NEWSBRIEFS ON UKRAINE
- KYYIV - A small fire broke out at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant
on Tuesday, January 12, outside one of the working reactors. However, it
was quickly extinguished, a plant official said. The fire was discovered
in the electrical equipment between the buildings that house reactors No.
2 and 3.
Two days later, another fire occurred at the station, site
of the world's worst nuclear accident in 1986. The second fire was in a
remote section of the concrete sarcophagus encasing the stricken fourth
reactor. It took firefighters and plant employees two hours to extinguish
the blaze. Neither fire was serious, plant officials said, adding that
no radiation was released as a result of either incident. (The Washington
Post, The Washington Times)
- KYYIV - The leaders of two Ukrainian political parties told a Ukrainian
radio audience on January 15 that, having given up all its short-range
nuclear arms, Ukraine should not eliminate the rest of its nuclear arsenal
unless other nuclear powers do so. According to Interfax, Mykhailo Horyn,
chairman of the Ukrainian Republican Party and a parliamentary deputy,
added that Western countries have "failed to appreciate Ukraine's
noble gesture of eliminating its tactical nuclear capability..." Parliamentarian
Mykola Porovsky, who is also deputy leader of the Congress of National
Democratic Forces, a center-right grouping, commented that transferring
nuclear arms to Russia would be "like Kuwait surrendering its weapons
to Iraq and becoming an Iraqi protectorate." The Ukrainian Parliament
is expected shortly to debate the ratification of START I. (RFE/RL Daily
Report)
- KYYIV - Rukh has asked the presidential representative in Kyyiv, the
Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Education, as well as public and
political organizations to mark the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Kruty.
On January 29-30, 1918, 300 young Ukrainian men, mostly students were killed
at a battle near the Kruty railroad station with Russian Bolshevik forces.
Rukh plans to hold a memorial service and public meeting to pay tribute
to the heroic act. (Respublika)
- KYYIV - Representatives of collective farms and agricultural enterprises
met in the Ukrainian capital last month to reorganize the Council of Collective
Farms of Ukraine into the All-Ukrainian Council of Collective Agricultural
Enterprises. Oleksander Borovyk, director of the Avangard kolhosp in the
Chernihiv region, was chosen to head the council. (Respublika)
- KYYIV - The founding congress of the Ukrainian Party of Justice took
place here recently. Founders include members of public organizations such
as the Association of Ukrainian Veterans of Afghanistan, the Chornobyl
Union and the Officers' Association of Ukraine. The goal of the new party
is to create a truly just society that would provide equal opportunities
for all people. (Respublika)
- MOSCOW - The Russian and Ukrainian prime ministers met in Moscow on
January 14 to discuss a variety of issues, CIS and Western news agencies
reported. They appeared to make some progress towards settling a dispute
over oil and gas prices, and supplies to Ukraine from Russia. They agreed
to meet again next month to discuss establishing what they called a "mini-OPEC,"
which would entail Ukraine's participation in developing deposits in Russia.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Leonid Kuchma and Russia's Prime Minister Viktor
Chernomyrdin failed, however, to agree on how to apportion the foreign
debt accumulated by the USSR and reportedly have asked Western creditors
to help them settle the dispute. The same day, leaders of the industrialist
blocks in Russia and Ukraine appealed to the presidents of their countries
to settle their economic differences to prevent further economic deterioration
in both countries, Reuters reported. (RFE/RL Daily Report)
- LONDON - Ukraine will obtain 14.7 million barrels of oil from Kazakhstan
in a barter deal. Ukraine will also buy an unspecified quantity of oil
from Turkmenistan, reported Radio Ukraine. (The Journal of Commerce)
- DONETSKE - A consultative meeting of the leaders and deputies of the
Donetske region's local councils, and local political and trade union leaders,
has revealed a split between those who want Ukraine to integrate more fully
into the CIS, and those defending Ukraine's independence, Ukrainian TV
reported on January 13. (RFE/RL Daily Report)
- MOSCOW - A high level Russian official told reporters on January 18
that he believes the Crimea (and presumably Sevastopil in particular) should
remain home to the Russian Black Sea Fleet. Yevgeniy Pudovkin, a member
of the Committee on International Affairs and Foreign Economic Relations
in the Russian Supreme Soviet also said he will head a working group tasked
with examining the status of the Crimean port city of Sevastopil. According
to the same Interfax report, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov
told reporters the same day that the Russian Foreign Ministry fully supports
the conclusion of an agreement with Ukraine on dual citizenship, which
would presumably benefit Russians living in the Crimea. He said the Russian
and Ukrainian presidents had discussed the issue during their January 15
meeting and both sides had recognized the need to resolve the problem.
(RFE/RL Daily Report)
- MOSCOW - Interfax reported on January 11 that Ukraine's top naval officer,
Admiral Boris Kozhin, said Ukraine has the right to claim a quarter of
the former Soviet Navy, which he said is Ukraine's share of the former
USSR's gross national product (GNP). He further said that 12,000 of the
60,000 men now serving in the Black Sea Fleet wish to serve in the Ukrainian
Navy; an additional 15,000 naval personnel serving in other fleets also
wish to serve Ukraine. (RFE/RL Daily Report)
- DONETSKE - A meeting of Communist leaders in Ukraine's Donetske region
has issued a protest against the recent sharp price increases and general
approach to economic reform by the central government, Ukrinform-TASS reported
on January 13. One participant, Pyotr Simonenko, party second secretary
in the Donetske region before the Ukrainian Parliament banned the CP in
August 1991, told Interfax he and his colleagues are organizing a conference
in Donetske in the second part of February as part of their efforts to
restore the Communist Party of Ukraine. (RFE/RL Daily Report)
- KYYIV - Prime Minister Leonid Kuchma has asked former deputy prime
minister and minister of the economy Volodymyr Lanovoy to prepare a plan
to help Ukraine out of its current economic crisis, it was reported on
January 16. Mr. Lanovovy was the reform-minded minister in the Cabinet
of Prime Minister Vitold Fokin; he was sacked by President Leonid Kravchuk.
(Respublika)
- CHISINAU - Ukrainian First Deputy Defense Minister Ivan Bizhan and
Moldovan Defense Minister Pavel Creanga initialled on January 18 an agreement
that provides for the creation of a common air defense system, exchanges
of military information of joint interest and exchanges of military specialists.
According to Basapress, the military agreement was drawn up on the basis
of the basic treaty signed by Presidents Leonid Kravchuk of Ukraine and
Mircea Snegur of Moldova on October 23, 1992. (RFE/RL Daily Report)
- KYYIV - The Italian Institute of Foreign Trade opened an office in
Ukraine with the aim of helping Italian firms enter the Ukrainian market
and establish contacts with local partners, as well as to promote the entry
of Ukrainian products into the Italian market. Italy currently holds first
place among countries exporting goods to Ukraine. Italy's Ambassador to
Ukraine, Vittorio Surdo, said the opening of the foreign trade office is
an indication of the significance Italy attaches to the development of
Ukraine's economy. (Respublika)
- KYYIV - Ukraine and Belarus signed 16 bilateral agreements on economic
relations and the free travel by citizens of both independent states across
their common border. The agreements were signed following an official visit
to Ukraine by a Belarusian delegation headed by Prime Minister Viacheslav
Kebich. As well, the chairman of Belarus's Council of Ministers met with
President Leonid Kravchuk and Prime Minister Leonid Kuchma. (Respublika)
Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, January
24, 1993, No. 4, Vol. LXI
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