Monday, February 13, 2012

Belarus

Yushchenko Wants Ukraine To Produce Nuclear Fuel

Yushchenko called for a referendum on more power for the country's parliament (file photo) (AFP)

13 January 2006 -- Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko today said that his country should produce its own nuclear fuel for its power plants.

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January 13, 2006

Yushchenko's remarks come as Ukrainian officials discuss ways of reducing the country's reliance on Russian energy following a dispute over natural gas prices.

Ukraine currently gets its nuclear fuel from Russia.

Also today, Yushchenko called for a national referendum on constitutional reforms that forsee expanding parliament's powers.

Meanwhile, Viktor Yanukovich, Ukraine's former premier who lost the disputed "Orange Revolution" election to Yushchenko, today said that he will continue his efforts to regain power in the country.

Yanukovich's remarks came a few days after his party and some other opposition parties in parliament vowed to sack Yushchenko's government.

(AFP, AP, Reuters)

Spotlight On Yuliya Tymoshenko

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Former Prime Minister YULIYA TYMOSHENKO has long been a controversial figure in Ukrainian politics. A former economist and head of Unified Energy Systems (EES) of Ukraine from Dnipropetrovsk in eastern Ukraine, Tymoshenko served as deputy prime minister for energy in the cabinet of Viktor Yushchenko, when he was prime minister under former President Leonid Kuchma. She has faced legal troubles linked to corruption allegations both in Ukraine and in Russia, although all cases against her have now been dropped. Tymoshenko was a firebrand of the opposition movement during the 2004 Orange Revolution, leading demonstrators to surround the presidential administration and issuing ultimatums to the Kuchma government.
In March 2005, President Viktor Yushchenko named her prime minister, a post that she held until September of that year. In August, on the occasion of the six-month anniversary of her appointment, Tymoshenko spoke with RFE/RL at length, discussing, among other things, the then-looming gas conflict with Russia and the likelihood of a "difficult and dirty" battle in the upcoming parliamentary elections....(more)

Former Prime Minister Offers President Olive Branch

Former Prime Minister Tymoshenko To Go It Alone

ARCHIVE: An archive of RFE/RL's reporting and analysis on Ukraine's Orange Revolution.

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Listen to an audio portrait of the Orange Revolution from RFE/RL's archives. Click here for Real Audio and here for Windows Media.

'Police Detain Stuffed Animals' In Minsk Toy Protest

Belarusian youth activists say police have "detained" some stuffed animals used in an antigovernment protest in Minsk, in an echo of similar recent protests in Russia. More

There are frequent reports in the Bulgarian and Ukrainian media about Romanian “pirates” robbing passing transport ships on the Danube. (file photo)

Reports Of 'Pirates Of The Danube' Get The Old Heave-Ho

An attack last month on a Ukrainian barge on the Romanian sector of the Danube River has caused a diplomatic tussle between Bucharest and Kyiv, sparking media reports of possible acts of piracy on Europe's second-largest river. But do “Danube pirates” actually exist? More

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin (center) drinking beer with soccer fans in St. Petersburg on January 19.

Candidate Putin Offers Russian Soccer Fans Free Flights To Euro 2012

Russian soccer fans concerned about making it to Kyiv for the Euro 2012 championships need worry no longer. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has announced the country's leading airlines will provide free transport to and from at least some of the Russian team's matches. More