Good morning. We'll start the live blog today with this item from our news desk.
Poroshenko, Zelenskiy To Meet Separately With Macron
Ukraine’s president and his electoral challenger for the office are in Western Europe to meet with key leaders ahead of the country’s April 21 runoff vote.
President Petro Poroshenko and challenger Volodymyr Zelenskiy are scheduled to meet separately on April 12 with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris.
Poroshenko will also meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin on the same day.
Germany, France, and Ukraine are part of the so-called "Normandy format" of countries seeking a resolution to the conflict in eastern Ukraine, where Russia-backed separatists are fighting against Kyiv government forces.
Russia is the fourth country in the format, which has not held talks in two years.
According to preelection surveys, Zelenskiy -- a comedian and political newcomer -- is the favorite to win the presidential runoff.
Zelenskiy won the first round by a wide margin over Poroshenko, but he did not receive enough support to avoid the runoff.
Based on reporting by Reuters, AFP, and dpa
We are now closing the live blog for today, but we will be back again tomorrow morning to follow all the latest developments. Until then, you can keep up with all our ongoing Ukraine coverage here.
With Zelenskiy way ahead in the polls, this is bound to raise eyebrows:
Here's a new item from our news desk:
Ex-White House Counsel Accused Of Lying About Ukraine Lobbying Work
Greg Craig, a former White House counsel in President Barack Obama's administration, has been indicted on charges of making false statements and concealing information about work he performed in 2012 for Ukraine in a case that originated in the Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation.
The U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia announced the charges on April 11.
Craig, 74, is accused of lying to the Justice Department about his promotion of a 2012 report aimed at justifying the prosecution of Yulia Tymoshenko, Ukraine's former prime minister and a political enemy of Viktor Yanukovych, the Moscow-friendly president of the country at the time.
Tymoshenko had been convicted in 2011 on corruption charges and sentenced to seven years in prison.
The report was used by Yanukovych to justify Tymoshenko's pretrial detention to the European Court of Human Rights.
The scrutiny of Craig stems from an investigation of Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman, and his work on behalf of Yanukovych's pro-Russian party.
Craig's attorneys have said his work was done in his capacity "as an independent expert on the rule of law, not as an advocate for the client" and that he had refused requests to participate in Manafort's lobbying in Yanukovych's favor.
"Mr. Craig is not guilty of any charge," they said.
Yanukovych was one of the main lobbying clients of Manafort, who is currently serving a 7 1/2-year prison sentence for lobbying violations and financial crimes.
Manafort’s case was the first to be brought by Mueller as part of his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and interactions between Russian officials and Trump associates.
Craig, a prominent Washington attorney who was the first White House counsel to Obama, faces up to 10 years in prison.
With reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFP
Here's an item from our news desk on the new anti-corruption court:Ukraine's President
Ukraine's President Creates Anti-Corruption Court
Ukrainian President Pedro Poroshenko, who has been repeatedly accused of turning a blind eye to graft, has ordered the creation of a special anti-corruption court.
"By setting up the anti-corruption court, we are completing the creation of an independent anti-corruption infrastructure," Poroshenko said on April 11 during an official ceremony in Kyiv where he signed a decree to appoint judges to the new High Anti-Corruption Court.
"Today ... 38 new judges will take up their duties in a completely new court," Poroshenko said.
The creation of the court has been a longtime demand of both the United States and the European Union.
Poroshenko has been accused of failing to tackle graft or rein in influential magnates.
The exposure of a military embezzlement scheme that allegedly involved top Poroshenko associates as well as a factory controlled by the president has badly dented his popularity.
Poroshenko has denied any links to the scheme.
The creation of the High Anti-Corruption Court comes ahead of the April 21 presidential runoff where Poroshenko will be facing comic actor Volodymyr Zelenskiy who has a commanding lead in some polls.
Based on reporting by AP and Interfax