December 11, 2020

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Prominent Crimean Tatar is sentenced in absentia

The Russian-controlled Supreme Court in Crimea has sentenced the owner of the ATR Crimean Tatar television channel, Lenur Islyamov, to 19 years in prison in absentia.  The court in the Russia-annexed Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula found Mr. Islyamov guilty on December 10 of organizing sabotage, creating an illegal armed group, and publicly calling for Russia’s territorial integrity to be violated. He was sentenced the same day.  Mr. Islyamov’s lawyer, Nikolai Polozov, told RFE/RL that his client does not recognize the court’s legitimacy and added that the court’s ruling will be appealed.  Mr. Islyamov, who has resided in Kyiv since 2015, told RFE/RL earlier that he would not take part in the trial, and rejected the charges against him while calling the judicial process a mockery of justice.  The occupying Russian authorities have refused to issue a broadcasting license to Mr. Islyamov’s ATR television channel after annexing Crimea in early 2014.  In June 2015, ATR resumed broadcasting from Kyiv via satellite throughout Ukraine, including in Crimea.  Rights groups and Western governments have repeatedly denounced what they call a persistent campaign targeting Crimea’s indigenous people – the Turkic-speaking Crimean Tatars, the majority of whom opposed Moscow’s annexation of their homeland. (RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service)

 

Ukrainian national gets 12 years in prison

A Ukrainian national and former professional soccer player has received 12 years in prison in Russia on espionage charges.  The Moscow City Court on December 7 found Vasyl Vasylenko guilty of spying and sentenced him the same day.  Mr. Vasylenko was arrested in October 2019 on suspicion of smuggling unspecified dangerous materials, weapons, and valuable cultural items.  The charge was later amended to espionage.  The materials in the case are classified. No other details have been made public.  Mr. Vasylenko has not commented publicly on the case because of the classification.  Russia has arrested and convicted several Ukrainian nationals on espionage charges in recent years.  Relations between Moscow and Kyiv have been tense since 2014 when Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula and began backing separatists in the conflict in eastern Ukraine, which has left more than 13,200 people dead.  (RFE/RL, with reporting by RIA Novosti and Interfax)

 

Suspect in Sheremet’s case remanded in custody

A court in Kyiv has upheld an extension of the pretrial detention of one of the suspects in the high-profile 2016 killing of journalist Pavel Sheremet in the Ukrainian capital.  The appeals court on December 7 ruled that the decision of the Shevchenko district court in Kyiv in October to hold Andriy Antonenko in pretrial detention until December 19 is valid.  Dozens of Mr. Antonenko’s supporters rallied in front of the court on December 7.  Mr. Sheremet, a Belarusian-born Russian citizen who had made Kyiv his permanent home, was leaving his apartment to head to the studio where he hosted a morning radio show when an improvised explosive device planted under his vehicle exploded on July 20, 2016, killing him.  Mr. Antonenko and two others, Yulia Kuzmenko and Yana Duhar, were arrested as suspects in the case in December last year.  Ms. Duhar and Ms. Kuzmenko were later transferred to house arrest.  The three suspects took part in military operations in different capacities in Ukraine’s east, where government forces are fighting Russia-backed separatists.  The Interior Ministry and the National Police said in December last year that the group’s goal was “to destabilize the political and social situation in Ukraine” by killing Mr. Sheremet.  Analysts said Mr. Sheremet’s killing underscored concerns of a climate of impunity for attacks on journalists and others who challenge the authorities, while the government has faced persistent criticism over a perceived lack of progress in solving the case.  Mr. Sheremet’s mother, Lyudmila Sheremet, told RFE/RL in December last year that she does not know if the suspects are guilty or not, but that she is afraid “that innocent people may be hurt” as officials try to show they’re making headway in the case.  In January, the Ukrainian Prosecutor-General’s Office said that additional evidence was needed for the case to go to trial.  (RFE/RL, with reporting by Ukrayinska Pravda and Ukrinform)

 

