Falls ill after Secret Service dinner
Yushchenko falls ill after a dinner with Igor Smeshko, the head of Ukrainian security service SBU, the successor to the KGB, to discuss how the SBU will act during the upcoming electoral campaign. Also present at the dinner at Smeshko’s dacha is his deputy Volodymyr Stasiuk, reportedly a confidant of outgoing president Leonid Kuchma. His body breaks down over the next few days into an almost total state of collapse with grogginess, chronic abdominal pain, and swelling in his liver, pancreas and intestines. His wife, Kateryna:
I thought there was something different about my husband when he came home that night – because he has never taken any medicine, he’s a very healthy man. And I tasted some medicine on his breath, on his lips. And I asked him about it, he brushed it away, saying there is nothing.
Denies involvement in poisoning
The deputy leader of the SBU security forces denies any involvement in the apparent poisoning by dioxin of Yushchenko, which the opposition leader pinpoints as taking place at a dinner at the dacha of SBU chief Ihor Smeshko. Volodymyr Satsyuk:
All food products were on the table on common plates. The food was served by the two people and cooked by another one in the kitchen.
Satsyuk says that he was present at the dinner along with Yushchenko, Smeshko and David Zhvanya, a lawmaker and Yushchenko ally. He says that he is prepared to meet Yushchenko in public to discuss the allegations.
Putin congratulates Yanukovych
Putin congratulates Yanukovych on his apparent victory in the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election despite the lack of an official result, after the Central Election Commission’s preliminary announcement that with 99% of ballots counted, Yanukovych is ahead of Yushchenko 49%-47%. With the pro-Russian candidate victorious:
We will be able to do a great deal to strengthen the European and international security and build a united and prospering Europe. I value your determination to work together and express deep satisfaction with the constructive contacts that have been established between us. Continuing our active dialogue will definitely contribute to the expansion of bilateral cooperation inthe name of prosperity between the two brotherly nations
Calls for general strike
Yushchenko calls for general strikes shutting down factories, schools and transportation to protest the Central Election Commission’s decision to call the 2004 Ukraine presidential election in favor of Yanukovych. Yushchenko addresses supporters in Maidan (Independence) Square rallying under orange banners, the color of his campaign:
[This decision] puts Ukraine on the verge of civil conflict … With this decision, they want to put us on our knees
Demands new election
Yushchenko demands a new election and says the only topic he will discuss in planned face-to-face talks with Yanukovych is a fresh poll. To a gathering of supporters:
We will only hold talks on staging a new vote.
Parliament rejects election result
A majority of the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s parliament, supports a motion to declare the election result placing Yanukovych ahead of Yushchenko invalid. The parliamentary vote is not binding and may not influence the outcome of Yushchenko’s upcoming challenge in the Supreme Court. Parliamentary speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn ahead of the vote:
The logical issue to be raised is to declare the election politically invalid because the true will of the people is now impossible to establish.
Supreme Court orders new runoff vote
Ukraine’s supreme court declares the 2004 presidential election result invalid, citing systemic and massive” violations, and orders a new runoff vote to be conducted by Dec. 26. It says the government of President Leonid Kuchma ‘illegally meddled in the election process’ during the original Nov. 21 ballot. Chief Justice Anatoly Yarema:
The conclusion of the court is that the rules of the electoral law were broken and the exact result of the voters’ will across the territory of Ukraine cannot be ascertained.
Dioxin level 6,000 times normal
New tests by the Free University in Amsterdam reveal that Yushchenko’s blood contains around 100,000 units of dioxin per gram of blood fat, 6,000 times the normal level of dioxins and the second-highest dioxin level ever recorded in a human. University Prof. Adam Brouwer:
From a (chemical) fingerprint, at least you can deduce what kind of sources might have been involved. The labs will … try to find out whether it matches any of the batches of dioxins that are around, so that maybe you can trace it back to where it was ordered or where it came from.
Medical officials say that while Yushchenko’s pockmarked appearance will persist, he has likely survived the worst of the poisoning. It is also possible that Yushchenko has ingested dioxin-like PCBs, which have were banned from use in most of the world in electrical transformers and as hydraulic fluid in the 1970s because they are highly toxic and persist in the environment.
Orange Revolution begins
0 CommentsThousands of demonstrators dressed in orange gather in Kiev’s Independence Square to protest apparent corruption, voter intimidation and fraud in the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election after the country’s election commission declares victory for pro-Russian candidate Viktor Yanukovych. Many of the protestors are from the country’s growing middle class and its emerging political opposition, led by opposition candidate Viktor Yushchenko and politician and businesswoman Yulia Tymoshenko. Yushchenko after a meeting with the electoral commission to discuss the unexpected election result:
We do not trust the accountability of the Central Election Commission. We call on our supporters to come on to Maidan of Independence and protect their freedom
The Socialist Party of Ukraine and Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Ukraine are also represented, along with the student organization Pora, with around 100-150,000 people eventually gathering in the square despite freezing weather and armored vehicles (BTRs) and spetznatz special forces troops relocated from the presidential palace and electoral commission. They chant:
Together, we are many! We cannot be defeated!
