Probe Suspended Against Suspects In Ukraine Activist's Killing
A decision by Ukraine's prosecutor-general to suspend an investigation against a high-ranking regional official charged in the death of a Ukrainian anti-corruption activist has sparked concern in the country.
Kateryna Handzyuk, a 33-year-old civic activist and adviser to the mayor of the Black Sea port city of Kherson, died in November 2018 -- three months after she was severely injured in an acid attack.
Prosecutors in February arrested Vladyslav Manher, head of the regional council in the southern region of Kherson, and charged him with ordering the Handzyuk attack. Manher was later released on bail. He has denied any involvement in the attack.
In a July 25 statement, the Prosecutor-General's Office announced that the probe into Manher and a second suspect, Oleksiy Levin, had been suspended because Levin's whereabouts remain unknown.
The statement was published shortly after news portal Slidstvo.info reported about the move, revealing that the prosecution's decision was in their possession.
The statement said Manher and Levin's involvement in the case is connected, and cited as legal basis for the suspension paragraphs two and three of Article 280 of Ukraine's Criminal Procedural Code.
The two paragraphs allow the suspension of an investigation when a suspect's whereabouts are unknown and/or an international arrest warrant was issued.
Yevhenia Zakrevska, a lawyer for Handzyuk's family, on July 25 publicly challenged the decision to suspend the investigation, saying the justification was unconvincing and the move could help the two men evade justice.
Human Rights Protection Group, a Ukrainian watchdog, also questioned the prosecutor-general's move, arguing on July 26 that Manher's whereabouts are known.
In June, five men were sentenced to prison terms between three and six and 1/2 years for organizing and executing the attack, after they pleaded guilty and made deals with investigators.
Human-rights activists have accused Ukrainian law enforcement agencies of failing to thoroughly investigate the growing number of attacks on activists, and even of collusion with the perpetrators in some cases.
With reporting by Gordon, Ukrayinska Pravda, and UNIAN
Just in case you were wondering what separatist license plates looked like:
Here is today's map of the latest situation in the Donbas conflict zone according to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry. (CLICK TO ENLARGE.)
A news item from RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service:
Kyiv Mayor Klitschko Sues Tycoon Kolomoyskiy's TV Channel Amid Pressure Over Position
KYIV -- Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko says he has filed a libel lawsuit against the 1+1 TV channel for "launching a widespread campaign" to discredit him and his former boxing champion brother Wladimir.
Vitali Klitschko announced the lawsuit at a press conference on July 26, questioning the fairness of the channel, owned by tycoon Ihor Kolomoyskiy, at a time when the government is rumored to be considering replacing Klitschko as chairman of Kyiv's City State Administration with the station's General Director Oleksiy Tkachenko.
"There is not a single day when this, one of the most popular television channels, does not attack the Kyiv Mayor. Lies, manipulation, fabricated information," Klitschko said.
"How can one say the television channel is unbiased when its leader has been named a key nominee to the post of the Kyiv's city state administration?" he added.
According to Klitschko, the station broadcast incorrect information about him when covering the alleged mishandling of some construction projects in the Ukrainian capital.
Klitschko also said that he disagrees with the government's decision, initiated by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, to divide the duties of the Kyiv Mayor and the chief of the Kyiv City State Administration.
The positions are usually held by the same person, though the law allows for the seats to be held by two different people as Kyiv's mayor is elected by city residents, while the chief of the city state administration is appointed by the president.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Hroysman said on July 26 that the issue of Klitschko’s removal from the post of city state administration chief will be discussed at an upcoming government session.
Talking to RFE/RL later on July 26, Klitschko called Zelenskiy's idea "an attempt to gain control over Kyiv's mayor, who was elected by the people."
"A key clause in the law on the Ukrainian capital says that the mayor elected by the city residents is appointed as the chairman of the Kyiv city state administration. That is made for the executive and legislative branches of the city power to unite, so that the efforts of the elected Mayor are as effective as possible," Klitschko said, adding that "the influence of the president and the government on local administration contradict European Charter."
Klitschko also said he will fight to preserve his duties as Kyiv's Mayor and as the chief of the Kyiv city state administration.
"I will not give in ever. I will do everything to protect local self-governing institutions. This is a matter of principle that our city must have," Klitschko said.
Zelenskiy, who won the presidency in April in a landslide victory, is believed to have close ties with Kolomoyskiy.
Kolomoyskiy's former lawyer, Andriy Bohdan, led Zelenskiy’s presidential campaign and is now the head of the presidential administration.
Zelenskiy's Servant of the People Party won a landslide victory in July 21 snap parliamentary elections.
Another item from RFE/RL's news desk:
Romania Says It Blocked A Russian Arms Shipment To Serbia
Romania has announced it has blocked a Russian military shipment to Serbia earlier this month because of international sanctions against Moscow for its actions in Ukraine.
In a statement released on July 26, the Romanian Foreign Ministry said that it could not issue a transit permit for the shipment due to a European Union embargo introduced in 2014. The statement gave no further details.
Russia is facing Western sanctions for, among other things, its March 2014 seizure of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and its support for separatists in eastern Ukraine where more than 10,300 have died since April 2014.
According to the AP news agency, Serbian officials complained earlier this month that Romania -- a member of NATO -- had prevented the delivery of some 60 Russian secondhand tanks and armored vehicles that were to be shipped from Russia via the Danube River to Serbia.
But the Russian Defense Ministry denied sending any such arms shipment to Serbia along the Danube River.
In a statement quoted by Interfax on July 26, the Russian Defense Ministry said such reports were "absolutely false."
Russia has supplied Serbia with military equipment, raising concerns in the Balkan region.
In the 1990s during the bloody breakup of the former Yugoslavia, Serbia was at war with neighbors Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo.
Serbia has already received six MiG-29 fighter jets from Russia.