"engineering a hard landing", said Rory Macfarquhar, an economist at
Goldman Sachs who covers Ukraine.
"When there's pressure to appreciate, the bank sells hryvnya, and you get
the boom or even the overheating that we've seen for the past 18 months.
Conversely, when the bank sells dollars, the money supply contracts, which
hits the most credit-dependent sectors of the economy such as construction,"
Mr Macfarquhar said.
The central bank's chairman, Arseny Yatsenyuk, said he was confident the
bank's anti-inflation measures were working. However, the success of the
central bank's efforts were dependent on restraining spending and cracking
down on capital flight.
The central bank recently released balance of payments data that revealed
that the hryvnya's strength during the period depended largely on inflows of
foreign investment and credits and remittances from Ukrainians working
abroad.
Tomas Fiala, managing director of Dragon Capital, a local brokerage, said
the most important factor for Ukraine's economy next year would be whether
the results of next Sunday's elections were recognised as legitimate in the
west. If they were, Ukraine would see increased foreign investment and
continued strong growth, he said. International observers had recently
voiced concerns over the electoral process. -30-
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.218: ARTICLE NUMBER SIX
Additional names for the distribution list are always welcome
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6. UKRAINE'S OUTGOING PRESIDENT KUCHMA BACKS
PRIME MINISTER YANUKOVYCH'S ELECTION BID
One Plus One TV, Kiev, in Ukrainian, 14 Nov 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, Sunday, Nov 14, 2004
KIEV - The outgoing Ukrainian president, Leonid Kuchma, has voiced his
support for Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych's presidential bid ahead of the
21 November runoff, and accused his main rival, opposition leader Viktor
Yushchenko of populism. Speaking in a pre-recorded interview on the
"Epicentre" talk show on the One Plus One TV channel on 14 November,
Kuchma delivered a lengthy praise of the Yanukovych government's economic
achievements and made it clear that he hoped for his victory.
He also said the first round of the election, in which Yushchenko and
Yanukovych came neck and neck, showed that Ukraine was a healthy
democracy with a strong opposition, and proved that fears of violence during
the election were unfounded. He spoke once again of the need to push through
a controversial constitutional reform bill, which would transfer many of the
president's powers to parliament, and said he still hoped the bill could be
adopted in the week remaining until the runoff round.
Yushchenko, a pro-Western reformist former prime minister, came narrowly
ahead in the 31 October first round with 39.8 per cent of the vote.
Yanukovych, who came second with 39.2 per cent, favours closer ties with
Russia.
PRAISE FOR YANUKOVYCH
Kuchma spoke at length about Ukraine's economic growth under the
Yanukovych government and said the prime minister had presided over a
substantial improvement in the living standards. He dismissed the suggestion
that rising inflation would negate most of the growth in wages. "If I had to
mark this government's performance, I would give it a firm four points out
of five. It is a good government," Kuchma said. He quoted statistics showing
that wages grew by 25 per cent in 2004, and real incomes were up 15.3
per cent.
"Ukrainian families are feeling these positive changes in their own
financial wellbeing... I am very glad that we are finally able to implement
an effective social policy," Kuchma said. Answering a jocular question by
the interviewer, Vyacheslav Pikhovshek, Kuchma also made it clear that he
wished for a Yanukovych victory on 21 November. "I would like Yanukovych
eventually to become a member of two trade unions - of former prime
ministers and former presidents," Kuchma said.
CRITICIZES YUSHCHENKO
Kuchma poured scorn on an alliance between Yushchenko and Socialist
leader Oleksandr Moroz, who came third in the 31 October first round with
just under 6 per cent of the votes. He said Moroz professed to be a
Socialist while Yushchenko was essentially a capitalist, so an alliance
between the two was unnatural.
"It is like a cross-breed of a hedgehog and a grass snake," Kuchma said.
"Two populists have united. Populism is playing with the people, promising
them to deliver all the good things in no time at all, speaking passionately
for everything that is good and against everything bad. Populists need an
enemy, represented by the authorities... By voting for me, you vote against
the authorities - that had always been Moroz's motto. It has now also
become Yushchenko's motto. That is their common ground."
