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The information presented below confirms the participation of each of the listed individuals in the Derkach tapes disinformation campaign, demonstrates the connection between them, as well as the coordinated nature of their actions. On January 11, 2021, the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on a number of Ukrainian politicians and civil servants for interfering in the US presidential elections by spreading disinformation. The decision concerned the individuals involved in the publication, legitimization and distribution of the disinformation concerning so-called “Derkach tapes”, in which allegedly Joe Biden and Petro Poroshenko discuss issues of Ukrainian politics and raise the topic of Burisma....

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy proposed to swap a tycoon with close Kremlin ties who was detained by his country’s security service for prisoners of war. The offer came after Zelenskiy posted a picture on Facebook of Viktor Medvedchuk in handcuffs. Medvedchuk, a businessman and politician who is seen as one of President Vladimir Putin’s top allies in Ukraine, was placed under house arrest last year

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky offered on Wednesday to swap pro-Kremlin oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk, who was arrested by Kyiv after escaping house arrest, for Ukrainians captured by Russia. 'I propose to the Russian Federation to exchange this guy of yours for our boys and our girls who are now in Russian captivity,' Zelensky said in a video address posted on Telegram in the early hours of Wednesday. 'And may Medvedchuk be an example for you. Even the former oligarch did not escape. What can we say about much simpler criminals from the Russian hinterland? We will get everyone.' Ukrainian authorities on...

Pro-Kremlin lawmaker, Putin's crony Medvedchuk captured. Zelensky announced that Viktor Medvedchuk, a lawmaker with the pro-Kremlin party Opposition Platform was captured by the Security Service. Medvedchuk is accused of treason. He escaped house arrest in February.

KIEV, December 24 (Itar-Tass) - Leader of united social democrats Viktor Medvedchuk called on the government led by Yuri Yekhanurov to resign. Medvedchuk told journalists on Saturday, “The Ukrainian government should resign. This will be a worthy response to increasing gas prices by Russia.” In his view, “not only politicians but also all Ukrainian people understand that the government led by Yuri Yekhanurov failed to settle gas disagreements with Russia.” On Friday, Yekhanurov instructed Naftogaz Ukrainy to draft an appeal to the Stockholm Court of Arbitration in connection with the conflict with Russia’s Gazprom gas giant. “I ask you to...

KYIV, Ukraine--If politicians are supposed to speak softly but carry a big stick, then Ukraine's newly inaugurated president, Viktor Yushchenko, has made no secret of whom he has chosen as his stick. The day after his inauguration on 23 January, Yushchenko designated the firebrand politician Yulia Tymoshenko as acting prime minister. On 4 February Ukraine's parliament confirmed Tymoshenko in the post by a resounding and unprecedented 373 votes out of a possible 450. DISARRAY ON THE FLANKS The overwhelming vote for Tymoshenko reflects just how resounding was the defeat of former President Leonid Kuchma and his handpicked successor Viktor Yanukovych...

KIEV, Ukraine, Jan. 16 - As protests here against a rigged presidential election overwhelmed the capital last fall, an alarm sounded at Interior Ministry bases outside the city. It was just after 10 p.m. on Nov. 28. More than 10,000 troops scrambled toward trucks. Most had helmets, shields and clubs. Three thousand carried guns. Many wore black masks. Within 45 minutes, according to their commander, Lt. Gen. Sergei Popkov, they had distributed ammunition and tear gas and were rushing out the gates. Kiev was tilting toward a terrible clash, a Soviet-style crackdown that could have brought civil war. And then,...

In the past, Ukrainians often referred to Western democracies as “civilized,” with the inherent implication that post-Soviet Ukraine was not. The “Orange Revolution,” which led, on 26 December, to the victory of the opposition candidate Viktor Yushchenko in rerun elections has opened the door for Ukrainians to a new, “civilized” future. The results suggested, though, that many Ukrainians do not accept either that the West is civilized or that the Ukraine of President Leonid Kuchma was uncivilized (or both). The preliminary results in the final round showed Ukraine almost as deeply divided as the fraud-marred earlier rounds had suggested. Yushchenko...

As Viktor Yushchenko prepares for his inauguration as Ukraine's third president, he knows that Ukraine-Russia relations will be one of the most difficult issues he faces. The Economist (December 29) advised Yushchenko, "to kiss and make up with Russia and Vladimir Putin, who backed Mr. Yanukovych and has thus been humiliated by his defeat." Such reconciliation will be far easier said than done. Russia is reportedly behind two attempts on Yushchenko's life, one through poisoning and a second with a bomb. Yushchenko alluded to the latter plot when he said, "Those who wanted to blow myself up did not undertake...

Ukraine minister's death could have been murder disguised as suicide Whether the death of Ukrainian Transport Minister Heorhiy Kyrpa on 27 December was suicide or murder disguised as suicide is less important than the reasons behind it, according to an article by Oleksandra Prymachenko in the Ukrainian weekly Zerkalo Nedeli. Just like the banker Yuriy Lyakh, who was found dead in suspicious circumstances last month, Kyrpa knew a lot about the criminal activities in which many leaders of the outgoing administration reportedly engaged. This made him a liability to outgoing President Leonid Kuchma and his other close associates and a...

