Here is today's map of the security situation in eastern Ukraine, according to the National Security and Defense Council (click to enlarge):
Ukrainian lawmaker says met Giuliani on corruption:
By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service
KYIV -- Ukrainian lawmaker Andriy Derkach says he met with Rudy Giuliani to discuss the creation of an interparliamentary group to fight corruption and the misuse of U.S. funds by Kyiv.
Derkach said in a lengthy Facebook post on December 5 that he met Giuliani, U.S. President Donald Trump's personal lawyer who is at the center of his impeachment inquiry, "immediately" after he flew in to Kyiv.
Derkach, an independent deputy, didn't specify the date the two met but the statement follows a report by The New York Times that said Giuliani traveled to Budapest and Kyiv this week to meet current and former Ukrainian officials for a documentary series.
"Unfortunately, our country has been at the center of scandals over international corruption. Among other things, we are talking about the facts of inefficient use of funds of American taxpayers by representatives of state bodies of Ukraine," Derkach wrote.
"Giuliani's participation in the creation of this group will be very useful to us. In particular, he can help with the entry into the group of international experts, analysts, journalists and all those who are able to realize the tasks of the group and benefit the strategic relations of Ukraine and the USA," he added.
U.S. officials testified last month at a congressional impeachment panel that they became increasingly alarmed by the role Giuliani played in Ukraine for Trump.
Witnesses at the panel said Giuliani made it clear that a White House visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was contingent on the newly elected leader publicly announcing investigations into former Vice President Joe Biden, a Democrat who is seeking to challenge Trump in next year's presidential election, and his son Hunter, who sat on the board of Ukrainian natural-gas company Burisma.
Giuliani did not testify at the panel.
The New York Times said Giuliani's trip was tied to making a documentary aimed at refuting testimony given at the impeachment hearings. (w/The New York Times)
Ukraine responds to Kazakh president's denial of Crimea's annexation:
By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service
KYIV -- Ukraine has voiced concern over Kazakh President President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev's description of Russia's takeover of the Crimea, when he said it wasn't an annexation.
"Ukraine has always viewed Kazakhstan as its partner and friend," the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on December 4.
"The principles of mutual trust, respect for independence, state sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of borders...as well as steady observance of generally recognized norms of international law, underlie the interstate relations between Ukraine and the Republic of Kazakhstan."
The statement was in reference to an interview that Toqaev gave to German broadcaster Deutsche Welle, which was published the same day.
In the interview, Toqaev said the "accession" of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014 to Russia wasn't an annexation.
"We don't call that which happened in the Crimea an annexation," the Kazakh president said. "That which happened, happened. Annexation is too heavy of a word to apply to the Crimea."
Toqaev is on an official visit to Germany on December 5-6 for the first time as president.
Following the annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014, the Kazakh Foreign Ministry said in its statement that "Kazakhstan reiterates its commitment to the fundamental principles of international law in accordance with the UN Charter" and that in Kazakhstan "they treat the decision of the Russian Federation with understanding".
International organizations, including the UN, have condemned the occupation of Crimea by Russia.
The United States, EU, Canada, Japan, as well as other countries have imposed economic sanctions on Russia over Crimea.
Russia calls its annexation of the peninsula a "restoration of historical justice."
Ukraine has said it will issue an official note of protest to Kazakhstan over Toqaev's statement.
U.S. prosecutors question second Naftogaz executive in Giuliani probe:
By RFE/RL
U.S. federal prosecutors have interviewed a second executive at the Ukrainian state-owned Naftogaz energy giant as part of their investigation into the business dealings of President Donald Trump's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, suggesting the scope of their probe is widening.
Naftogaz CEO Andriy Kobolyev voluntarily met with federal investigators in London, AP reported, citing a person familiar with the details who is not authorized to publicly discuss the federal probe.
The CEO's lawyer, Lanny Breuer, confirmed to AP the meeting had taken place but wouldn't say when or where his client met with Justice Department representatives.