CALLS FOR CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM
Kuchma repeated his earlier calls for a constitutional reform that would
transfer most of the president's powers to parliament and the Cabinet of
Ministers. He said there was still hope that parliament would adopt the
reform bill, which failed narrowly in April 2004, before the 21 November
runoff round. He said the passage of the reform would prevent the runoff
round from being "an all-or-nothing game".
"The situation is very tense now, and it will become even more tense unless
the reform is carried out," Kuchma said. "Whoever wins the election, giving
someone all the current presidential powers is very risky... Not
implementing the reform is a recipe for political instability in the
country." (The interview will be processed as text by 2200 gmt 14 Nov 04.
Audio and video available.) -30- [Action Ukraine Monitoring Service]
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.218: ARTICLE NUMBER SEVEN
Suggested articles for publication in the Report are always welcome
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7. DO NOT SHUT THE DOOR ON EU MEMBERSHIP FOR UKRAINE
Letter to the Editor, from Charles Tannock MEP.
Financial Times, London, UK, Tue, November 16 2004
Sir, Anders Aslund ("Ukraine's voters don't need Moscow's advice",
November 12) is essentially correct in his analysis of the current political
situation in Ukraine.
However, he misses one essential point, which I have repeatedly raised in
the European parliament but which is totally ignored by the other European
Union institutions: namely, that unless the EU accepts Ukraine can engage in
some kind of long-term aspiration towards eventual EU membership it is
inevitable that whoever wins the presidential election on November 21 has
only one economic option - to look east to Moscow.
Ukraine will then be obliged to implement fully the Yalta Treaty and the
Single Economic Space with Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan and possibly even
Uzbekistan. Once it enters into close free-trade agreements with countries
such as Belarus and Uzbekistan with lamentable human rights records, and in
particular if these evolve into a customs union, its door to EU integration
will be irreversibly shut.
With the possible exception of Silvio Berlusconi of Italy, no other EU
leader is prepared to make encouraging Euro-Atlantic integration noises to
Ukraine. President Leonid Kuchma, at the last EU-Ukraine summit, was so
humiliated by Romano Prodi, president of the EU Commission, when he stated
that irrespective of how European Ukrainians might feel, so might New
Zealanders feel the same, that Mr Kuchma reversed his previously long-held
policy of Ukrainian Nato and EU integration.
Hans-Gert Poettering, leader of the EPP-ED in the European parliament, has
written to Viktor Yushchenko, the front-running candidate, assuring him that
his political group will keep the door open for Ukraine's EU membership. It
cannot be morally sustainable to open negotiations with Turkey and be down
the road with western Balkan countries and deny such a right to Ukraine.
The run-off, as well as being free, fair and transparent, must allow the
option of long-term EU accession to be part of the Ukrainian people's
choice. -30- [The Action Ukraine Report Monitoring Service]
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Charles Tannock, Vice-President, European Parliament Ukraine Delegation
Ukrainian Presidential Election Observer
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 218: ARTICLE NUMBER EIGHT
Letters to the editor are always welcome
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8. "CHESTNUTS AND REVOLUTIONS"
EDITORIAL: Wall Street Journal Europe
Europe: Monday, November 15, 2004
Last February, these columns called for a "Chestnut Revolution" in Ukraine.
With Kiev's famous kashtany in mind, we suggested that this year's
presidential election, heading toward a dramatic climax next Sunday, was a
wonderful opportunity for an outbreak of popular democracy.
Soon after, this little chestnut took on a life of its own in Ukraine.
Pro-democracy activists fighting authoritarian President Leonid Kuchma
embraced Kashtanova Revolutsiya, or Chestnut Revolution, to mobilize
supporters ahead of the poll. The student wing of Rukh, a party which led
the fight for independence back in 1991, calls its Web site
www.kashtan.org.ua and its periodical carries that name. The Internet and
media are flush with references as opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko
faces off against Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych in the run-off. Mr.
Yushchenko edged the Kuchma protégé in the first round Oct. 31.
"This looks like a revolutionary movement -- a 'Chestnut Revolution,' as
people say in Ukraine," Grazyna Staniszewska, a Polish member of the
European Parliament who's a monitor for Sunday's poll, told the European
Voice newspaper, comparing Ukraine today to Solidarity-era Poland.
