NEWSBRIEFS

Troop pullback in Stanytsia Luhanska 

Ukraine’s armed forces have begun to pull back from the town of Stanytsia Luhanska in the Luhansk region, one of only six civilian crossing points along the 450-kilometer line of contact in the Donbas war zone. In a Facebook post, Ukrainian Lt. Gen. Oleksandr Syrsky, commander of the Joint Forces Operation in the Donbas, said soldiers left “one of their positions” at the checkpoint at noon.

3-1 victory at U-20 World Cup final caps Ukraine’s historic performance

PARSIPPANY, N.J. – Ukraine’s under-20 men’s team put on a showcase final with its 3-1 come-from-behind win against South Korea on June 15 at Lodz Stadium in the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Poland. South Korea drew first blood with a penalty kick in the fifth minute by Lee Kang-in. Through modern Video Assistant Referee technology, the play that triggered the penalty was reviewed and showed that captain Hwang Taehyeon was tripped on the inside right edge of the penalty area. Ukraine dominated the scoring for the remainder of the match with a brace of goals by Vladyslav Supriaha in the 34th and 52nd minutes. (He is among few players to score multiple goals in a U-20 World Cup final, including Oscar’s hat-trick in 2011 for Brazil.) Supriaha’s equalizer came off Serhiy Buletsa’s free kick returned by South Korea, when Supriaha captured a loose ball and fired it into the goal from eight yards.

Netherlands to prosecute four suspects for downing Malaysia Airlines Flight 17

NIEUWEGEIN, The Netherlands – The Public Prosecution Service of the Netherlands will prosecute four suspects for bringing down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17) on July 17, 2014, killing all 298 passengers and crew.
This decision was made on the basis of the investigation conducted by the Joint Investigation Team (JIT), consisting of law enforcement agencies from Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, Ukraine and the Netherlands. The announcement was made on June 19 in Nieuwegein following a meeting with surviving relatives of the victims who died in the plane crash.

Ukrainian National Credit Union Association holds 38th annual meeting in Washington

WASHINGTON – The Ukrainian National Credit Union Association (UNCUA) held its 38th annual meeting and spring conference on June 6-8, in Washington. 
Thirty participants representing 12 Ukrainian American credit unions in the U.S. gathered to lobby their legislators on Capitol Hill, attend presentations on current topics of interest to credit union leaders and elect a new board of directors.

NEWSBRIEFS

Pentagon plans $250 M to aid Ukraine

The U.S. Department of Defense says it plans to provide $250 million to enhance Ukraine’s military capabilities as the nation continues to battle Russia-backed separatists in its eastern regions. The latest tranche of assistance will strengthen Ukraine’s naval and ground forces through additional training and provision of weapons, the Pentagon said in a statement on June 18. The list of weapons includes sniper rifles, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, counterartillery radars and night-vision equipment among other items, the statement said.

Moscow says it’s ready for gas talks with Kyiv

Two long-term natural gas contracts between Russia and Ukraine are set to expire in December. And as this deadline approaches, the two sides are preparing for necessary renegotiations.
Kyiv needs to avoid a repetition of January 2009 when, due to the absence of contracts, Russia stopped pumping supplies into Ukrainian pipelines and parts of Europe were left without gas. Having run out of time and under pressure not only from Moscow, but also the European Union, Kyiv then had to accept the Russian conditions and sign long-term gas purchase and transit contracts detrimental to its economy.