Free Republic

MOSCOW (Mineweb.com) -- It is almost forty years since those fine falsettos, the Bee Gees, put their pop classic, “Massachusetts”, on the top of the charts. They had no idea that their lyrics might become the alleged plot of a scheme by a trio of Ukrainian metal men to steal hundreds of millions of dollars in proceeds from the processing of manganese ore, and the sale of ferromanganese, ferrosilicon, and silicomanganese to steelmakers around the world. “And the lights all went out in Massachusetts,” sang Robin and Barry Gibb. “They brought me back to see my way with you.” On...

A few years ago, a friend of mine was sent to Kiev by the British government to teach Ukrainians about the Western democratic system. His pupils were young reformers from western Ukraine, affiliated to the Conservative party. When they produced a manifesto containing 15 pages of impenetrable waffle, he gently suggested boiling their electoral message down to one salient point. What was it, he wondered? A moment of furrowed brows produced the lapidary and nonchalant reply, 'To expel all Jews from our country.' It is in the west of Ukraine that support is strongest for the man who is being...

...During NATO's 2008 summit in Bucharest, Romania, the issue was discussed and, after opposition from France and Germany, a decision was made to offer neither Ukraine nor Georgia a NATO Membership Action Plan (MAP) — essentially a path for Ukraine to receive membership — at that moment. Vague promises of NATO membership in the future were made, but the United States later appeared to drop its support for NATO membership for Ukraine and Georgia. Russia's brief war with Georgia in August 2008 helped underscore the decision's importance, but NATO and Ukraine held further talks in December. Again, however, no specific...

The firm headed by Hillary Clinton’s former chief strategist, Mark Penn, is helping run incumbent President Victor Yushchenko’s campaign. Meanwhile Paul Manafort, whose firm worked on Republican John McCain’s losing effort, and Tad Devine, a top strategist on the Democratic presidential campaigns of Al Gore in 2000 and John Kerry in 2004, are consulting for Victor Yanukovych, the pro-Russian frontrunner in the polls.

Russian billionaire Boris Berezovsky has never made any secret of his loathing for President Vladimir Putin, but in an interview in his London exile the controversial tycoon went one step further with a vow to mount a coup. "President Putin violates the constitution and any violent action on the opposition's part is justified today, and that includes taking power by force, which is exactly what I am working at," the oligarch, looking vibrant despite five years in self-imposed exile, told AFP at his Piccadilly office. For the past 18 months, "we have been preparing to take power by force in...

"The polonium trail started on 16 October 2006 when Litvinenko met Lugovoi and Kovtun in London. ..." "When Lugovoi and Kovtun's movements were mapped against the sites of polonium contamination, there was an exact match. The evidence of guilt was strong. In May 2007, the then Director of Public Prosecutions Ken Macdonald announced that Andrei Lugovoi was to be charged with murder and his extradition would be sought from Russia. Kovtun was charged in 2010. ..." Prof Norman Dombey, a physicist who has a deep knowledge of Russian nuclear sites, gave evidence at the public inquiry. Dombey says there is...

LONDON — It has consumed more than eight years of maneuvering, obstruction and a widow’s dogged legal campaign, fought often on a shoestring. But finally, on Tuesday, a public inquiry is set to begin its quest for an answer to the question that has driven the whole process: Why did Alexander V. Litvinenko have to die? On Nov. 1, 2006, Mr. Litvinenko, a former officer of the Soviet K.G.B. in self-exile in London and a vocal critic of President Vladimir V. Putin, sipped tea from a poisoned pot, took sick and died 22 days later. Only after his death did...

KIEV, Ukraine — To Viktor Yushchenko, the man at the heart of Ukraine’s Orange Revolution a decade ago, March 2014 looks a lot like August 1939. Europe, once again, is at war. But Europe is also, once again, refusing to realize it and react. Yushchenko, the former Ukrainian president who has spent much of his political life at odds with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and incurred his wrath, says there should not be any doubt about what is going on: Putin’s Russia has been waging economic and information war on his country for years. It has now added a territorial...

Another embarrassing moment: Obama Bows To Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko during a visit w/ Senator DIck Lugar

Obama greeting Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko during a visit Republican with Senator Dick Lugar

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s open letter and Aug. 11 video blog attacking Ukrainian President Victor Yushchenko turned out to be a PR windfall for Ukraine, judging from international reaction...Many outside of Russia – and some within -- sided with Ukraine and Yushchenko. "The language [of Medvedev] was reminiscent of [former Soviet leader] Leonid Brezhnev in its detachment from reality,” wrote Anders Aslund, author of “How Ukraine Became A Market Economy and Democracy,” in an Aug. 17 opinion piece published by the Financial Times.