"What is happening now is the triumph of democracy and the birth of civil
society, things that you can only dream of in Russia. . . . [The EU] must
help the Chestnut Revolution."
As any political slogan, the meaning of this one can be easily twisted.
Arguing that the opposition would do anything to win, the Yanukovych
campaign committee last month appealed to President Kuchma "to take
all possible measures to prevent the implementation of 'Chestnut
Revolution-scenarios' and to ensure law and order during the election
process." According to independent election observers, the Kuchma
government did indeed take steps to help their man: Widespread fraud,
state intimidation of media and the harassment of opposition parties and
groups allegedly marred the first round vote.
Along with Ukraine's oligarchs, the Kremlin prays for a Yanukovych victory.
President Vladimir Putin found time Friday to make a second visit to
Ukraine in two weeks to campaign for the pro-Russian prime minister. To
the autocrats in Moscow, free elections next door pose a direct challenge to
their ways. Andrei Kokoshin, the head of the Russian Duma's CIS affairs
committee, earlier this month said: "I think we must not rule out an
attempted chestnut coup or a chestnut revolution."
The serendipitous, and ultimately irrelevant, origin of the phrase in our
pages fuels accusations that democracy in Ukraine is some sort of Western
conspiracy. Playing to public fears, the Yanukovych campaign claims that
any "revolution" would be bloody, as if this was 1917.
Let's be clear. In post-Soviet Europe, democratic revolutions have been
homegrown and peaceful -- from Czechoslovakia's 1989 Velvet to Georgia's
Rose Revolution last year. The assertion of popular sovereignty against
illegitimate rulers is the very opposite of a coup. This may be the year of
Ukraine's coming of age. Proving fatalists wrong, the presidential poll
energized the country, showing that democracy can flourish in this region.
Mr. Kuchma could try to rig the poll. Or the retiring president might join
-- rather than get swept up by -- the Chestnut Revolution. -30-
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.218: ARTICLE NUMBER NINE
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9. KIVALOV AND EU AMBASSADORS DISCUSS PREPARATION
TO SECOND ROUND OF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Mon, November 15, 2004
KYIV - Chairperson of the Central Election Commission Serhii Kivalov
and Ambassadors of the countries of the European Union have discussed
preparation to the second round of elections of the President of Ukraine.
The meeting was held behind closed doors.
Monique Frank, Ambassador of the Netherlands presiding in the EU,
informed that Ambassadors asked Kivalov, whether he is familiar with
preliminary conclusions of the mission of Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe, according to which the first tour of election did
not comply with many international standards of democracy.
Kivalov noted that he knows about shortcomings of election and that now
they are working on their elimination. Mass issuance of absentee ballots
and errors in the lists of voters caused greatest concern of ambassadors.
Kivalov informed ambassadors that the CEC instructed district election
commissions to correct errors on the lists of voters locally after the voter
presents a passport.
The UK Ambassador Robert Brinkley informed that the Ambassadors
also expressed concern about duration of calculation of results of election.
According to Brinkley, Kivalov informed that the CEC only performs
calculation of "wet" original protocols of election commissions, and not on
electronic and telephone statements about results.
Kivalov expressed hopes that results of the second round of election will
be calculated faster than in the 15-day period stipulated by the law.
Kivalov expressed hope that changes will be made to the budget to provide
another UAH 119 million to the CEC, required for the second round.
He informed that the CEC presently only has UAH 41 million and the CEC
still owes money to mass media, which posted election programs of
candidates.
Kivalov also said that the evidence of Ukraine's openness is the fact that
in addition to 4,028 foreign observers, the CEC registered another 706
foreign observers before the second round.
As Ukrainian News earlier reported, ambassadors of the EU member-
countries previously intended to express their concern to Kivalov on
November 15 about the violations that were committed during this year's
Ukrainian presidential elections.
The United States, Japan, Canada, the Organization for security and
Cooperation in Europe, and election observation missions from NATO and
the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe negatively appraised
the election campaign and said that the elections fell short of several
international democratic standards.
