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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.

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

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)

See also:

Interview -- Yuliya Tymoshenko Marks First 100 Days As PM

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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