Russia blasted for undermining Europe’s security

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun has used a meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to slam Russia for violating the sovereignty and territorial integrity of member states, of seeking to undermine the democratic processes in the region, and of committing human rights abuses against its own people.  Addressing the first day of an OSCE ministerial meeting on December 3, Mr. Biegun also singled out Belarus for “brutally” violating human rights by cracking down on street protests calling on authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka to resign following a contested presidential election in August.  “The most egregious violation of sovereignty and territorial integrity within the OSCE area remains Russia’s continued aggression in eastern Ukraine and occupation of Crimea,” Mr. Biegun told the meeting in Albania’s capital, Tirana.  Mr. Biegun said it is “unacceptable” that the OSCE mission monitoring the conflict faces “daily harassment and restrictions, largely in Russia-controlled areas,” according to a transcript by the U.S. mission to the pan-European organization.  The deputy secretary of state reiterated Washington’s call on Moscow to implement its commitments to the Minsk peace agreements aimed at putting an end to the conflict and insisted that Washington “will never recognize Russia’s purported annexation” of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula, where he said “Crimean Tatars, ethnic Ukrainians, and others opposed to the occupation face cruel repression.”  In his address to the Tirana meeting, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said “the unwillingness of Western countries to abandon confrontational…approaches and an arrogant attitude toward the legitimate interests of other states” have been preventing the OSCE from functioning as a unified body.  (RFE/RL, with reporting by AFP, dpa, Die Presse, and Reuters)

 

Russian Invasion of Ukraine

Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense reported December 9 that in the previous 24 hours, no Ukrainian soldiers were killed or wounded in action. During that same 24-hour period, Russian-terrorist forces opened fire on Ukrainian positions on the Donetsk sector of the front one time. (Ukrainian Canadian Congress Daily Briefing)

 

Quarantine in Ukraine to be strengthened

According to Ukrinform, “The Cabinet of Ministers has approved the imposition of strengthened quarantine measures in Ukraine from January 8-25.”  Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said during the Cabinet meeting on December 9 that “strengthened quarantine measures will be imposed in Ukraine from January 8-24 next year. Let’s call them ‘winter vacations’ for safety reasons. This is done to prevent a new powerful prevalence wave,” he said, according to Ukrinform.  Mr. Shmyhal also presented the list of corresponding restrictions. Over the period of stricter quarantine measures, it will be prohibited to hold holiday concerts and public events. Operation of nightclubs, hostels, shopping and entertainment centers, except for the purchase of basic necessities, will be banned.  “All educational institutions, except for kindergartens, will be closed for vacations. Any entertainment, advertising, sports, cultural events will be banned during this period,” said Mr. Shmyhal, adding that cafes, bars and restaurants will be allowed to provide takeaway service and public transportation will continue to operate.  Beauty salons, gyms and fitness centers, however, will be closed, he said.

 

EU disburses 600 million euros to assist Ukraine

The EU reported that “the European Commission, on behalf of the EU, has today [December 9] disbursed 600 million euros to Ukraine under its COVID-19 related macro-financial assistance (MFA) program.  Ukraine is the seventh country to receive a disbursement from the 3 billion euros emergency MFA package for 10 enlargement and neighbourhood partners, which aims to help them limit the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.  This disbursement will contribute to macro-financial stability in Ukraine while allowing it to allocate resources towards mitigating the severe negative socio-economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic. It represents a tangible demonstration of EU solidarity with its neighbour and partner.  The disbursement follows the agreement of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) this summer and its ratification in mid-September as well as Ukraine’s renewed engagement to continue cooperation under the IMF program in recent weeks and commitment to the policy programme agreed with the EU. Given the emergency nature of this support, the first disbursement is not conditional on the fulfilment of any specific policy conditions. The disbursement of the second tranche will be conditional on fulfilling the eight specific measures laid down at the MoU. These include measures in the areas of public finance management, the fight against corruption, improving the business environment and the governance of state-owned enterprises. The commission is working closely with the Ukrainian authorities on the timely implementation of the agreed policy program.”  EU Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovs­kis said that “Ukraine remains high on the European agenda. It is our neighbourhood country and it belongs to Europe. We are committed to offering political, financial and technical support, especially during this time of crisis as response to COVID-19 pandemic and overcome the social and economic consequences.” (Ukrainian Canadian Congress Daily Briefing)

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