The first round of the Ukrainian presidential elections took place on
October 31. The CEC has scheduled the second round of the presidential
elections for November 21. -30- [Action Report Monitoring Service]
========================================================
ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.218: ARTICLE NUMBER TEN
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10. PARLIAMENT TO HEAR CEC'S REPORT ON PREPARATIONS
FOR SECOND ROUND OF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Mon, Nov 15, 2004
KYIV - The parliament intends to hear a report from the Central Electoral
Commission on preparation for second round of this year's presidential
elections at a session on November 17. Deputy Parliament Speaker
Oleksandr Zinchenko announced this on Monday, citing a decision of
the conciliatory council of leaders of parliamentary groups, fractions,
and committees.
"The CEC's information about preparation for holding the second round
will be heard on Wednesday," Zinchenko said. He criticized the performance
of the CEC after the first round of the presidential elections.
According to him, the CEC has disengaged from organization of the election
process and is concentrating only on the counting of votes.
Zinchenko also said that the CEC has done nothing to update voter lists,
which were one of the main obstacles to the expression of the people's will
during the first round of the presidential elections. He expressed the view
that the CEC's other shortcomings include its efforts to tighten control
over voting with absentee voter certificates.
Zinchenko also said that he has not heard any constructive proposals from
the leadership of the CEC aimed at improving the voting procedures during
the second round of the presidential elections. According to him, the CEC's
leadership has only complained about a shortage of money for organizing the
second round.
As Ukrainian News earlier reported, the conciliatory council previously
decided to hear a report from the Central Electoral Commission's Chairman
Serhii Kivalov about preparation for voting in the second round of this
year's Ukrainian presidential elections on Friday, November 19.
The first round of the Ukrainian presidential elections took place on
October 31. -30- [The Action Ukraine Report Monitoring Service]
========================================================
ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.218: ARTICLE NUMBER ELEVEN
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11. INDUSTRIAL OUTPUT GROWTH SLOWS TO 7.7% Y/Y IN
OCTOBER FROM 9.9% IN SEPTEMBER
.
IntelliNews, Ukraine Today, Kiev, Ukraine, November 15, 2004
KIEV - Industrial output growth slows to 7.7% y/y in October from 9.9% in
September. According to State Statistics Committee, industrial output growth
made up 7.7% y/y and 6.4% m/m in October.
This is a slowdown from the September's 9.9% y/y growth. IP growth slowed
to 13.6% y/y over Jan-Oct from 14.4% y/y both in Jan-Sep and Jan-Aug.
In October, the highest growth rate was posted in timber and wood products
(27.5% y/y), machinery (26.4%), textiles (17.6%), and pulp and paper
(12.1%). Worth noting, EconMin forecasted IP growth will make up about
14% y/y in full-2004. -30- [Action Ukraine Report Monitoring Service]
========================================================
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12. EBRD OPENS CREDIT LINE TO AVAL BANK FOR $10 MILLION
WITHIN FRAMEWORK OF PROGRAM OF MORTGAGE LENDING
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Mon, November 15, 2004
KYIV - The European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)
opened a credit line for the Aval bank in the volume of USD 10 million
within the framework of mortgage lending program. Aval's chairperson of
the board of directors Oleksandr Derkach informed journalists about this.
The loan was provided for 7 years for further provision of long-term
mortgage loans (for 5 to 15 years) to private clients. Financial conditions
of the EBRD loan are not disclosed.
Private individuals may receive mortgage loans for up to USD 75,000 from
Aval, and the sum of primary loan must constitute not less than 30% of the
housing price.
According to Derkach, interest rates on mortgage loans within the framework
of this project for end users will be at the level presently offered by the
bank (average of 14-15% annual in foreign currency and 28-30% in hryvnias).
Housing purchased on loan may serve as loan collateral.
EBRD decided to allocate USD 30 million for development of mortgage
lending (the bank took a relevant decision in February 2004).
Aval became the first authorized bank within the framework of this program,
and the EBRD intends to select another 2-3 banks in the nearest time. The
limit for each of those banks will constitute USD 5-10 million.
