Visiting Ukrainian official says relations with U.S. remain "unshattered":
By Todd Prince
The first Ukrainian administration official to visit Washington in months says bilateral relations remain strong despite the central role Ukraine has played in the impeachment inquiry into U.S. President Donald Trump.
The Ukrainian deputy prime minister for Europe and Euro-Atlantic integration, Dmytro Kuleba, told a press conference on December 13 that the strategic relationship remained "unshattered."
Kuleba, who met this week with members of Congress, the State Department, and the White House, said his top priorities in the U.S. capital were to lobby the United States to impose sanctions on Russia's Nord Stream 2 natural-gas pipeline and enhance relations with NATO.
"We want NATO to be more ambitious toward Ukraine. We don't only want to receive support, we want to contribute [to missions]," he said.
As signs of the strength of the bilateral relationship, Kuleba pointed to the decision by Congress to increase annual military support to $300 million and include sanctions related to the Nord Stream project in the National Defense Authorization Act.
The Ukrainian official said he discussed with Trump administration officials a possible visit by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to Washington -- not the contents of the impeachment process.
The impeachment charges against Trump are related to whether he pressured Zelenskiy during a July 25 call to investigate Trump's political opponent, Joe Biden.
Kuleba also defended Zelenskiy's decision to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin this week to discuss peace in eastern Ukraine, saying it is the only way to make progress.
He said the two leaders will push ahead with small measures to build trust during the talks aimed at putting an end to the fighting between Ukrainian government forces and Russia-backed separatists that has killed more than 13,000 people since April 2014.
He said the Zelenskiy administration's goals for 2020 will be land reform, privatization, and energy reform.
For more on the minority-language issue, also see:
Ukraine Vows To Protect Minority Rights Amid Spat With Hungary
Far-Right German Journalist Implicated In Firebombing Of Hungarian Center In Ukraine
Ukraine, Hungary In Diplomatic Tit-For-Tat Expulsions Amid Passport Dispute
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Who Are The Five Suspects In Pavel Sheremet’s Killing In Kyiv In 2016?
One is a musician who got a shout-out on Facebook from then-President Petro Poroshenko two years ago. Another, a doctor who volunteered on the Maidan and in the Donbas. RFE/RL's Todd Prince takes a look at the five suspects detained on suspicion of involvement in journalist Pavel Sheremet’s brazen car-bomb killing in Kyiv in 2016.
Suspect in Sheremet case placed under house arrest:
By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service
KYIV -- A court in Kyiv has placed a suspect in connection with the 2016 killing of the prominent journalist Pavel Sheremet under house arrest.
The Pechera district court ruled on December 13 that Duhar will remain under house arrest until February 8, 2020.
Sheremet's killing in a car bombing in Kyiv underscored concerns of a climate of impunity for attacks on journalists and others who challenge the authorities, while the government has faced persistent criticism over a perceived lack of progress in solving the case.
Yana Duhar, a military physician, is one of five people whom Ukrainian authorities declared suspects in the high-profile case on December 12.
All of the suspects took part in military operations in different capacities in Ukraine's east, fighting against Russia-backed separatists.
Duhar is suspected of taking pictures of security cameras near Sheremet's apartment block in Kyiv to prepare the planting of an explosive device into his car several days before the murder. She has rejected the allegation and her lawyer has said the court's ruling will be appealed.
Among the other suspects, the authorities named pediatrician and well-known volunteer Yulia Kuzmenko and musician Andiy Antonenko. Court decisions over possible pretrial restrictions for the two are pending.
Two more suspects, Vladyslav and Inna Hryshchenko, were arrested and placed in pretrial detention in September and November, respectively, as suspects in another case.
According to the Interior Ministry and the National Police, the group's goal was "to destabilize the political and social situation in Ukraine" by killing Sheremet.
Sheremet, a Belarusian-born Russian citizen who had made Kyiv his permanent home, was leaving his apartment to head to the studio where he hosted a morning radio program when an improvised explosive device planted under the vehicle he was driving exploded on July 20, 2016, killing him instantly.
Sheremet's mother, Lyudmila Sheremet, told RFE/RL on December 13 that she did not know if the suspects were guilty or not, but that she was afraid "that innocent people may be hurt" as officials try to show they're making headway on the case.
"Pavel is gone and nothing can bring him back. Of course I need the truth.... But it's hard to judge how close they got to the truth," she said in the interview.