One of Europe's most respected football clubs, Dynamo Kiev, is on the brink of a bitter ownership battle which has been brought to a head by Ukraine's "orange revolution" that saw hundreds of thousands of opposition supporters pour on to the streets of Kiev last month. A majority stake in Dynamo is owned by Grigory Surkis, a controversial tycoon with ties to the corrupt regime of the outgoing president, Leonid Kuchma. But Konstantin Grigorishin - a minority shareholder who claims he was ousted by Surkis - plans a series of court actions to wrest control of the club. Grigorishin, a...

The violent death of Georgy Kirpa, the Ukrainian transport minister, whose body was found in his bath-house, is a grim reminder of the brutal underside of the country's public life. Kirpa, who died of a gunshot wound, was a close associate of Leonid Kuchma, the outgoing president, and, like many in Mr Kuchma's inner circle, a wealthy businessman. Aged 50, Kirpa played a key role in the rigging of the disputed presidential election by organising trains on which the authorities transported people to vote illegally at multiple polling stations. Prosecutors, who believe Kirpa shot himself, are examining the possibility that...

This is just the beginning: There are thousands of documents in Baghdad that need to be catalogued, translated,... Oil is not just fuel for your car. It is a mighty political weapon. The latest revelations that the deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein used oil sales under the U.N. oil-for-food program to buy friends and influence policy around the world should turn on an alarm in Washington, New York, Paris and other capitals. Just as Saddam's oily revenues corrupted presidential chancelleries and newsrooms, funds from other major Middle Eastern oil suppliers with ambitious religious and political agendas may wreak even more...

The Ukrainian authorities came close to resorting to violence in trying to solve the country's political crisis. The Financial Times has learned that the administration of Leonid Kuchma, the authoritarian president, considered deploying troops against the crowds of protesters gathered in central Kiev in support of Viktor Yushchenko, the opposition leader. Those lobbying for the use of force included senior officials, among them Viktor Medvedchuk, the head of the Ukrainian presidential administration and Viktor Yanukovich, the prime minister. According to people inside and outside Mr Kuchma's administration, the president resisted the pressure and the danger passed. "The key moment came...

500 Russian commandos from the "Vityaz" division were stationed near Kyiv with the possible goal of evacuating president Kuchma and important documents. A British specialized periodical, Jane's Intelligence Digest, has made this information public in a story entitled "Spetsnaz in Ukraine". Referring to an officer in Ukraine's air force, the periodical informs about three planes form Russia, which had brought 500 Vityaz soldiers for placement near Kyiv. According to the digest's sources, twenty of these Russian commandos have joined president Kuchma personal security force. Jane's Intelligence Digest thinks this shows that Kuchma has no trust in his own security. Russians...

The decision to order a re-run of Ukraine's presidential election threatens the clique of shadowy business tycoons who sought to influence the result of the poll. The call by the supreme court on Friday for a fresh contest has dealt a heavy blow to the businessmen who tried to block the victory of the pro-democracy candidate Viktor Yushchenko. It also spells near certain defeat for the Kremlin consultants who attempted to ease Viktor Yanukovich, the prime minister, into power. A handful of Ukrainian oligarchs tried to manipulate the vote as Moscow stepped up its campaign to dictate the fate of...

Viktor Yanukovych’s “appointment” to the post of President did not only arouse street protests: emotions raged in some quiet offices, too. Shortly after the Central Election Commission announced the final returns of the November 21 presidential runoff, MP Oleg Rybachuk disclosed the techniques the Yanukovych election team had used. Rybachuk presented transcripts of phone conversations between Yanukovych election staffers. According to him, the talks were intercepted between October 30 and November 23. Unlike the notorious Melnychenko tapes of 2000, the technical quality of these digital recordings is high. They reveal in detail how the voting procedure was managed and coordinated,...

As a recent immigrant to the United States from Kharkov (XAPKOB) Ukraine I am amazed by the lack of insight by the news media.. The closest things to the truth that I have read comes from this blog... Behind the Scenes -- How and Why the Ukrainian Election was Stolen, Part I Reading through my comments, I'm seeing that the situation really isn't clear to some in the West. Discounting the reflexively silly Bush-haters, there are some normal people who are viewing this simply through the lens of election corruption. That's only the surface. You have to understand the situation...

Ukraine’s richest, most powerful people have stayed out of the spotlight during the five days of what’s being called the Ukrainian opposition’s “Orange Revolution.” That’s no surprise, as opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko has been calling them “bandits” during rallies, and saying they belong in jail after robbing the Ukrainian nation of its riches and suppressing democracy. Many believe that if the opposition takes control of the government, Ukraine’s so-called “oligarchs” – who backed the candidacy of Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych - could be tried for stealing state property, election fraud, and other crimes. This group includes Presidential Administration head Viktor...

THE Ukrainian Government's control over nationwide television was broken today, a key factor in maintaining support for Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich, when a station began covering opposition demonstrations that have gripped the capital. The pro-government private channel 1+1 said in a statement yesterday that it decided to begin providing "objective information" after having halted news broadcasts since Monday when journalists refused to operate under censorship. The first reports of the mass opposition rallies in the country were aired in the dawn hours of today. The channel is controlled by the powerful head of the presidential administration, Viktor Medvedtchuk. Television stations...