As Ukrainian News earlier reported, the EBRD board of directors in early
February 2004 decided to allocate USD 30 million to Ukraine for development
of mortgage lending. -30- [The Action Ukraine Report Monitoring Service]
========================================================
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13. UKRAINIAN OPPOSITION ACCUSES PRO-MOSCOW
CHURCH OF SLANDERING CANDIDATE
UNIAN news agency, Kiev, in Ukrainian, 15 Nov 04
BBC Monitoring, UK, in English, Mon, November 15, 2004
KIEV - Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyy (Odessa Region [southwestern Ukraine]),
15 November: Activists of the Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyy district staff of
presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko have found about 10,000 leaflets
of slanderous content against the leader of the People's Strength opposition
bloc [Yushchenko] in the Cathedral of the Holy Assumption of the Ukrainian
Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate.
UNIAN reports that the propaganda leaflets, which bear no sign of who
published them, call Yushchenko a "partisan of the schismatics and an enemy
of Orthodoxy" and his wife Kateryna Chumachenko [who is a US citizen] a
"CIA agent". They also include a call to vote for the "Orthodox President
[current Prime Minister] Viktor Yanukovych".
The head of Yushchenko's district staff, Anatoliy Zadorozhnyy, said the
slanderous leaflets were "posted up not just outside the Cathedral of the
Holy Assumption and at nearby churches of the Moscow Patriarchate.
Together with an appeal to the flock by Bishop Agafangel of the Russian
Orthodox Church to support Yanukovych at the elections, they have been
mass-distributed in Odessa and in all Orthodox churches of the bishopric by
both monks and campaigners from the electoral staff of the progovernment
candidate [Yanukovych]."
[Pro-Yushchenko] Yuriy Karamzin MP said "this sort of propaganda and
slanderous material is also being actively distributed in Kiev,
Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhya and other regions as well. We must therefore
state that the church is openly campaigning against Yushchenko, who is an
Orthodox Christian. One is struck in particular by the lie that Orthodox
churches will be closed after his electoral victory," said the MP.
[The pro-Russian Moscow Patriarchate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church
has openly backed Yanukovych for president, and opposition activists have
registered several cases of what they call campaigning by the church against
Yushchenko - see UT1, Kiev, in Ukrainian 1900 gmt 10 Nov 04 and TV
5 Kanal, Kiev, in Ukrainian 1600 gmt 13 Nov 04] -30-
========================================================
ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.218: ARTICLE NUMBER FOURTEEN
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14. "AUTOCRACY IS ON THE MARCH"
COMMENTARY by Pavel Felgenhauer
Moscow Times, Moscow, Russia, Tues, November 16, 2004
Russia emerged from the wreckage of the Soviet empire with vaguely
established borders and still more vague strategic interests. In the
immediate aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union, isolationism
reigned in Moscow -- a determination to cut the other former Soviet
republics loose to go it on their own. In late 1991 and early 1992 no one
even questioned the notion of a complete Russian troop withdrawal from
all of the so-called near abroad.
As post-Soviet Russia reasserted itself, integrationist forces began to
prevail. Today Russia maintains military installations in all member
countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States. Russian garrisons
remain in Georgia and Moldova in violation of the explicitly expressed will
of those countries' leaders and of pledges that Russia made during an OSCE
summit in Istanbul in 1999.
The ruling elite in Moscow is obsessed with the idea of replacing the Soviet
Union with a new, Russian-led union. For more than a decade, the Russian
military has been involved in ethnic and civil conflicts throughout the CIS.
Such intervention has helped to create a number of de facto dependencies
unrecognized by the international community. Russia signed a union treaty
with Belarus, but no functioning, unified state emerged. Various agreements
have been reached on economic, political and military cooperation within the
CIS, with few practical results.
Recently Moscow began to focus on tampering with elections in neighboring
countries to install pro-Moscow leaders. This tactic has proven extremely
effective within Russia. Kremlin-backed leaders have been "elected" in
Chechnya, Ingushetia and other regions. But attempts to manipulate elections
in Georgia and Ukraine have been less successful.
