Kyiv Court To Hold Hearing In Yanukovych Treason Case
By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service
KYIV -- A court in Kyiv is scheduled to hold a hearing in former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych’s treason case on June 29.
On June 26, Judge Vladyslav Devyatko decided to adjourn the case after Yanukovych, who is in Russia, did not show up in the courtroom.
His lawyer, Vitaly Serdyuk, said Yanukovych was eager to take part via video link and “testify according to norms of international law.” But Serdyuk said Ukrainian authorities were not making this possible.
During the preliminary hearings, Yanukovych's defense insisted that the court must formally ask Russia for assistance to set up a video link for his client.
The court has rejected the request, saying Yanukovych can take part via any video link available on the Internet -- meaning that a formal request is not needed.
Yanukovych abandoned office in late February 2014 and fled to Russia in the face of protests triggered by his decision to scrap plans for a landmark deal with the European Union and improve trade ties with Moscow instead.
Dozens of people were killed when his government attempted to clamp down on the Euromaidan protests.
Yanukovych is accused of treason, violating Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and abetting Russian aggression.
After he fled, Russia seized Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and fomented separatism in eastern Ukraine, where a war between the government and Russia-backed separatists has killed more than 10,000 people.
Germany Calls On Ukraine, Russia-Backed Separatists To Extend Cease-Fire
German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel called on Ukraine and Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine to extend a harvest-related cease-fire, saying it could help pave the way for a political solution.
Gabriel, speaking at a news conference in Krasnodar with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, said it did not make sense that the parties to the conflict could enforce a cease-fire during special times but not at other times.
"Strangely enough, it seems to work when both sides have a mutual interest, namely getting the harvest done," Gabriel said. "The question is, why does one have to go back to violating the cease-fire once it's over?"
Gabriel said he realized the two sides were far apart on political issues, such as holding elections in eastern Ukraine, but a solidification of the truce could lead to more progress on those issues.
He said Germany is ready to provide financial aid to improve living conditions for all sides in the Donbas region if the cease-fire could be extended.
At least 10,000 people have been killed in eastern Ukraine over the past three years, despite the Minsk cease-fire agreement signed in February 2015.
Based on reporting by Reuters, TASS, and Interfax
Court In Czech Republic Closes Ukrainian Separatist Mission In Ostrava
A court in the Czech city of Ostrava has shut down the representative office of Russia-backed separatists from the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk because it was illegal, Ukraine's Ambassador to the Czech Republic Yevhen Perebyinis said on June 28.
Czech Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaoralek expressed his satisfaction and support for the decision.
"I welcome the ruling by a district court in Ostrava to ban the 'Diplomatic center of the Donetsk people's republic,'" Zaoralek wrote on Twitter.
The head of the separatist office, Nela Liskova, protested the court decision and said the office was set up to help the "victims of war" in eastern Ukraine such as by obtaining permits and work opportunities for refugees.
On September 1, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry sent a note of protest to the Czech Embassy in Kyiv after reports were confirmed of the registration in Ostrava of the so-called DPR mission.
On the same day, the Czech Foreign Ministry said that it would ask a local court to shut it down.
Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka later reassured his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Hroysman, that separatists in eastern Ukraine will not be allowed to have representative offices in the Czech Republic.
Fighting between government forces and separatists has killed more than 10,000 people since April 2014.
Based on reporting by Ostrava.idnes.cz and Interfax
That concludes our live-blogging of the Ukraine crisis for Wednesday, June 28, 2017. Check back here tomorrow morning for more of our continuing coverage.
Ukrainian SBU Colonel Killed By Blast In Donetsk Region
By RFE/RL's Ukraine Service
Ukraine says a security service (SBU) colonel was killed and three others injured when a car exploded in the Donetsk region on June 28.
The SBU said in a statement that Yuriy Vozny was killed when the car he was traveling in with three others exploded in the Kostyantynivka district of a Ukrainian-controlled portion of the Donetsk region.
Vozny's death came a day after Ukrainian Colonel Maksim Shapoval was killed by a car bomb in Kyiv.
The three people injured in the June 28 blast were hospitalized with varying injuries.
The SBU said that Vozny is the 23rd officer in the security service to have been killed since fighting began in eastern Ukraine in 2014.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian General Staff said on June 28 that its forces had killed two Russia-backed separatists in a clash in eastern Ukraine, including a Russian captain named Aleksandr Shcherbak.
The general staff said it had also captured a Russian citizen in the same incident.
The BBC's Russian Service identified the captive as Viktor Ageyev.
Russia denies it has active soldiers fighting in Ukraine.
More than 10,000 people have been killed in fighting in eastern Ukraine since early 2014.
With reporting by AFP and Interfax
From Poland's former foreign minister: