NEWSBRIEFS ON UKRAINE (01/24/93)

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)

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