Russian President Dmitri Medvedev has strongly criticized Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko and his government, accusing them of everything from supporting Georgia in last year's war to suppressing the use of the Russian language in Ukraine. He also announced he is postponing sending a new ambassador to the former Soviet republic. In a "video blog" posted today on the Kremlin's website, the Russian president said he had outlined his views in an open letter to Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko. Dmitri Medvedev said bilateral relations between Russia and Ukraine have hit an "unprecedentedly low" level and that tensions between the two countries...

Benign skin growths that erupted on the face of Ukrainian president Victor Yushchenko helped save his life after he was poisoned with dioxin five years ago. That's the verdict of doctors who have treated and monitored Yushchenko since an unknown assassin made the attempt on his life by lacing his soup with dioxin during a dinner in Kiev on 5 September 2004. It now turns out that the lumps that grew on his face and body as a result probably saved his life by isolating the dioxin away from his vital, internal organs. They also helped to detoxify the poison,...

The President had yet another busy and no doubt worrying day first of all making a statement on the financial rescue legislation early morning on the South Lawn of the White House. He also met with at the White House President Valdas Adamkus of Lithuania and Ukraine's President Viktor Yushchenko. After his meeting with Yushchenko the President spoke about the failed bailout On a somewhat lighter and more pleasant note the President presented the 2007 National Medal of Technology and Innovation Medals. Pray for President Bush -- Day 2938 - McCain/Palin--Day 32 Defense Secretary Robert Gates spoke to students of...

Ukraine's pro-Western government has collapsed after the Russian invasion of Georgia triggered a political struggle between President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko over whether the country's destiny lies with the West or Moscow. Arseniy Yatsenyuk, speaker of the Ukraine's parliament, told MPs on Tuesday that the governing coalition linked to the popular "Orange Revolution" of 2004 was over. "I officially declare the coalition of democratic forces in Ukraine's parliament dissolved," he said. "This has been long expected, but for me it is extremely sad." Ukraine's MPs now have 30 days to try and form a new ruling government...

Excerpt - The speaker of the Ukrainian parliament says the country's pro-Western governing coalition has collapsed. Parliament now has 30 days either to form a new coalition or to call new elections. The alliance has fallen apart amid infighting between its leaders President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. ~ snip ~

President & Mrs. Bush are spending the weekend at Camp David. The President called the governors of South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia this morning to discuss preparations for Tropical Storm/Hurricane Hanna. On the second day of his visit to the Ukraine Vice President Cheney met with President Viktor Yushchenko and other officials. (Transcript) President Yushchenko: Your Excellency, Mr. Vice President, and your colleagues, this is a great honor for me on behalf of Ukraine to welcome the U.S. Vice President Richard Cheney for the visit to Ukraine … Vice President Cheney: I appreciate your kind words and hospitality. And...

Excerpt - KIEV, Aug 24 (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko said on Sunday joining the NATO alliance was vital to securing the country's defence. Marking 17 years of Ukrainian independence following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Yushchenko said Ukraine must also increase its own defences -- a clear swipe at Russia which unnerved former Soviet republics when it sent troops into Georgia over the breakaway region of South Ossetia. In a congratulatory message to mark the day, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called on Ukraine not to spoil their historically close ties. ~ snip ~

KYIV. Aug 15 (Interfax) - Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has invited the Russian leadership to urgently start negotiating an agreement on the possibility of using the Russian Black Sea Fleet for military purposes. "I have sent an urgent proposal to the Russian president through official channels on starting a negotiating process and drafting a relevant agreement that would settle our relations in case of the emergence of military actions, similar to those we witnessed in early August, and the ways of protecting Ukraine's national interests in this case," Yushchenko said in a commentary regarding Kyiv's position on the situation...

Ukraine threatened to blockade the Russian Black Sea Fleet yesterday in an act of solidarity with Georgia that risked escalating the conflict. After flying to Tbilisi to assure Georgians of his country’s support, President Yushchenko signed an order imposing tough restrictions on the Russian fleet, which is based in the Ukrainian port of Sevastopol. Mr Yushchenko’s decree instructs Russia to give 72 hours’ notice of any movement of ships, aircraft or personnel in Ukraine. The Ukrainian authorities were given the power to alter those plans. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry had already warned Russia that it will bar ships from returning...