During elections last month in breakaway Abkhazia, the Kremlin supported and
bankrolled the campaign of former KGB officer and former Abkhaz Prime
Minister Raul Khadzhimba. Campaign operatives from Moscow descended on
the Abkhaz capital, Sukhumi, and plastered the streets with posters showing
Khadzhimba shaking hands with President Vladimir Putin. Moscow restored
passenger train service from the Russian border to Sukhumi, which had been
cut in 1992 without the permission of Georgia -- the sovereign power in
Abkhazia. Despite all this, voters rejected Khadzhimba in favor of
opposition leader Sergei Bagapsh.
Before war tore Abkhazia apart in the early 1990s, half of the population
consisted of ethnic Georgians who are now in exile and therefore did not
vote. Both Khadzhimba and Bagapsh are separatists who want to improve
relations with Russia. But Moscow's favorite, Khadzhimba, represents the
corrupt ruling elite that has turned Abkhazia into a land of narcotics
production and lawlessness. The people of Abkhazia wanted change and
voted for Bagapsh.
The Kremlin did not accept the result. The bonds between corrupt Abkhaz
officials and Moscow's political elite are apparently too strong and too
complex to allow an unauthorized change of leadership. Bagapsh was
summoned to Moscow and told to back down and allow a new election.
He later said the Kremlin had threatened to blockade Abkhazia if he did
not concede.
Bagapsh stood his ground. Last week his supporters occupied government
buildings in Sukhumi, effectively dismissing the Moscow-controlled
administration that refused to accept the election results. The Russian
Foreign Ministry accused Bagapsh of attempting a coup and threatened to use
force to prevent him from taking power. Russia has "peacekeeping" troops in
Abkhazia and unofficially controls an elite Abkhaz special forces unit loyal
to the regional leadership.
On Sunday, Ukrainians return to the polls to elect their next president.
Putin openly supports a pro-Moscow candidate, Prime Minister Viktor
Yanukovych. Should Yanukovych come up short, the Kremlin may react
as it has in Abkhazia, using all available means to install the leader of
its choice against the will of the people.
In Belarus, Moscow has officially accepted the results of a rigged
referendum that gave President Alexander Lukashenko the right to run for
as many terms as he likes. Here at home, the Kremlin is pushing legislation
that will deny more than 100 million voters the right to elect their
regional leaders.
Putin's regime is suppressing freedom at home and slowly subjugating the
countries of the near abroad. A Russian autocracy can "integrate" only with
regimes of its own kind. -30- [Action Ukraine Monitoring Service]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pavel Felgenhauer is an independent defense analyst based in Moscow.
========================================================
ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.218: ARTICLE NUMBER FIFTEEN
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15. CANADIAN PARLIAMENTARIANS BLAST PUTIN'S
INVOLVEMENT IN UKRAINE ELECTIONS
Article By Stephen Bandera
For Ukraine Transparency & Election Monitoring Project (UTEMP)
Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, November 14, 2004
KYIV - Three Canadian parliamentarians accused Russian president
Vladimir Putin of meddling in Ukraine's presidential elections by
campaigning on behalf of one of the candidates.
Voters in former Soviet republic are preparing for a runoff poll between
Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych and opposition leader Viktor
Yanukovych on November 21.
"We are disturbed by the intervention of Mr. Putin in the election process
in Ukraine," MP David Kilgour told journalists at a press conference in
Kyiv on November 13. The Edmonton MP was in Ukraine from
November 8 to 13 with Ontario Senator David Smith and Toronto MP
Borys Wrzesnewskyj.
"Mr. Putin's advisors are working for Mr. Yanukovych and Russian money
has been evidently elicited for the same cause," Kilgour said.
Putin visited Kyiv three days before the elections and praised the economic
record of Prime Minister and presidential candidate Viktor Yanukovych
government in a live televised interview. Putin met with Yanukovych again
on November 12 in Crimea, where he wished the candidate success in
the runoff. The episode was widely reported by Ukrainian television whose
coverage is heavily skewed in favor of Yanukovych.
"This is why our Prime Minister Paul Martin did not come to Kyiv recently
although he was in the region because he did not wish to give the impression
that he was interfering in your election," Kilgour said. Paul Martin was in
Moscow from October 11 to 13 for an official visit to Russia.