By evening, a tent city is set up and being defended against security forces, with the protestors planning to stay in the square until their goal of a are achieved of a fair election result.
Russia will respond to sanctions
0 CommentsRussia is saying they will respond to newly imposed sanctions from the West for their behavior in the Ukraine crisis. The European Union releases its list of 15 Russians and Ukrainians who are affected by the sanctions. This list includes the deputy chairman to the lower house of parliament, a deputy prime minister and a few pro-Russian rebel leaders in Ukraine.
Putin puts troops on alert
On the first day of Ukraine’s cease fire directive, Putin puts the military on alert in the central district and resumes airborne troop drills. The alert will continue through June 28. 65,000 troops will take part in military drills under this combat alert.
Putin seeks compromise
Putin is supports Ukraine’s cease-fire declaration and is now asking for both sides to reach a compromise. Putin says the compromise must guarantee the rights of the Russian-speaking residents of eastern Ukraine. They must feel they are an “integral part” of their own country. The comments were made today following a ceremony commemorating the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union on this day in 1941.
Russia landmine use
In a report made to an international landmine conference, Ukraine accuses Russia of using landmines in the Crimea Region. Ukraine also says that Russia seized 605 anti-personnel landmines stored at a Ukrainian military depot in the Saki area of Crimea, which Ukraine was allowed to keep for training under the international Mine Ban Treaty. Russia is not a participant in the treaty. The report states that one Ukrainian soldier was killed and three others were wounded by mines and other explosive devices in southeastern Ukraine during April and May.
NATO reviews Russia relationship
Anders Fogh Rasmussen, NATO’s top civilian official, says that Russia’s occupation and annexation of the Crimean Peninsula has led the alliance to suspend programs for practical cooperation with Moscow.
This is “a critical moment for our security. When we face old threats and new, from Eastern Europe to North Africa and the Middle East. So we need to continue to adapt our readiness, and reinvest in our capabilities and partnerships. And I regret to say that we see no signs that Russia is respecting its international commitments. So today we will review our relations with Russia and decide what to do next.
Thousands flee Ukraine
As the cease-fire truce nears an end, thousands of Ukranian citizens flee to Russia, many vowing never to return because they feel their government betrayed them. Over the past few months, tens of thousands have already fled to Russia seeking safety. Russia’s migration service reports they have registered the arrival of 90,000 Ukranians, with very few requesting refugee status, which would require them to stay in Russia for six months.
Peace is a possibility
Poroshenko says peace is possible if Russian President Vladimir Putin is in the right mood. In an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour he says:
Sometimes, the position of Mr. Putin is quite pragmatic, sometimes it is very emotional. I just try to find out the time when he is more pragmatic than emotional.
EU trade pact problematic
Ukraine’s signing of a trade and economic pact with the European Union may bring “grave consequences,” Russia warns. The agreement prompts EU leaders to hold off on imposing new sanctions on Russia for its continued military presence in Ukraine. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko calls the agreement with the EU the “most important day” for his country since it became independent from the Soviet Union. Olexander Motsyk, Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.S., told FoxNews.com:
It is our ambition to become a member of the European Union in foreseeable future, the purpose of which is not just to join the EU, but, most importantly, to build a free, democratic and prosperous European nation in Ukraine.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin said.
There will undoubtedly be serious consequences for Ukraine and Moldova’s signing.
Rebels free four
Pro-Russian insurgents release a second team of members from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) who were being held captive since the end of May. The release happened after a EU summit on June 27, 2014. The first OSCE team was released earlier last week. The observers were released and met by organization officials in Donetsk. An OSCE spokesman says:
They’re in good health, they’re in good spirits.
Alexander Borodai, an insurgent leader says:
We have fulfilled our obligations before the Ukrainian side. All eight observers have been released.
Cease-fire agreement ends
President Poroshenko announces the cease-fire has ended in a television address. The agreement expires at midnight, and military operation in the east part of the country commence today.
Termination of ceasefire is our response to terrorists, insurgents, marauders … and (those who) deprive people of normal peaceful life.
Reclaims Sloviansk
After a night of fighting, President Poroshenko and a rebel spokesperson report the Ukranian flag is now flying over Sloviansk. The city had been under rebel control since April 12, 2014. The military reports it destroyed a tank and four other armored vehicles during the overnight battle. A spokesman for the National Security and Defense Council:
Sloviansk is under siege. Now an operation is going on to neutralize small groups hiding in buildings where peaceful citizens are living.