Another Naftogaz executive, Andrew Favorov, also met voluntarily with federal prosecutors in New York in November.
The Justice Department is investigating whether Giuliani violated federal lobbying and campaign-finance laws.
The U.S. House of Representative's impeachment hearings have focused narrowly on Giuliani's role in pursuing Ukrainian investigations into Democrats, like former Vice President Joe Biden.
However, interviews by federal prosecutors with Naftogaz executives suggest they are expanding the scope of their investigation and reviewing the business affairs of Giuliani and his associates broader, AP reported.
Giuliani's close associates, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, have been indicted on charges of federal campaign-finance violations, conspiracy, making false statements, and falsification of records.
They and Giuliani have been involved in back-channel meetings with current and former Ukrainian officials regarding investigations into Joe Biden, his son Hunter, and Democratic Party activities in the 2016 presidential election.
In March, Parnas and Fruman approached Favorov at an energy conference in Texas to offer a partnership in a venture to export U.S. liquefied gas to Ukraine.
They also discussed the possibility of Favorov replacing Kobolyev, his corporate superior.
Giuliani has denied taking part in the two suspects' efforts to seal a gas deal in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Giuliani, a former mayor of New York, traveled to Hungary and Ukraine on December 3-4 to talk with former Ukrainian prosecutors, shrugging off any notion that it was risky for him to continue seeking evidence of alleged corruption by the Bidens or that Ukrainians had a hand in interfering in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
He defended his actions, telling The New York Times that "like a good lawyer, I am gathering evidence to defend my client against the false charges being leveled against him."
Trump is currently facing a congressional impeachment inquiry into whether he abused the power of his office for personal political gain. He has denied wrongdoing and dismissed the investigation as a "hoax" and "witch-hunt."
Giuliani's meetings with the former Ukrainian prosecutors are part of a documentary series that is intended to debunk the impeachment case and is being aired by the conservative One America News Network.
Three of the former high-level prosecutors, Yuriy Lutsenko, Viktor Shokin, and Kostyantyn Kulyk, have promoted views that have been embraced by certain Republicans.
They face allegations of corruption in Ukraine, and Lutsenko, in particular, is being investigated for abuse of office. Kulyk was recently dismissed for not undergoing a mandatory professional exam, a key component of which includes an integrity test.
However, they have at different times and to varying degrees promoted unverified claims about Biden and his son, former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, and Ukrainians who distributed damaging information on Paul Manafort, Trump's former campaign chairman in 2016, who has since been convicted.
Much of what they have said, including to Giuliani, has formed the basis of efforts by Trump and Giuliani to try to get the Ukrainian government to open investigations that would purportedly benefit Trump as he runs for reelection. (w/CNN, AP, The New York Times, AFP, and dpa)
SBU detains member of United Russia party from Crimea:
By RFE/RL
The Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) has detained a member of Russia's governing United Russia party while he was crossing the administrative border with Crimea on suspicion of infringing on the territorial integrity of Ukraine.
The SBU said in a statement that its counterintelligence unit learned that Ihor Kucheryaviy, who is a member of United Russia’s regional department in the Crimean port city of Sevastopol, had plans on December 4 to visit mainland Ukraine and apply for a Ukrainian passport.
He allegedly was an avid supporter of Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 and was involved in erecting roadblocks in Sevastopol during the Ukrainian peninsula's invasion.
Kucheryaviy was also allegedly awarded a medal from the Russian Defense Ministry "for the return of the Crimea" and an anniversary badge of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) that reads, "Veterans of the Russian special services to the defenders of Crimea and Sevastopol."
Russia's Black Sea fleet is based in Sevastopol.
In April 2014, Russian President Vladimir Putin renounced contracts that were in place with Ukraine to lease facilities for the fleet until 2042.
Kucheryaviy faces the charge of "encroachment on the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine," which is punishable by up to three years in prison.