Yanukovych's main rival in the November 21 runoff is former Prime
Minister Viktor Yushchenko. Yushchenko edged his opponent by just over
155,000 votes in the first round of elections held on October 31, according
to official returns.
Kilgour said that "the governmental television stations in Russia that are
broadcasting into this country are campaigning ultimately for Mr.
Yanukovych," and that "there are even billboards up in central Moscow
that gives the same message."
"Such interference is shockingly inappropriate for any fair-minded person
anywhere," Kilgour said. "If a U.S. president came to Canada during our
elections and it was clear that he was backing a particular candidate, that
would probably mean defeat," Smith mused.
"Although the U.S. is our friend, ally, neighbor and largest trading
partner, we Canadian value our independence. In fact, I'd be happy if
some American politicians offered that type of help to our opponents,"
the Liberal Senator continued, "but they would never do it because
they know the rules."
"One young resident of this capital who voted for Mr. Yanukovych in the
first round told me that she is extremely concerned about the role of Mr.
Putin in this election," Kilgour told journalists.
"Another Kyiv resident who did not vote in the first round told me that he
is so upset by what Mr. Putin has done that he will vote in the second
round," Kilgour said.
"Intimidation of any type, be it goons at a polling station or inappropriate
foreign intervention is unacceptable in a true democracy," Smith said.
"When we return to Canada, we will hold consultations," Wrzesnewskyj
replied to questions concerning what the legislators plan to do next.
"We are optimistic that in the end the electoral process will reflect the
will of the people. However, we also need to consider what our reactions
will be if this is not the case. And there will be consequences, not only
for Ukraine, but for Russia too," Wrzesnewskyj said.
The Toronto MP said that he will raise the issue with the parliamentary
foreign affairs commission, the Ministry of foreign affairs and with the
Prime Minister.
"We are not here to pass judgment on any of the two remaining candidates
in the runoff election. It's up to the people of Ukraine to decide who
represents their interests, honesty, integrity and a proper running of the
economy and all of the things that are important for the Ukrainian people,"
Kilgour said.
The three-member delegation also expressed "shock at the deliberate and
widespread nature of election abuses," according to a statement.
The shock was based on a report compiled by Canadian observers working
in the heavily industrialized eastern Ukrainian province of Luhansk that
borders the Russian Federation.
Two of the observers, Mark Keller, 40, and Julia Krekhovetsky, 23, both
from Toronto, provided details of more than 500 electoral violations their
ten person observation team encountered in eastern Ukraine in the last
two weeks of October.
The violations included bribery, intimidation and harassment of voters and
campaign workers, voter list and ballot box violations, and obstruction of
the rights of international observers and media, among others.
The observers played a video tape of documented violations, including
pro-Yanukovych campaign materials at the polling stations, individuals
filling out blank copies of voting return reports on window sills outside
polling stations and testimonials from campaign workers about physical
threats.
The observers filed a six-page report that detailed the exact times and
places where violations were encountered.
The report, which characterizes the violations as "ranging from relatively
minor administrative errors to major infractions of Ukraine's election law,"
concluded that "the elections in the areas under observation were not
universal, fair, secret, free or transparent."
Canada has been one of the most vocal critics of the lopsided elections.
A statement issued by Canadian ambassador Andrew Robinson on
September 21 noted "Canada is seriously concerned that coming
Ukrainian elections will fail to meet democratic standards."
The next day Robinson was summoned to the Ukrainian Ministry of
Foreign Affairs where officials expressed "profound disappointment"
and questioned the Canadian "Embassy's objectiveness in informing
the Canadian Government about the real situation in Ukraine."
On October 26 the House of Commons unanimously passed a motion
sponsored by Wrzesnewskyj urging democratic and fair elections in
Ukraine, sending a strong message to the Ukrainian government to
clean up its act.
