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More on that Giuliani-Parnas story from our news desk:

Associate Of Rudy Giuliani Received $1-Million Payment From Ukraine Oligarch, Says U.S. Prosecutor

U.S. prosecutors said in court on December 17 that Lev Parnas, an associate of U.S. President Donald Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, received a $1-million payment from a lawyer for Ukrainian oligarch Dmytro Firtash.

Prosecutors have said that Parnas should have his bail revoked because he concealed the payment from them. Parnas has denied hiding the payment.

The Ukraine-born U.S. citizen, who has been charged with campaign finance violations, was released on bail after his arrest in October and has been under house arrest in Florida.

Prosecutors last week asked a U.S. district judge in New York to revoke Parnas's bail. They said he had concealed information about his finances, including a $1 million payment he had received from an account in Russia in September.

The account was in the name of his wife, Svetlana Parnas.

On December 17, U.S. Attorney Rebekah Donaleski said the payment came from Firtash through his lawyer.

Donaleski added that it was not plausible the payment was a loan to Parnas's wife, as Parnas had said.

Firtash is fighting extradition from Austria to the United States on corruption charges.

Parnas and his indicted business partner, Belarus-born U.S. citizen Igor Fruman, are close associates of Giuliani.

The two business partners have pleaded not guilty to all charges.

They and Giuliani have been involved in back-channel meetings with current and former Ukrainian officials regarding investigations into former Vice President Joe Biden, his son Hunter, and Democratic party activities in the 2016 presidential election.

In the indictment, the pair were also charged with working on behalf of one or more Ukrainian officials in their attempt to remove then-U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch.

One of Ukraine's wealthiest men, Firtash has been fighting against extradition since his 2014 arrest in Vienna.

U.S. authorities have been investigating Firtash, 54, since 2006 on suspicion of bribery and forming an organized crime group.

With reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFP

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Another item from RFE/RL's news desk:

U.S. Senate Approves Nord Stream 2 Gas Pipeline Sanctions

The U.S. Senate on December 17 voted overwhelmingly to impose sanctions on companies working on a Russian pipeline in a move likely to be criticized by European nations counting on receiving the project's natural gas.

The Senate passed the bill with an overwhelming majority of 86-8.

The measure, which is part of a defense spending bill, easily cleared the House of Representatives last week. It aims to halt further construction of the $10.6-billion Nord Stream 2 pipeline being built under the Baltic Sea and set to double shipments of Russian natural gas to Germany.

The pipeline, which will have the capacity to carry up to 55 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually, is more than 80 percent built and is expected to be completed early next year.

U.S. lawmakers have warned that the pipeline would send billions of dollars to Moscow and help President Vladimir Putin widen his influence in Europe.

After the bill was passed in the House on December 12, the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy tweeted that Kyiv was "grateful" to the United States.

Ukraine has long protested the project and has lobbied Washington to pass the bill as the pipeline would deprive the country of more than $2 billion in transit fees.

Ukraine also sees the pipeline as undermining existing economic sanctions imposed by the West to compel Russia to resolve a conflict in eastern Ukraine and end its occupation of Ukraine's Crimea region.

Germany, however, reacted with irritation last week, with Foreign Minister Heiko Maas calling the U.S. move "foreign interference."

"Decisions on European Energy Policy are taken in Europe," Maas tweeted on December 12.

The German-Russian Chamber of Commerce said last week that Nord Stream 2 was important for the energy security of Europe and called for retaliatory sanctions on the U.S. if the bill passes.

The sanctions target pipe-laying vessels and include asset freezes and the revocation of U.S. visas for the contractors.

One major contractor that could be hit is the Swiss-based Allseas, which has been hired by Russian state-controlled energy giant Gazprom to build the offshore section.

The United States has sought to stop pipelines designed to carry Russian energy to Europe in the past but failed each time.

With reporting by AFP and dpa

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A new item from RFE/RL Washington correspondent Todd Prince:

Senator Concerned Over Reports Top U.S. Envoy To Ukraine To Be Recalled Early

WASHINGTON -- A top U.S. senator said he is concerned over reports that the Trump administration plans to recall its top diplomat from Ukraine after he gave critical testimony during the impeachment hearing.

U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (Democrat-New Jersey), the minority leader of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, sent Secretary of State Mike Pompeo a letter on December 17 asking him not to remove Ukraine Charge d'Affaires William Taylor prior to his visit to Kyiv next month.

"Recalling an ambassador and intentionally leaving a critical post vacant during a visit from the Secretary of State is highly irregular and perhaps unprecedented. I am concerned about the lack of Embassy leadership Ambassador Taylor’' absence would create at a time when Ukraine continues to face military aggression from Russia and looks to the United States in promoting its democratic reform process," Menendez said in his letter.

Taylor was a key witness in the Democratic-led House of Representatives' impeachment hearing last month into whether Trump pressured Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to investigate his political opponent Joe Biden by withholding military aid and an invitation to the White House.

Taylor said he thought it was "crazy" to withhold military aid that Ukraine needed to fight Russian-backed forces in its eastern provinces.

Taylor was appointed earlier this year after the State Department recalled Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch. He had previously served as U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine in 2006-2009.

Pompeo will make his first trip to Kyiv as Secretary of State in January, according to media reports.

The State Department did not respond to an RFE/RL request for comment. His visit would send an important signal of Washington's support for Kyiv amid concerns the impeachment hearing has frayed U.S.-Ukraine relations.

"Your joint appearances with the Ambassador in Kyiv would also send a strong message of solidarity to our professional diplomatic service at a time when morale is historically low. By unceremoniously recalling Ambassador Taylor early, in a manner similar to Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch's removal, you would once again denigrate the role of our frontline diplomats serving around the world,” Menendez said.

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