In early November, Derek Fraser, former Canadian Ambassador to
Ukraine, wrote that "if the second round of voting in Ukraine is as
fraudulent as the first, Russia's candidacy to join the WTO will be
put on hold" in an op-ed published by a national newspaper. -30-
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ukraine Transparency & Election Monitoring Project (UTEMP) is
managed by the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, University
of Alberta and administered in Ukraine by the "Hromadianska
Enerhiya" Foundation, http://www.vybory2004.in.ua
========================================================
ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 218: ARTICLE NUMBER SIXTEEN
Letters to the editor are always welcome
========================================================
16. UPDATE: APPEAL IN SUPPORT OF DEMOCRACY IN UKRAINE
Natalia Pylypiuk, Associate Professor, University of Alberta
Edmonton, Canada, Saturday, November 13, 2004
Dear Colleagues and Students,
This is to report that the Appeal of the International Academic
Community in Support of Democracy in Ukraine, which many of you
signed so promptly after I posted my request to this list at the end of
October, has circulated among many universities throughout the world.
The Appeal was subsequently posted both in Ukrainian and English
on the website of "Krytyka," Ukraine's equivalent of The New York
Review of Books.
The list, which now numbers approximately 900 scholars, includes
individuals such as Homi K.Bhabha, Noam Chomsky, Nina
Khrushcheva, Gayatri Chakravorti Spivak, Mustapha Tlili, and Zvi
Zohar.
The support of the international academic community has encouraged
many colleagues in Ukraine to part with fear and to sign as well. This
is an important step toward the creation of civil society in Ukraine.
To read the Appeal in English and view the list of signatories, please
click on http://krytyka.kiev.ua/ and scroll down the page. As you will
see, Canadian representation is very strong. I sincerely thank you --
my colleagues in the Canadian Association of Slavists--for your
generous response.
If you have not signed, but wish to do so, you may add your signature
on line. Do not hesitate to alert me if you encounter any problems.
Kind regards,
Dr. Natalia Pylypiuk, Associate Professor
Modern Languages and Cultural Studies http://www.mlcs.ca
200 Arts, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada T6G 2E6
Canadian Association of Slavists; natalia.pylypiuk@ualberta.ca
http://www.ualberta.ca/~csp/cas
=========================================================
ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 218: ARTICLE NUMBER SEVENTEEN
Letters to the editor are always welcome
=========================================================
17. UKRAINIAN STUDENTS IN SUMY GO ON HUNGER STRIKE
TO PROTEST ARRESTS
Associated Press, Kiev, Ukraine, Sun, November 14, 2004
KIEV (AP)--Over 40 students launched a hunger strike in northeastern
Ukraine on Sunday to protest the arrest of opposition observers in the
presidential election, Ukrainian television reported. The students set up a
tent camp in the city of Sumy near the border with Russia to protest a court
ruling, under which six observers from the Our Ukraine bloc, headed by
opposition candidate Viktor Yushchenko, were arrested Saturday on charges
of resisting police during the Oct. 31 vote, the independent TV5 channel
reported.
Yushchenko won 39.87% of the vote, edging Prime Minister Viktor
Yanukovych by just 0.5 percentage points. Since both candidates failed to
win more than 50 percent, a runoff is scheduled for Nov. 21. Yushchenko
won 52.71% in his native Sumy region.
During the vote in Sumy, the opposition observers demanded election
officials at a polling station to show them a vote protocol, but were turned
down, which was followed by a clash resulting in broken windows. At the
time of Saturday's court hearings in Sumy, police used tear gas and beat
opposition supporters who gathered in front of the court building to protest
the verdict, Our Ukraine said in a statement.
Many Western governments and international organizations, including the
Council of Europe, have accused authorities of interference during
campaigning for the first round of voting. In the latest sign of
international concerns, a group of Canadian observers warned about a
"shocking" number of violations that they had found in the first round,
including bribing and pressure upon the voters, observers and election
officials, the Interfax news agency reported Sunday.
They also expressed concerns about visits to Ukraine by Russian President
Vladimir Putin, accusing Moscow of interference in Ukrainian election. On
Sunday, Putin wrapped up his three-day visit to Ukraine, his second in half
a month, apparently motivated by the Kremlin's keen interest in the outcome
of the Nov. 21 runoff.
Yushchenko, a Western-leaning reformist, would likely nudge Ukraine closer
to the European Union and NATO. Yanukovych, who is backed by the
Kremlin, is considered pro-Russian. -30- [Action Ukraine Monitoring Service]
========================================================
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